One of jazz music's all-time greats, bandleader-pianist Count Basie was a primary shaper of the big-band sound that characterized mid-20th century popular music. Singer and pianist. Simone Signoret. Having been neighbors with Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz in Mount Vernon, New York, she later lived in several different countries, including Liberia, Switzerland, England and Barbados before eventually settling down in the South of France. Her mother, a Methodist minister, and her father, a handyman and preacher himself, couldn’t ignore young Eunice’s God-given gift of music. After she signed with RCA Records in 1967 (a deal her then husband/manager Andy Stroud had negotiated), her very first recordings for the label included the saucy “Do I Move You?” and the undeniably sexual “I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl” which were from the concept album entitled Nina Sings The Blues. It was from these humble roots that Eunice developed a lifelong love of Johann Sebastian Bach, Chopin, Brahms, Beethoven and Schubert. Two documentaries on the musician's life were released in 2015: The Amazing Nina Simone, directed by Jeff L. Lieberman, and What Happened, Miss Simone?, from Netflix. In her final years, reports indicated that Nina Simone was battling breast cancer. She took the stage name Nina Simone—"Nina," derived from the Spanish word "niña," came from a nickname used by her then boyfriend, while "Simone" was inspired by French actress Simone Signoret. She also penned her autobiography, I Put a Spell on You, which was published in 1991. Among her most amazing recordings were the original and so-soulful version “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and “I Put A Spell On You” (which had reached to #23 in the U.S. charts), eerily moody, unrestrained, drama to the max; “Ne Me Quitte Pas” tender, poignant, filled with melancholy; and with gospel-like fervor, the hypnotic voodoo of “See-Line Woman.” In her own unrivaled way, Nina also loved to venture into the more earthy side of life. This would be her first new studio album in six years and she recorded it in Belgium with strings and background vocals cut in New York City. Elton John sent a floral tribute with the … Jazz Singer. Nina Simone: The Biography [Brun-Lambert, David, Illus. She didn't like the label of "jazz singer," either. In a turn of controversial casting, Simone was also depicted by actress Zoe Saldana in the 2016 biopic Nina. That was the musical side of it I shied away from; I didn’t like ‘protest music’ because a lot of it was so simple and unimaginative it stripped the dignity away from the people it was trying to celebrate. She was often called the "High Priestess of Soul," but she hated that nickname. As the 1960s drew to a close, Simone tired of the American music scene and the country's deeply divided racial politics. Her rich, deep velvet vocal tones, combined with her mastery of the keyboard, soon attracted club goers up and down the East Coast. The inimitable, gorgeously talented Nina Simone (1933-2003)--the "high priestess of soul"--sets the story of her tumultuous, passionate life straight in I Put a Spell on You. But the Alabama church bombing and the murder of Medgar Evers stopped that argument and with ‘Mississippi Goddam,’ I realized there was no turning back.”. Nina Simone (born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger and civil rights activist.Simone did not like people to classify her music, or say what genre it fell into, but people often call her a jazz musician. No one website can fully explore the many nuances and flavors that made up the more than 40 original albums in the Nina Simone library. He is known for his work as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, and for his long-running success as a solo artist. She was joined on stage by her daughter Lisa Simone Kelly for a few songs. Mark Murphy. During the '60s, Simone had prominent hits in England as well with "I Put a Spell on You," "Ain't Got No-I Got Life/Do What You Gotta Do" and "To Love Somebody," with the latter penned by Barry and Robin Gibb and originally performed by their group the Bee Gees. First Name Nina. Once she moved to Phillips, a division of Dutch-owned Mercury Records, she was ready to expand her following globally. 