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Sinner Man

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"Sinner Man" or "Sinnerman" is an American traditional spiritual song that has been recorded by a number of performers. The song dates to the turn of the 20th century [citation needed] but most modern recorded versions derive from 1959 changes and additions codified by the folk music group the Weavers. The Weavers' performance of the song appears on their compilation albums Gospel and Wasn't That a Time!.

Nina Simone versions

"Sinnerman" (spelled as one word) 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 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 (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 this song exists, recorded live at The Village Gate, but was never used on the 1962 Colpix album Nina at the Village Gate.

Simone's "Sinnerman" has been featured in various films and commercials, including The Thomas Crown Affair, Cellular, Miami Vice, Inland Empire (David Lynch 2006), Golden Door (2007), the Absinthe Films snowboarding video Futureproof, various television shows incluing episodes of Scrubs, Homicide: Life on the Street, Life on Mars, and the video game Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.

Simone's version of Sinnerman has been sampled by hip-hop producer 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. It has also been covered by 16 Horsepower on their album Folklore.

Peter Tosh and the Wailers versions

"Sinner Man" has also been recorded as a reggae song several times by Bob Marley's group the Wailers and Peter Tosh.

It was first recorded by the group at Studio One in Kingston, Jamaica in early 1966 while Bob Marley was in the United States. Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer shared lead vocals.

A different version entitled "Downpressor Man" recorded by Peter Tosh & The Wailers was released in 1971, "downpressor" meaning "opressor" in Rastafarian vocabulary. The song featured Tosh on lead vocals and Bunny Wailer on background and an instrumental version was also released. Songwriting credit for this version is sometimes given to Tosh.

Tosh recorded the song again as "Downpresser Man" (spelt with a penultimate "e") for his 1977 solo album Equal Rights and released a live recording of the song in a medley with "Equal Rights" on his 1983 album Captured Live.

The Tosh solo version was covered by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor on her 2005 album Throw Down Your Arms, by Gregory Isaacs, and by the ska-punk band Goldfinger.

Other versions

A number of other versions of the song have been recorded by performers such as The Seekers, Three Dog Night, John P. Kee, 16 Horsepower and an old spanish group called "Nuestro pequeño mundo".

Other songs titled "Sinner Man"

"Sinner Man" is also the title of a disco song written by Amanda George and Rob Hegel that was a hit for Sarah Dash in 1979.

"Sinnerman" is the title of a song by Midge Ure on his 1996 album Breathe written by Ure and Danny Mitchell.

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