Nina Simone, Langston Hughes and their forgotten creative collaboration

Nina Simone, Langston Hughes and their forgotten creative collaboration

Nina Simone performs live on stage at the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, R.I., on July 4, 1968. David Redfern/RedfernsMany music fans know that Nina Simone’s 1965 hit “I Put a Spell on You” helped establish the 32-year-old singer as the “High Priestess of Soul.” Few probably realize that it was Langston Hughes – the pioneering poet and face of the Harlem Renaissance – who had encouraged Simone to record it. As a Langston Hughes scholar, I’ve …