Nina Simone’s 1966 album Wild Is The Wind reaches its 60th anniversary with a reputation built on interpretation, restraint and songs that continued to influence generations of artists.
by Paul Cashmere
Sixty years after Nina Simone released Wild Is The Wind, the album remains one of the defining documents of her Philips Records period, bringing together recordings made in New York during 1964 and 1965 and transforming a collection of material from earlier sessions into a deeply distinctive statement of vocal and piano artistry.
Released on 16 September 1966, Wild Is The Wind was Simone’s sixth studio album for Philips. Rather than being conceived entirely as a single recording project, the album was assembled from material left over from sessions for earlier Philips releases. Producer Hal Mooney oversaw the project, which ultimately combined jazz, blues, folk and R&B influences across an approximately 39-minute programme.
The album initially reached No. 110 on the Billboard 200 and No. 12 on the Hot R&B LPs chart. Billboard also selected it as a “special merit pick” on release, recognising Simone’s ability to create a compelling emotional atmosphere through her interpretations.
That interpretive approach is central to Wild Is The Wind. Simone moves between established standards, traditional material and original writing, treating each song as an opportunity to reshape its emotional and musical identity rather than simply reproduce a familiar arrangement.
One of the album’s most significant recordings is “Four Women”, Simone’s composition examining four Black female archetypes and the different ways identity, race and history intersect. Released as a single, the song drew controversy when New York jazz station WLIB banned it over concerns about its lyrics.
The album’s title track had already existed outside Simone’s catalogue. “Wild Is The Wind” was written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington for the 1957 film of the same name, with Johnny Mathis recording the original film version. Tiomkin and Washington were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1958.
Simone’s interpretation became the best-known recording of the song for many listeners and later provided a bridge to another generation when David Bowie recorded it for his 1976 album Station To Station.
The same pattern of musical afterlife applies elsewhere on the record. “Lilac Wine”, written by James Shelton, was subsequently recorded by Jeff Buckley for his 1994 album Grace. “Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair”, meanwhile, had been recorded by Simone as early as 1955, although that earlier version was not released at the time. For Wild Is The Wind, Simone returned to the song during her April 1964 New York sessions.
The arrangement of “Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair” is notably sparse, built around Simone’s piano and a bass foundation. The minimal setting allows the vocal line and phrasing to carry much of the recording’s weight.
Wild Is The Wind also demonstrates Simone’s ability to place newly written material alongside songs drawn from very different traditions. “Four Women” sits alongside “I Love Your Lovin’ Ways”, “What More Can I Say”, “Break Down And Let It All Out” and “Why Keep On Breaking My Heart”, while standards including “Lilac Wine”, “If I Should Lose You” and “Either Way I Lose” broaden the album’s emotional range.
Its influence has continued well beyond its original commercial performance. Wild Is The Wind has subsequently appeared in major retrospective assessments of recorded music, including inclusion in Robert Dimery’s 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album was also ranked No. 212 in the 2020 edition of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time and has been placed among the most highly regarded albums of the 1960s in later critical surveys.
Simone’s wider legacy has similarly continued to expand. Nina Simone was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2018, with performances at the ceremony by Andra Day and Lauryn Hill. Her catalogue has also continued to be revisited by contemporary artists, including Lauryn Hill, Common, Usher and Mary J. Blige on the 2015 tribute project Nina Revisited: A Tribute To Nina Simone.
In Australia, Simone’s influence remains part of the live music conversation. Lisa Simone, Nina Simone’s daughter, has continued to perform and discuss her mother’s catalogue, including a 2026 Australian tour and a Noise11 interview examining the responsibility of carrying that musical legacy forward. Noise11 has also documented Australian interpretations of “Wild Is The Wind”, including Kate Ceberano’s performance of the song with Paul Grabowsky at Hamer Hall in 2019.
Sixty years on, Wild Is The Wind stands as an example of how Simone could take material from film, popular song, traditional music and her own songwriting and make it part of a singular musical language. Its enduring significance rests not on its original chart position, but on the continuing ability of these recordings to be revisited, reinterpreted and heard in new contexts.
Tracklisting
I Love Your Lovin’ Ways
Four Women
What More Can I Say
Lilac Wine
That’s All I Ask
Break Down And Let It All Out
Why Keep On Breaking My Heart
Wild Is The Wind
Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair
If I Should Lose You
Either Way I Lose
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