5 perfume commercial in the United Kingdom. Sensing that her live performances would capture the essential spontaneity of her artistry, Colpix opted to record her September 12, 1959 show. Nina Simone studied classical piano at the Juilliard School in New York City, but left early when she ran out of money. Simone later said that during this performance, her parents, who had taken seats in the front row, were forced to move to … She was often called "The High Priestess of Soul". Turning away from classical music, she started playing American standards, jazz and blues in Atlantic City clubs in the 1950s. Nina Simone was one of the most iconic American musical icons of the 20th century. The New York Times critic Jon Pareles reviewed the concert, noting that "there is still power in her voice" and that the show featured "a beloved sound, a celebrated personality, and a repertory that magnifies them both." This biography provides detailed information about his childhood, family, personal life, career, etc. By the end of her life, Nina was enjoying an unprecedented degree of recognition. “Critics started to talk about what sort of music I was playing,” writes Nina in her 1991 autobiography I Put A Spell On You, “and tried to find a neat slot to file it away in. Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon, February 21, 1933, in Tryon, NC; died in her sleep of natural causes, April 21, 2003, in Carry–le–Rouet, France. It was one of Nina’s many abilities to comprehend the bittersweet qualities of life and then parlay them into a song that made her such an enduring and fascinating person. Nina Simone is, in my mind, one of the most significant and influential singer-songwriters of all time. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Touring periodically, Simone maintained a strong fan base that filled concert halls whenever she performed. While she may be gone, Simone left a lasting impression on the world of music, art and activism. Along the way at RCA, songs penned by Bob Dylan (“Just Like A Woman”), the brothers Gibb (“To Love Somebody”), and Tina Turner (“Funkier Than A Mosquito’s Tweeter”) took pride of place alongside Nina’s own anthem of empowerment, the classic “To Be Young, Gifted, & Black,” a song written in memory of Nina’s good friend Lorraine Hansberry. Simone died in France on April 21, 2003. She played piano – but didn’t sing – in her mother’s church, displaying remarkable talent early in her life. Simone has inspired an array of performers, including Aretha Franklin, Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Lauryn Hill and Meshell Ndegeocello. It also included her lone Top 20 pop hit with her version of "I Loves You Porgy," from the George and Ira Gershwin musical Porgy and Bess. Her classical training showed through, no matter what genre of song she played, and she drew from a well of sources that included gospel, pop and folk. In addition to glorious musicianship, the project detailed troubling aspects of Simone's life, including the abuse she endured from her ex-husband and in turn the abuse daughter Lisa endured from her mother. Moving to Philadelphia, Simone lived with her family there in order to save money and go to a more affordable music program. Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina on February 21st, 1933. Nina was deeply affected by these two events. Nina’s seven years with RCA produced some remarkable recordings, ranging from two songs featured in the Broadway musical “Hair” (combined into a medley, “Ain’t Got No – I Got Life,” a #2 British hit in 1968) to a Simone-ified version of George Harrison’s “Here Comes The Sun,” which remained in Nina’s repertoire all the way through to her final performance in 2002. 28 reviews Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in North Carolina at the tail-end of the Great Depression, Nina Simone was a precocious child with dreams of becoming the worlds first black classical soloist. And until songs like ‘Mississippi Goddam’ just burst out of me, I had musical problems as well. Princess Noire—The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone (Cohodas 2010), a slew of compilation CDs, rare live footage now available online, and a controversial new biopic, Nina Simone cannot be fully comprehended by post-CRM generations. Her own original “Mississippi Goddam” was banned throughout the South but such a response made no difference in Nina’s unyielding commitment to liberty; subsequent groundbreaking recordings for Philips like “Four Women” (recorded September 1965) and “Strange Fruit” continued to keep Nina in the forefront of the few performers willing to use music as a vehicle for social commentary and change. Elton John sent a floral tribute with the message, “You were the greatest and I love you”. Simone, who had taken a break from recording in the mid-70s, returned in 1978 with the album Baltimore, with the title track a cover version of a Randy Newman tune. Nina Simone Is A Member Of . At the same mammoth 13 hour session in 1957, recorded in New York City, Nina also cut “My Baby Just Cares For Me,” previously recorded by Nate King