23 May 2012

Mississippi Goddam

Mississippi Goddam is a song written and performed by American singer and pianist Nina Simone. It was first released on her album Nina Simone in Concert which was based on recordings of three concerts she gave at Carnegie Hall in 1964. The album was her first release for the Dutch label Philips Records and is indicative of the more political turn her recorded music took during this period. The song was released as a single and became a civil rights activist anthem. It was boycotted in several Southern states, ostensibly because of the word 'goddam' in the title. Together with "Four Women" and "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" it is one of her most famous protest songs and self-written compositions.