Summary
The surprising history behind a track made famous by Nina Simone.
Feeling Good was written for a now obscure musical and originally performed by Cy Grant, the first black man to appear regularly on British TV.
Cy Grant's daughter, Samantha Moxon, describes her father's extraordinary life from Prisoner of War camp to a successful career in the arts.
The composer, Neil Brand, discusses why the song has gone on to transcend the almost forgotten musical it was created for.
Other speakers are Sam Reynolds, who says the track helped her through challenging times, and musician, Kirsten Lamb, who sings a simplified version with young children at a homelessness project in Massachusetts.
Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact
Producer: Karen Gregor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2020.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Traitors is back and so is that mysterious cloaked figure with the familiar fringe. |
| 0:06.7 | Yeah, it's me. |
| 0:07.9 | And when you've watched Claudia in the castle, join me, Ed Gamble, for the official visualised companion podcast. |
| 0:13.7 | And remember, I'll be listening. |
| 0:15.9 | Okay? |
| 0:16.7 | No, seriously, I love it. |
| 0:18.5 | What a faithful. |
| 0:19.7 | We'll unpack betrayals and spill scandalous secrets |
| 0:22.3 | with celeb guests, traitors legends and murdered and banished players. The traitors uncloked. |
| 0:28.4 | Watch on eye player, listen for more on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:37.1 | Life was great. |
| 0:38.8 | I was a personal assistant in the film industry. |
| 0:43.3 | I shared a flat with my sister. |
| 0:46.3 | I had a relationship, so yeah, it was good. |
| 0:50.5 | Hi, I'm Sam Reynolds. |
| 0:51.7 | I run a cancer survivor network online called Sam Spaces. Then when I was 26, I found a lump. |
| 1:04.7 | And unfortunately, I was diagnosed with grade two breast cancer. I had a lumpectomy. Then it was a bit of a blur, |
| 1:15.0 | really, because you get put very much on a conveyor belt of a treatment plan. And while all of |
| 1:21.6 | my friends were climbing the career ladder, buying homes and starting, you know, serious relationships. I was very |
| 1:32.7 | much in limbo. Everything that you love and want to do is sort of just passing you by. So music's |
| 1:41.0 | always been a big thing in our family. My dad is really into his music and I've sung a lot. |
| 1:47.9 | And we were in the car and as with every chemo weekend, |
... |
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