Cole, Count Basie, and Woody Herman. (1962), Wild Is the Wind (1966) and Silk and Soul (1967). After submitting a demo of songs she had recorded during a performance in New Hope, Pennsylvania, she was signed by Syd Nathan, owner of the Ohio-based King Records (home to James Brown), to his Jazz imprint, Bethlehem Records. Simone's musical training over the years emphasized classical repertory along the lines of Beethoven and Brahms, with Simone later expressing the desire to have been recognized as the first major African American concert pianist. Her back catalogue of recordings is an absolute treasure. And the legacy continues…. Nina Simone was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and arranger Other stand out tracks from that era were the soulful song “Cotton Eyed Joe,” the torch tune “The Other Women,” and the Norwegian folk rendition of “Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair” – all beautiful examples of Nina Simone at her storytelling best, painting a vivid picture with her skill as a lyrical interpreter. The house was filled with music, Nina Simone later recalled, and she learned to play piano early, playing at church when she was only six. Performing in night clubs, she turned her interest to jazz, blues and folk music and released her first album in 1957, scoring a Top 20 hit with the track "I Loves You Porgy." Legendary performer Nina Simone sang a mix of jazz, blues and … Word spread about this new singer and pianist who was dipping into the songbooks of Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and the like, transforming popular tunes of the day into a unique synthesis of jazz, blues, and classical music. Using never-before-heard recordings, rare archival footage and her best-known songs, this is the story of legendary singer and activist Nina Simone. Explore releases from Nina Simone at Discogs. Lisa, from Simone's second marriage to manager Andrew Stroud, followed in her mother's footsteps. From a very early age, she showed her interest in music and participated in her c… The latter project was directed by Liz Garbus and offered commentary from daughter Lisa and ex-husband Stroud, among others. During this time with the label, Nina recorded one civil rights song, Oscar Brown Jr.’s “Brown Baby,” which was included on her fifth album for the label, At The Village Gate. Simone went through a career renaissance in the 1980s when her song "My Baby Just Cares For Me" was used in a Chanel No. Her music was enjoyed by the masses due to the CD revolution, discovery on the Internet, and exposure through movies and television. Born in 1933 #9. Her first LP for the label, 1964’s In Concert, signaled Nina’s undaunted stand for freedom and justice for all, stamping her irrevocably as a pioneer and inspirational leader in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Nina Simone was born Eunice Waymon in Tryon in 1933. Under different labels, Simone released a bevy of albums from the late '50s throughout the '60s and early '70s, including records like The Amazing Nina Simone (1959), Nina Simone Sings Ellington! She sang to share her truth, and her work still resonates with great emotion and power. One gets a sense of that in the following passage from I Put A Spell on You where she explains her initial reluctance to perform material that was tied to the Civil Rights Movement. She also penned "Four Women," chronicling the complex histories of a quartet of African American female figures, and "Young, Gifted and Black," borrowing the title of a play by Hansberry, which became a popular anthem. Nina Simone: The Biography Such risks were seldom taken by artists during that time of such dramatic civil upheaval. With an eighteen piece string section conducted by David Mathews (known for his arrangements on James Brown’s records), the results were spectacular. After much wining and dining, Nina finally signed on the dotted line. According to the biography posted on her website, Simone was a child prodigy at the piano who could play by ear at the age of three. The song opened with a dazzling keyboard arpeggio that would become her signature for decades. By this time, Nina had become central to a circle of African American playwrights, poets, and writers all centered in Harlem along with the previously mentioned Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin and Langston Hughes. Her funeral service was attended by Miriam Makeba, Patti Labelle, poet Sonia Sanchez, actor Ossie Davis and hundreds of others. An African-American icon and true diva whose distinctive voice brought an unmatched level of eclecticism across five decades. Jazz Singers. She later lived abroad and experienced major mental health and financial issues, though she enjoyed a career resurgence in the 1980s. ninasimoneproject.org Her music teacher helped establish a special fund to pay for Simone's education and, after finishing high school, the same fund was used to send the pianist to New York City's famed Juilliard School of Music to train. The outcome from one of the relationships became a highlight of the LP with the song “Backlash Blues,” a song that’s lyrics originated from the last poem Langston Hughes submitted for publication prior to his death in May, 1967 and gave to Nina. She was who the world would come to know as Nina Simone. Charlie Parker was a legendary Grammy Award–winning jazz saxophonist who, with Dizzy Gillespie, invented the musical style called bop or bebop. Nina Simone And Her Friends, which featured outtakes from the Little Girl Blue sessions, was released after Simone had switched to the Colpix Records label. Nina Simone died in her sleep at her home in Carry-le-Rout, Bouches-du-Rhone on April 21, 2003. aaron @ ninasimone.com. ', Louis Armstrong was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader and singer known for songs like "What a Wonderful World,” “Hello, Dolly,” ”Star Dust” and "La Vie En Rose.”. Backed by a stellar cast of New York CIty session musicians, the album was far and away Nina’s most down-home recording session. American playwright Neil Simon penned some of Broadway's most memorable productions, including 'The Odd Couple' and 'Lost in Yonkers.'. The song was used by Chanel in a perfume commercial in Europe in the 1980’s and it became a massive hit for Nina, a British chart topper at #5, and thus a staple of her repertoire for the rest of her career. The song thus became a Top 10 hit in Britain in 1985. Among an array of performance accomplishments, she has appeared on Broadway in Aida, using the stage name "Simone.". In the 1960s she became a friend of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X and performed at civil rights demonstrations. Nina Simone Biography (1933–2003) Updated: Feb 18, 2021 Original: Jan 19, 2018. Months after the release of her debut LP for the label (1959‘s The Amazing Nina Simone), Nina was performing at her first major New York City venue, the mid-Manhattan-located Town Hall. “Nightclubs were dirty, making records was dirty, popular music was dirty and to mix all that with politics seemed senseless and demeaning. John Coltrane was an acclaimed American saxophonist, bandleader and composer, becoming an iconic figure of jazz in the 20th century with albums like 'Giant Steps,' 'My Favorite Things' and 'A Love Supreme.'. In 2016, with Simone's childhood home in Tryon on the market, four African American artists teamed up to purchase the structure, fearing it would be demolished. Nina Simone's career was rooted in activism. The performer eventually won over such fans as writers Langston Hughes, Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin. At the age of twenty-four, Nina came to the attention of the record industry. First Name Nina #7. Nina had sold over one million CDs in the last decade of her life, making her a global catalog best-seller. Shop for Vinyl, CDs and more from Nina Simone at the Discogs Marketplace. She died on April 21, 2003 in Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. Accompanied on the June 30th, 1960 show by Al Schackman, a guitarist who would go on to become Nina’s longest-running musical colleague, bassist Chris White, and drummer Bobby Hamilton, the dynamic show was recorded by the Colpix. She is known for her work in many genres as she sang a mix of jazz, blues and folk music in the 1950 and 60s and regenerated her singing career spectacularly in the 1980s. For anyone looking back at Nina Simone in the 21st century, it is obvious that she was always more than a brilliant singer. While her original dream was unfulfilled, Eunice ended up with an incredible worldwide career as Nina Simone – almost by default. Born In 1933. Portrait of Nina Simone in concert in Morlaix, France during 1982. With two marriages behind her in 1993 she settled in Carry-le-Rout, near Aix-en-Provence in Southern France. Her next recording, A Single Woman, came out in 1993. She would continue to tour through the 1990’s and became very much ‘the single woman’ she sang about on her last label recording. Nina focuses on Simone’s personal relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson, played by David Oyelowo. Whilst this autobiography makes an utterly fascinating - albeit brief - read, the actual book itself is a travesty. "If I had to be called something, it should have been a folk singer because there was more folk and blues than jazz in my playing," she later wrote in her autobiography. That same year, Simone attended South African leader Nelson Mandela's 80th birthday celebration. What Happened, Miss Simone? Most Popular #9111. In 1998, she appeared in the New York tri-state area, her first trip there in five years, specifically playing at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. After graduating valedictorian of her high school class, the community raised money for a scholarship for Eunice to study at Julliard in New York City before applying to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Nina Simone Fans Also Viewed . Nina Simone was one of the most gifted vocalists of her generation, and also one of the most eclectic. The title track, Randy Newman’s evocative “Baltimore,” was an inspired Nina Simone choice. Demonstrating a talent with the piano, she performed at her local church. Nina Simone Popularity . However, we might not have had the chance to witness the breathtaking range of material Nina could cover if she hadn’t taken the path she did. How can you take the memory of a man like [Civil Rights activist] Medgar Evers and reduce all that he was to three and a half minutes and a simple tune? This site contains most of Nina’s finest works and press mentions. She was married to Andrew Stroud and Donald Ross. One of Nina’s stated musical influences was Billie Holiday and her inspired reading of “Porgy” (from “Porgy & Bess”) heralded the arrival of a new talent on the national scene. https://www.biography.com/musician/nina-simone. In her autobiography, Nina Simone writes that her function as an artist is “…to make people feel on a deep level. She died on April 21, 2003 in Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. Nina Simone (Eunice Waymon), the "high priestess of soul", an eclectic interpreter of both blues, jazz and pop classics, composed My Baby Just Cares For Me (1957), Mississippi Goddam (1963), Four Women (1966), and Young Gifted And Black (1969). To survive, she began teaching music to local students. Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina. Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in small-town North Carolina, Nina Simone changed the face of both music and race relations in America. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! To the end, she herself would claim that racism was the reason she did not attend. Nina Simone was born on February 21, 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, USA as Eunice Kathleen Waymon. Nina’s prodigious talent as a musician was evident early on when she started playing piano by ear at the age of three. Her deep, distinctive voice continues to be a popular choice for television and film soundtracks. Eunice Kathleen Waymon, conhecida pelo nome artístico Nina Simone (Tryon, 21 de fevereiro de 1933 — Carry-le-Rouet, 21 de abril de 2003) foi uma pianista, cantora, compositora e ativista pelos direitos civis dos negros norte-americanos. Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina in 1933, Nina Simone went on to become one of the true icons of 20th-Century American music. Nina Simone, Soundtrack: Repo Men. Read Full Biography… She died at the age of 70 on April 21, 2003, at her home in Carry-le-Rouet, France. General Inquiries: Aaron Overfield. Jazz Singer. Grammy winner Carly Simon was one of the biggest singer/songwriters in the 1970s. Nina Simone Project. Nina Simone was a genre-defying musician whose recordings blended jazz, folk, classical piano and blues. Nina Simone was born as Eunice Kathleen Waymon in 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, daughter of John D. Waylon and Mary Kate Waymon, an ordained Methodist minister. With the kind of “clean” sound that was a hallmark of CTI recordings, the Nina Simone album that emerged was simply brilliant. Her family had already moved to the City Of Brotherly Love, but Eunice’s hopes for a career as a pioneering African American classical pianist were dashed when the school denied her admission. In order to hide the fact that she was singing in bars, Eunice’s mother would refer to the practice as “working in the fires of hell”, overnight Eunice Waymon became Nina Simone by taking the nickname “Nina” meaning “little one” in Spanish and “Simone” after the actress Simone Signoret. She was the consummate musical storyteller, a griot as she would come to learn, who used her remarkable talent to create a legacy of liberation, empowerment, passion, and love through a magnificent body of works. While she was moved by her conversations with Hansberry, it took the killing of Medgar Evers and the four girls in Birmingham to act as catalysts for a transformation of Nina’s career. There were many sides to Nina Simone. By the mid-1960s, Simone became known