Nina Simone: biography, personal life, best songs

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Nina Simone is a singer whose voice to this day is a symbol of the "black" blues, named by fans "Lady Blues" and "Priestess of Soul". However, she is known not only for her vocal achievements. As a talented pianist and composer, she became a black civil rights activist (another nickname for Nina is "Martin Luther in a Skirt"). Biography of Nina Simone, her work, personal life and interesting facts - later in this article.

Early years

Eunice Kathleen Waymon, better known under the pseudonym Nina Simone, was born on February 21, 1933 in a small town in North Carolina (USA). Her father was a priest and her mother was a housewife. In addition to Eunice, there were five older children and two younger children in the family, besides, all the weather, and Mrs. Waymon could not even get a small part-time job. Despite the fact that the family lived extremely poorly, there was a piano in the house - on it the father of the family composed gospel songs forsermons.

Music interested Eunice almost from birth, and already at the age of three she tried her hand at the keys. The girl's hearing was unique. By the age of six, she already knew several piano compositions. At the same time, she began to sing in the church choir.

Here the girl's talent was noticed by a local music teacher. He invited Eunice's parents to give her lessons, but since they could not pay for the classes, he decided that after classes the girl would stay and accompany him in classes with other students. This suited everyone. When the training was over, Eunice continued to cooperate with the teacher, thus earning her first money. Below is a baby photo of Nina Simone.

The beginning of creativity

The first participation of the young talent in this concert took place through the efforts of the same music teacher. Eunice was 12 years old, she had a number that included two songs with independent accompaniment on the piano. The concert was for children, and the first places in the hall were booked for relatives of aspiring artists. But Eunice's black parents were asked to make room for white spectators who did not want to sit in the back rows.

When the girl went on stage and did not see her parents, she made a scandal by refusing to sing and play until her dad and mom returned to the front row seats. So, at the very first performance, the future singer showed her strong character, which became her calling card in her future career.

Thanks to his talent afterAfter graduating from high school, Eunice was able to enter the "Juilliard School" - a prestigious musical educational institution in New York. Studying during the day and performing in nightclubs at night, she first used the pseudonym "Simon" - in honor of Simone Signoret, whom she loved very much. A little later, the name "Nina" was added. And so, in 1953, Nina Simone was first announced on the stage of the club in Atlantic City.

By the end of the 50s, the singer had recorded as many as ten albums. They included songs from Duke Ellington and other jazz musicians, as well as classic blues ballads and compositions from Broadway musicals.

I Put a Spell On You

But real fame came to the singer only in 1965. