To Love Somebody (album)

1969 studio album by Nina Simone

To Love Somebody

Studio album by

Nina Simone

Released| 1969
Recorded| 1967–69
Studio| RCA (New York City)
Genre|

* Jazz
* blues
* pop
* folk

Label| RCA
Producer|

* Danny Davis
* Andrew Stroud

Nina Simone chronology
| Nina Simone and Piano
(1969)  | To Love Somebody
(1969)  | Black Gold
(1970)

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Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]

To Love Somebody is an album by jazz singer-songwriter/pianist Nina Simone. Primarily a covers album, it was released as quickly as possible to prolong the unexpected success of 'Nuff Said! The title is taken from the Bee Gees song "To Love Somebody"; her cover of the song became her second British hit single after "Ain't Got No, I Got Life".

## Tracks[edit]

"Revolution" is the only original song written for the album. It was Simone's third subsequent single released in the UK after "Ain't Got No, I Got Life" and "To Love Somebody" both became hits. The song was released around the time of the same titled song by the Beatles and, although it has a similar hook ("Don't you know it's gonna be – all right") and structure, most of the lyrics differ. The song also uses a guitar lick similar to "Old Brown Shoe," which had been recorded by the Beatles the same year. John Lennon commented on the similarities in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone:

> I thought it was interesting that Nina Simone did a sort of answer to "Revolution." That was very good–it was sort of like "Revolution," but not quite. That I sort of enjoyed, somebody who reacted immediately to what I had said.[2]

The song is split into two parts as a result of the single release. "Revolution" didn't do well in the UK charts, and only had a mild success in the United States R&B charts. Simone was surprised by this and said to Sylvia Hampton, author of the biography Break Down and Let It All Out about this:

> I don't get it. It's about a revolution, man: not just colour, but everything! It's about barriers being broken down, and they sure as hell need getting rid of. [...] We need a revolution to sort it all out and get back to God. You know how lost we are, man – it's sad.[3]

Simone also recorded an alternate version of "Turn! Turn! Turn!" that was (previously) unreleased.

## Track listing[edit]

1. "Suzanne" (Leonard Cohen) – 4:21
2. "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" (Traditional, Pete Seeger) – 3:41
3. "Revolution (Part 1)" (Weldon Irvine, Simone) – 2:53
4. "Revolution (Part 2)" (Weldon Irvine, Simone) – 1:54
5. "To Love Somebody" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) – 2:42
6. "I Shall Be Released" (Bob Dylan) – 3:55
7. "I Can't See Nobody" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) – 3:10
8. "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" (Bob Dylan) – 4:52
9. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (Bob Dylan) – 6:00

## Personnel[edit]

* Nina Simone – vocals, piano, arrangements
* Charles D. Alias – drums
* Weldon J. Irvine – organ
* Al Schackman – guitar
* Gene A. Perla – Fender bass
* Doris Willingham – vocals
* Virdia Crawford – vocals
* Jimmy Wisner – arrangements, conductor on "To Love Somebody" and "I Can't See Nobody"

Technical

* Mike Moran, Ray Hall – recording engineers

## References[edit]

1. ^ Bush, John. "To Love Somebody Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
2. ^ Wenner, Jann S. (February 4, 1971). "The Rolling Stone Interview: John Lennon, Part II". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
3. ^ Hampton, Sylvia (2004). Break Down And Let It All Out. London, England: Sanctuary Publishers, Ltd. p. 62\. ISBN 978-1860745522.

* v
* t
* e

Nina Simone

Studio albums|

* Little Girl Blue
* The Amazing Nina Simone
* Forbidden Fruit
* Nina Simone Sings Ellington
* Broadway-Blues-Ballads
* I Put a Spell on You
* Pastel Blues
* Let It All Out
* Wild Is the Wind
* High Priestess of Soul
* Nina Simone Sings the Blues
* Silk & Soul
* Nina Simone and Piano
* To Love Somebody
* Here Comes the Sun
* Baltimore
* Fodder on My Wings
* A Single Woman

Live albums|

* Nina Simone at Town Hall
* Nina Simone at Newport
* Nina at the Village Gate
* Nina Simone at Carnegie Hall
* Folksy Nina
* Nina Simone in Concert
* 'Nuff Said!
* Black Gold
* Emergency Ward!
* Live at Berkeley
* Live at Ronnie Scott's

Compilation albums|

* Nina Simone and Her Friends
* Nina's Choice
* Nina Simone with Strings
* Gifted & Black
* The Soul of Nina Simone
* The Very Best of Nina Simone
* Remixed and Reimagined

Related articles|

* Discography
* I Put a Spell on You (book)
* What Happened, Miss Simone?
* The Amazing Nina Simone (film)
* Nina (film)
* Al Schackman

* v
* t
* e

Songs and singles

* "Ain't Got No, I Got Life"
* "Alone Again (Naturally)"
* "Angel of the Morning"
* "Ballad of Hollis Brown"
* "Baubles, Bangles, & Beads"
* "Black Is the Colour (Of My True Love's Hair)"
* "Brown Eyed Handsome Man"
* "Chauffeur"
* "Cherish"
* "Cotton-Eyed Joe"
* "Do Nothing till You Hear from Me"
* "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
* "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye"
* "Exactly Like You"
* "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)"
* "Feeling Good"
* "Fine and Mellow"
* "For All We Know"
* "Four Women"
* "Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter"
* "Go Limp"
* "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"
* "Here Comes the Sun"
* "The House of the Rising Sun"
* "I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)"
* "I Loves You, Porgy"
* "I Put a Spell on You"
* "I Shall Be Released"
* "I Think It's Going to Rain Today"
* "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free"
* "If I Should Lose You"
* "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
* "It Might as Well Be Spring"
* "Just Like a Woman"
* "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"
* "Lilac Wine"
* "Little Girl Blue"
* "The Look of Love"
* "Love Me or Leave Me"
* "Mississippi Goddam"
* "Mood Indigo"
* "The More I See You"
* "Mr. Bojangles"
* "My Baby Just Cares for Me"
* "My Sweet Lord"
* "My Way"
* "Ne me quitte pas"
* "Nobody"
* "Nobody's Fault but Mine"
* "Papa, Can You Hear Me?"
* "The Pusher"
* "Rich Girl"
* "Satin Doll"
* "Sea Lion Woman"
* "Sign o' the Times"
* "Since I Fell for You"
* "Sinnerman"
* "(In My) Solitude"
* "Someone to Watch Over Me"
* "Something Wonderful"
* "Spring Is Here"
* "Strange Fruit"
* "Summertime"
* "Suzanne"
* "Take My Hand, Precious Lord"
* "Tell It Like It Is"
* "That's All"
* "That's All I Want from You"
* "The Times They Are a-Changin'"
* "To Be Young, Gifted and Black"
* "To Love Somebody"
* "Trouble in Mind"
* "Turn! Turn! Turn!"
* "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?"
* "Wild Is the Wind"
* "Willow Weep for Me"
* "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To"

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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