Episode 106: Luz Mendoza on Nina Simone’s “To Love Somebody” (1969)

Episode notes

The Album: Nina Simone To Love Somebody (1969)

Nina Simone’s discography is vast and full of true fire, but To Love Somebody often gets overlooked. Perhaps it’s because it was released right after ‘Nuff Said and Nina Simone and Piano, both fantastic albums in their own right. And although the album contained almost all covers (Revolution 1 and 2 were credited to Simone and Weldon Irvine), she found a way to make every single song truly her own.

Luz Mendoza of Y La Bamba joins Oliver and Morgan in the studio to discuss the chances Nina took on this album, the smaller, quieter moments in the music, and what Nina told us about herself throughout this LP. This is an episode you definitely do not want to miss.

More on Y La Bamba

• Y La Bamba’s Tiny Desk Concert
• Entre Los Dos on Bandcamp
• Website|Twitter

More on To Love Somebody

• The story behind Cosi Ti Amo
• Aquarium Drunkard’s review of To Love Somebody

Show Tracklisting (all songs from To Love unless indicated otherwise)

• I Can’t See Nobody
• Bob Dylan: I Shall Be Released
• I Shall Be Released
• I Can’t See Nobody
• Y La Bamba: Octavio
• The Times They Are A-Changin’
• The Byrds: Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There is a Season)
• Turn, Turn, Turn, (To Everything There is a Season)
• Revolution (Pt. 2)
• Revolution (Pt. 1)
• Revolution (Pt. 2)
• Suzanne
• Leonard Cohen: Suzanne
• Bob Dylan: Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
• Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
• Bee Gees: To Love Somebody
• To Love Somebody
• Cosi Ti Amo
• The Glory of Love
• I Shall Be Released
• Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
• James Brown: September Song
• Meshell Ndegeocello: Nite and Day
• La Lupe: Fever

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

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