"To Be Young, Gifted and Black" is a song by

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

with

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

by Weldon Irvine. Simone 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 documentary film '' Summer of Soul''. Two months later, she recorded the song as part of her concert at Philharmonic Hall, a performance that resulted in her live album '' Black Gold'' (1970). Released as a single, it peaked at number 8 on the R&B chart and number 76 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

in January 1970. A cover version by Jamaican duo Bob and Marcia reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart in 1970. The title of the song comes from

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was an American playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin ...

's autobiographical play '' To Be Young, Gifted and Black''. The song is considered an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.

Background

"To Be Young, Gifted and Black" was written in memory of Simone's late friend

, author of the play ''

A Raisin in the Sun ''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Ch ...

'', who had died in 1965 aged 34.

Legacy

"To Be Young, Gifted and Black" is widely regarded as one of Simone's best songs. In 2022, ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' ranked the song number five on their list of the 10 greatest Nina Simone songs, and in 2023, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' ranked the song number three on their list of the 20 greatest Nina Simone songs.

Cover versions

Notable

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of the song were recorded by: *

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

(on his 1970 album '' Everything Is Everything''), *

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

(on her 1972 album '' Young, Gifted and Black'') * Bob and Marcia (whose 1970 recording reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart and number 15 in Ireland). *Jamaican

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

trio the Heptones recorded a version for

Coxsone Dodd Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent ...

's Studio One label in 1970. *

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

recorded a version of "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" in 1970, before his solo success. Intended to be released as a low-budget

sound-alike A sound-alike is a sound recording, recording intended to imitate the sound of a popular record, the style of a popular recording artist, or a current musical trend; the term also refers to the artists who perform on such recordings. In the voice ...

version of the original, it was reissued in 1994 on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

'' Covers as Sung by Elton John''. *American singer

Meshell Ndegeocello Meshell Ndegeocello ( ; born Michelle Lynn Johnson on August 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on some of her mid-career work. ...

included a version on her 2012 tribute album '' Pour une Âme Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone''. * Michael Kiwanuka recorded a version in 2021 for an episode of '' Small Axe''.

Samples

*The song has also become a popular sample amongst various modern R&B/hip-hop pieces, including Rah Digga's 2003 unreleased record "On the Move",

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 in pursuit of a recording career. Evans initially performed as ...

' 2014 single " I Deserve It", featuring

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

and

Sharaya J Sharaya Howell (born January 17, 1984), known professionally as Sharaya J, is an American rapper and choreographer. She is known for her singles "BANJI" and "Smash Up the Place," as well as for being signed to Missy Elliott's label The Goldmind ...

, and on the title track of Rapsody's 2017 album ''Laila's Wisdom''.

References

{{Authority control 1969 songs 1970 singles 1972 singles Aretha Franklin songs Donny Hathaway songs Nina Simone songs Songs about black people Songs about teenagers Songs about racism and xenophobia Songs written by Nina Simone