Songwriter Horace Ott began writing “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” after an argument with his wife, Gloria Caldwell. He then took it to the songwriting team of Bennie Benjamin and Sol Marcus. BMI and ASCAP songwriters were prohibited at the time from working together, so when the song was completed, Ott listed Caldwell as the co-writer. Nina Simone recorded the song on her Broadway-Blues-Ballads album, but it became much wider known when an English rhythm ‘n’ blues quintet brought it to the masses a year later. Let’s look at the story behind “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.”
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Baby, can you understand me now?
Sometimes, I get a little mad
Don’t you know, no one alive can always be an angel
When things go wrong, I seem to go bad
I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
Nina Simone
The outspoken civil rights activist Nina Simone co-wrote “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” and first recorded the song in 1964. She was known for her fiery temper and violent outbursts. More than once, she handled disagreements with a gun. Her song “Four Women” addressed the social impositions caused by different skin tones between a quartet of black ladies.
Yeah, baby, sometimes I’m so carefree
With a joy that’s hard to hide
Yeah, and other times, it seems that
All I ever have is worry
And then you’re bound to see my other side
Oh, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
The Animals
After breaking through with “House of the Rising Sun,” The Animals played rhythm ‘n’ blues but typically released contemporary songs as singles. In 2011, lead singer Eric Burdon told Canadian DJ Red Robinson: “I was into jazz and folk music. And then records started to come via a friend of mine who was a seaman. He would go to America a lot, and I would say, ‘When you’re in the States, bring back—here’s a shopping list of records for me.’ He would bring them back, and I would be very grateful for that. They were 78s, and I realized that they were scratched on one side and perfect on the other. So I investigated that through a friend of mine in London. He said, ‘Oh, the reason for that is they use the black music to package the Perry Como and Frank Sinatra stuff.’ So, right away, I saw a racial, political thing there. So that promoted my thought into internationalism and racism. Then I met these Africans, and I hung out with them. I started playing with them. I had an African girlfriend for a while and shocked everybody by bringing her home. The whole street was up in arms. It was a great experiment because, pretty soon, everybody loved her. Everybody liked her. And I thought, ‘Wow, this is a great exercise in the fact that people just need to be exposed to other people to realize that we’re all one.’”
Well, If I get edgy, I want you to know
I never mean to take it out on you
Life has its problems. I get more than my share
But there’s one thing that I would never do
Oh, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
The Apollo Theater
In 1994, Burdon was interviewed for The Animals and Beyond documentary: “All I wanted to do was escape. I remember being on the 43rd floor of this mega-glass tower in New York City. It was like 30 below zero outside. And we’re looking at a wall of cold, white-faced agents, and managers, and record company executives, and lawyers in their business suits with dollar signs in their eyes. I’d escape every night and go up to Harlem. I’d ensconce myself in the Apollo. I made friends with the manager, ‘Honi’ Coles. He told me, ‘Anytime you wanna come here, man, the place is yours.’ So I spent more time up in the Apollo and met B.B. King, Rufus Thomas, Big Maybelle, Chuck Jackson, The Shirelles, Dionne Warwick, and was around to take a lot of photographs and get to know them personally.”
Well, If I get edgy, I want you to know
I never mean to take it out on you
Life has its problems. I get more than my share
But there’s one thing that I would never do
‘Cause I love you
Oh
Oh, now, don’t you know I’m human
I got my faults, just like anyone
And sometimes I lie awake, alone, regretting
Some foolish thing, some sinful thing I’ve done
Simone Meets Animal
“I wanted to see Nina Simone all my life because—ever since I heard her voice, I reckon that she was the proudest, blackest, most talented female in America, if not in the world,” Burdon continued. “She was a tigress as far as I was concerned. We had a little entourage that went to see the goddess at Hunter College. It was Linda McCartney, Linda Eastman then. And after the show, Linda went, ‘You wanna go backstage and meet her?’ and I said, ‘Well, not really, but, y’know, let’s get outta here.’ She said, ‘No, it’s arranged. C’mon.’ So, at the end of the room, there was Nina. I walked up towards her. She looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘So you’re the white motherf–ker that took my song and made millions out of it. So you’re the white trash.’ And I went, ‘Whoa, wait a minute.’ I says, ‘Listen. I’ll tell you something. If you give back some of the royalties to the prisoners in Angola State Prison that you ripped off, and you’ve claimed that you wrote their work songs, y’know. Then I’ll own up to ripping off your song, but in actual fact, because I recorded ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,’ the whole of England is waiting for your arrival. I’ve paved the way for you going to Europe. Thank you very much.’ And she went, ‘Oh. Terribly sorry. My name is Miss Simone. What’s yours?’ ‘Eric Burdon.’ She said, ‘Sit down.’”
I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
I said I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
Oh, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
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Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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