Best Old Song I Discovered In 2008

Contrary to popular opinion, I have not heard every song ever recorded in human history. I know, I'm such a slacker. Sometimes I miss brilliant music for no other reason than I was born too late. That's so not fair!

Nina Simone possesses one of my favorite voices of the twentieth century. It's powerful and honest, never falling into false melisma. I bought Verve Jazz Masters 17: Nina Simone earlier this year and discovered a few of her songs I'd never heard. I've been in love with "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair" for years, and I've thought Nina's version of "I Love You Porgy" is the best I'd ever heard, but there was one song on there I'd never heard and I've since been obsessed with.

That song is "Ne Me Quitte Pas" and even though I don't speak French, I truly understand the emotion of the song. I just learned it means "If You Leave" which makes sense, the vocal suggests the end of a something wonderful. Simone's voice is so infused with passion and pain, you don't really need to know what she's saying to know what she means. The song is from 1965's I Put A Spell On You, and it's well worth discovering more than 40 years later. Listen:

Ne me quitte pas - Nina Simone