“Sinnerman” is one of Nina Simone’s most famous songs and she recorded her definitive 10-minute-plus version on her 1965 album “Pastel Blues”. Simone learned the lyrics of this English song in her childhood when it was used at revival meetings by her mother, a Methodist minister, to help people confess their sins.

In the early days of her career during the early sixties, when she was heavily involved in the Greenwich Village scene, Simone often used the long piece to end her live performances. An earlier version of the song exists, recorded live at The Village Gate, but was not used on the 1962 Colpix album Nina at the Village Gate.

Simone’s version of Sinnerman has been sampled by Kanye West for the Talib Kweli song “Get By”, by Timbaland for the song “Oh Timbaland”, and by Felix da Housecat for Verve Record’s “Verve Remixed” series.