Sinner Man
| "Sinner Man" | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Les Baxter, his Chorus and Orchestra - Vocal by Will Holt | |
| A-side | Tango of the Drums |
| Released | 1956 |
| Format | 7" |
| Recorded | 1956 |
| Genre | Gospel, jazz, pop |
| Length | 3:07 |
| Label | Capitol |
| Writer(s) | Les Baxter, Will Holt |
| "Sinnerman" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Nina Simone from the album Pastel Blues | ||||
| Released | May 20, 1965 | |||
| Recorded | New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz, Gospel | |||
| Length | 10:20 | |||
| Label | Philips Records | |||
| Composer(s) | Traditional | |||
| Pastel Blues track listing | ||||
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"Sinner Man" or "Sinnerman" is an African American traditional spiritual song that has been recorded by a number of performers and has been incorporated in many other of the media and arts. The lyrics describe a sinner attempting to hide from divine justice on Judgement Day. It was recorded in the 1950s by Les Baxter, the Swan Silvertones, the Weavers and others, before Nina Simone recorded an extended version in 1965.
The earliest recording of the song to bear the title "Sinner Man" was by the Les Baxter Orchestra in 1956, as the B-side of the Capitol Records single "Tango of the Drums". The lead vocal was by folk singer Will Holt, who shared the credit for writing the song with Baxter. However, the song clearly bears a close resemblance, in both melody and lyrics, to "On the Judgement Day", which was recorded by gospel group the Sensational Nightingales in 1954 and released the following year on the Peacock label. The writing of the Sensational Nightingales' song was credited to two of the group's singers, Julius Cheeks and Ernest James. Some of the lyrics in "Sinner Man", including "The rock cried out, 'No hiding place'", appear to derive from those in the spiritual, "No Hiding Place Down Here", recorded in 1928 by the Old South Quartette.
A version of "Sinner Man" released in 1956, by Swedish-American folk singer William Clauson, credited Baxter, Holt, Cheeks and James as co-writers. Another gospel group, the Swan Silvertones, released their version of the song in 1957 on the Vee-Jay label, and folk singer Guy Carawan issued a version in 1958. Carawan wrote that he had learned the song in 1956 from Bob Gibson. Most modern recorded versions derive from the 1956 recording by Les Baxter. Further changes and additions were codified in 1959 by the folk music group the Weavers. The Weavers' performance of the song appears on their compilation albums Gospel and Reunion at Carnegie Hall Part 2.
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