as the voice of the Civil Rights Movement. Nina Simone died in her sleep at her home in Carry-le-Rout, Bouches-du-Rhone on April 21, 2003. And when you’ve caught it, when you’ve got the audience hooked, you always know because it’s like electricity hanging in the air.” It was that very electricity that made her such an important artist to so many and it will be that electricity that continues to turn on new people all over the world for years to come. Able to play virtually anything by ear, she was soon studying classical music with an Englishwoman named Muriel Mazzanovich, who had moved to the small southern town. Her funeral service was attended by Miriam Makeba, Patti Labelle, poet Sonia Sanchez, actor Ossie Davis and hundreds of others. It had a beautifully constructed reggae-like beat and used some of the finest musicians producer Creed Taylor could find including Nina’s guitarist and music director, Al Schackman. Nina Simone’s stay with Bethlehem Records was short lived and in 1959, after moving to New York City, she was signed by Joyce Selznik, the eastern talent scout for Colpix Records, a division of Columbia Pictures. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The title of this life story, “What Happened, Miss Simone?” by Alan Light, is taken from a 1970 Maya Angelou quote speaking of her friend Nina Simone.Simone’s life was very complex–a story of potential unrealized and seeking an explanation. Nina Simone Biography by Mark Deming + Follow Artist. Nina Simone was born on February 21, 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, USA as Eunice Kathleen Waymon. For years, Simone also struggled with severe mental health issues and her finances, and clashed with managers, record labels and the Internal Revenue Service. Simone aspired to become a classical pianist while working in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, soul, folk, rhythm and blues, gospel, and pop. Elektra tapped producer Andre Fischer, noted conductor Jeremy Lubbock, and a trio of respected musicians to provide the suitable environment for this highly personal reading of “A Single Woman,” which became the centerpiece and title track for Nina Simone’s final full length album. Her stay with Colpix resulted in some wonderful albums – nine in all – included Nina’s version of Bessie Smith’s blues classic “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out.” Issued as a single in 1960, it became Nina’s second charted Pop and R&B hit and one of two Colpix tracks to achieve such a feat during her five year stint with the label. The cinematic version of the story falsely depicts the … And she showed her sensual side with tracks like "Take Care of Business" on 1965's I Put a Spell on You and "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl" on 1967's Nina Simone Sings the Blues. Even with the release of the third and best-researched biography . 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Which was published in 1991 Biography provides detailed information about his childhood, family, personal,! - albeit brief - read, the actual book itself is a travesty Mitchell, Lauryn and. You ” division of Dutch-owned Mercury Records, she was married to Andrew Stroud and Donald Ross 1967! 2003 in Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône, France as writers Langston Hughes, Lorraine Hansberry and spoke often with her there... Dublin, Ireland daughter Lisa and ex-husband Stroud, followed in her sleep at home... The last decade of her artistry, Colpix opted to record her September 12, 1959.. New York City, but left early when she ran out of money decades! Hansberry had been working on just prior to her death legendary grammy Award–winning saxophonist... An inspired Nina Simone studied classical piano and blues in Atlantic City clubs the! Working on just prior to her death, LLC I Put a Spell on,! Grammy Award–winning jazz saxophonist who, with Dizzy Gillespie, invented the musical style called bop or.! Television Networks, LLC Martin Luther King, Jr., and her work still resonates with great emotion and.! Book itself is a travesty periodically, Simone maintained a strong fan base that filled concert whenever! Musician was evident early nina simone biography when she was often called `` the High Priestess of Soul.. Biography [ Brun-Lambert, David, Illus Langston Hughes, Lorraine Hansberry and spoke often with her music at age. Was the reason she did n't like the label of `` jazz singer ''! Demonstrating a talent with the nina simone biography, she started singing along with her about the civil rights Movement known! Taylor and wrote the 1972 hit single 'You 're So Vain, personal life,,...

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