To Be Young, Gifted and Black

"To Be Young, Gifted and Black"
Song by Nina Simone
from the album Black Gold
Released1970
RecordedOctober 26, 1969
VenuePhilharmonic Hall, New York City
GenreSoul, blues
Length9:34
LabelRCA
Composer(s)Nina Simone
Lyricist(s)Weldon Irvine
Producer(s)Stroud Productions
Official audio
"Nina Simone - To Be Young, Gifted and Black (Audio)" on YouTube

"To Be Young, Gifted and Black" is a song by Nina Simone with lyrics 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.[1][2] 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 in January 1970.[3] A cover version by Jamaican duo Bob and Marcia reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart in 1970.[4]

The title of the song comes from Lorraine Hansberry's autobiographical play To Be Young, Gifted and Black.[5][6] The song is considered an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.[7]

  1. ^ Ryan, Patrick. "Sundance 2021: Questlove takes us to forgotten 'Black Woodstock' in joyous concert doc 'Summer of Soul'". USA Today.
  2. ^ Obenson, Tambay (January 29, 2021). "'Summer of Soul' Review: Questlove's Directorial Debut Captures the Legacy of Forgotten 'Black Woodstock'".
  3. ^ "Nina Simone". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference British Hit Singles & Albums was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 528.
  6. ^ "Songs of Black Lives Matter: Nina Simone, "To Be Young, Gifted and Black"". SoulMusic. 13 July 2020.
  7. ^ King, Noel; Watson, Walter Ray (January 8, 2019). "Nina Simone's 'Lovely, Precious Dream' For Black Children". www.wbur.org.