''Black Gold'' is a live album by American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

musician

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

recorded in 1969 at the Philharmonic Hall,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. She got a 1971 nomination for a

Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards ...

, but lost to Aretha Franklin. The album is especially notable because it features the

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

anthem song "

To Be Young, Gifted and Black "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" is a song by Nina Simone with lyrics by Weldon Irvine. She introduced the song on August 17, 1969, to a crowd of 50,000 at the Harlem Cultural Festival, captured on broadcast video tape and released in 2021 as the ...

". The performance that night also included a calypso version of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

's " Suzanne" (which Simone had recorded on '' To Love Somebody''), but there was no room for it on the album. With the release of the album also came an LP called ''Come Together with Nina Simone''. It was a recorded interview about the album. The questions were provided in written form, so that radio DJs could ask the questions and play Simone's recorded answers, as if she were in the studio.

Track listing

Personnel

*Nina Simone – piano, vocals, arrangements *Emile Latimer – guitar, vocals on "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair" *Tom Smith – guitar *

Weldon Irvine Weldon Jonathan Irvine Jr. (October 27, 1943 – April 9, 2002), also known as Master Wel, was an American composer, playwright, poet, pianist, organist, and keyboardist. Biography Irvine, an African American, was born in Hampton, Virginia, on ...

– organ *

Don Alias Charles "Don" Alias (December 25, 1939 in New York City – March 28, 2006 in New York City) was an American jazz percussionist. Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums. He was, however, a capable drum kit performer: for ...

– drums, percussion *

Jumma Santos Juma Santos, also known as Jumma Santos (January 15, 1948 – September 1, 2007), born James P. Riley, was a percussionist and master drummer known for his extensive work over four decades with African music, Caribbean music, jazz, fusion and ...

– congas, percussion ;Technical *Ed Begley - recording engineer *Jack Medkiff - cover design

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1970 live albums Nina Simone live albums Albums arranged by Nina Simone RCA Victor live albums