I was thinking about commercials again last night. There are several (recently cell phone commercials) that are using a song that probably everyone knows from the climax of the Thomas Crown Affair remake with Pierce Brosnan. But the question is what is the song that really makes that scene move?
It's a catchy song and I had to figure out who made it. Turns out that the song, Sinnerman, is old. Real old. It goes back to roughly 1900, but the version that we know today was the Jazz Gospel version done by Nina Simone in 1965. The full song goes as follows:
This song is great. But what you may not have noticed is that it's having a surge of interest lately. Since 1999 the song in some version (usually this one) has appeared in 12 movies. It's been on 11 television shows, including Top Gear in the U.K. and the anime series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG. That does not include the multiple television commercials and video games it can be found on as well.
Nina Simone, who died in 2003 at the age of 70, was an pianist, singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her musical style encompassed classical, jazz, blues, gospel, pop and R&B. Her music is still often samples by hip hop artists and she was an influence for Mos Def among others.
There are even plans for a movie based on the life of Simone. It's expected to be released in 2012. May J. Blige is planned to play the role of Simone. I only hope that Blige can do justice to this artist both musically and in her acting.
If you are interested in hearing more of Nina Simone's work you won't have trouble finding her work. She has albulms spanning 1959 up to 2009, though the albums from 1997 on are compliations and remixes of her work. Her last album was in 1975 making her career span 16 years, which is better than many artists today.
So the next time you hear Sinnerman on a television cmmercial or in a movie, you won't have to wonder who did that song any more.
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