The soul track David Gilmour called “just magic”
Very few groups can match the colossal popularity and musical quality of Pink Floyd. Going from young hamsters of psychedelic rock during the early era to profound artists reinventing perceptions of the album format on defining records like The Dark Side of the Moon, the group fostered something of a universal appeal. Even if you are not actively a fan of the band, their quality cannot be disputed. Part of that quality comes from Floyd’s sonic diversity, which is reflected in the musical taste of its members.
Pink Floyd explored an endless array of inspirations during their time together; it was a group where seemingly anything went (so long as Roger Waters agreed with it). During their early years, the group were largely dedicated to the blossoming landscape of psychedelia, driven by bandleader Syd Barrett and his love of mind-altering substances. For the most part, guitarist David Gilmour missed out on this era of the band. Despite being school friends with Barrett and the gang, he was not asked to join the ranks until 1967, when Barrett’s declining mental state was causing difficulty for the rest of the group.
When Gilmour joined Pink Floyd, a few short months before Barrett was booted out, his presence changed the dynamic of the group indefinitely. Not only did the Cambridge-born songwriter bring his own unique talents to play, he also introduced Pink Floyd to his own range of musical influences. Namely, Gilmour always harboured a healthy appreciation for the worlds of R&B and soul music.
Soul was the defining sound of the 1960s, with artists like Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, and Sam Cooke having soundtracked the civil rights movement over in the United States. Thankfully, the sweet sounds of labels like Motown Records also made their way across the Atlantic, finding an adoring audience in music fans like Gilmour. However, one artist of that era always stood out among the rest in the mind of the Pink Floyd guitarist.
“Well, Nina Simone is one of the true great originals,” Gilmour once shared. Simone first established herself as one of America’s most promising jazz artists during the 1950s but soon moved into the worlds of R&B and even soul. Simone’s music was essential in providing a voice for the civil rights movement through groundbreaking protest anthems like ‘Mississippi Goddam’ and ‘Ain’t Got No, I Got Life’ among many others.
For Gilmour, the highlight of Simone’s career came in 1965 when she released a stunning cover of the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins classic ‘I Put A Spell On You’. One of her most accomplished vocal performances, Simone laid her emotions bare on that recording and witnessed a great deal of commercial success and attention in the process. “That recording of the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins is just magic,” Gilmour once shared, “the brilliant sax solo.”
In fact, the song was so affecting for Gilmour that he can still recall where he was when he first encountered the recording. “I heard it when I was living in Paris in 1966 or 1967,” he revealed, adding: “and it’s just magic. She was a wild woman, that one.” It is certainly difficult to dispute Gilmour’s take on the music and attitude of Nina Simone, who was always fiercely independent and dedicated to her craft.
Although Gilmour’s clear appreciation of Nina Simone and the landscape of soul music never really translated into the discography of Pink Floyd, his diverse taste was instrumental in diversifying the band’s inherent sound. Following Barrett’s departure, the group needed new voices and inspirations, and David Gilmour provided those in abundance—the second era of Pink Floyd might never have worked without his influence.
