Soundtrack Of The Day: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" - Nina Simone

I may have mentioned my obsession with Nina Simone, with her gorgeously low, sensual voice and stunningly vast catalog. But Ms. Simone never had the massive pop hit she wanted, and her 1964 recording of an original song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" was to be that single that propelled her out of the jazz clubs and into pop culture's center stage.

Unfortunately for Nina her slow burning, almost classically arranged version of the song failed to chart. The Animals picked up on the track the following year and got a Top 20 hit and an oldies radio mainstay out of it. It's hard to say which version is better, Nina's is fraught with pain and regret while The Animals' infused it with a live wire of rock. Both deserve a wide audience.

Ms. Simone also recorded the folk standard "House Of The Rising Sun" a full two years before The Animals made a hit out of it. Nina couldn't catch a break!