© 2025 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Nina Simone and The Animals

Designed by Grace Noble

When Nina Simone recorded "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" in 1964, she poured the pain of the Civil Rights Movement – and her own personal struggles – into every note. Just months later, the British rock group The Animals released their own take on the song, which was lighter and pop-leaning. It became a major hit.

Simone’s original version did not.

Craig Thompson
Courtesy
Craig Thompson

The contrasting interpretations of this track reveal much about the cultural landscape of the 60s and the challenges faced by Black artists trying to make their voices heard. Craig Thompson, the immediate past chair of the University of Maryland Board of Trustees, joins Stephanie Shonekan on this episode to discuss the origins of Simone’s song and its ability to oscillate between being a collective cry for justice and a personal – or even spiritual – plea for acceptance.

“You look at artists who put blood, sweat and tears into their art and couldn't chart for societal reasons. And then you had white artists who would either do the same song or something similar and just blow up. ... And so you process it by, I guess, just embracing or accepting reality. It's an unfortunate reality. And then you kind of struggle with whether you will allow yourself to like the song.” - Craig Thompson

Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan is produced by Katelynn McIlwain, Janet Saidi, Ryan Famuliner, Aaron Hay, Nat Kuhn, Mark Johnson and Stephanie Shonekan. This season was edited by Aaron Hay, Janet Saidi and Ryan Famuliner.

This podcast is a collaboration between KBIA and Vox Magazine, with funding from the University of Maryland College of Arts and Humanities, MU’s College of Arts & Science, and the Missouri School of Journalism.

You can follow the podcast and other special projects on Instagram @kbianews.


“Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan” Season 1 was produced by Janet Saidi, Kristofor Husted, Fernando Narro, Rehman Tungekar, and Ryan Famuliner, with host and producer Stephanie Shonekan. Season 1 was edited by Rehman Tungekar and Ryan Famuliner.

“Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan” Season 2 was produced by Janet Saidi, Ryan Famuliner, Aaron Hay, and Stephanie Shonekan. Season 2 was edited by Aaron Hay and Ryan Famuliner.

"Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan" Season 3 was produced by Katelynn McIlwain, Janet Saidi, Ryan Famuliner, Aaron Hay and Nat Kuhn, with host and producer Stephanie Shonekan. Season 3 was edited by Aaron Hay and Ryan Famuliner.

Tags
Cover Story - Season 4 Music Historypodcast
Katelynn McIlwain, originally from Freeport, Illinois (go Pretzels!), is the managing editor for KBIA. She assists KBIA newsroom leaders in planning, supervising and producing news programming for radio broadcast, including daily news and in-depth reports, as well as public affairs programming.
Ryan served as the KBIA News Director from February 2011 to September 2023
Aaron worked as a full-time on-air host at KBIA from 2017 to 2022. He continues as the Managing Producer on High Turnout Wide Margins.
Janet Saidi is a producer and professor at KBIA and the Missouri School of Journalism.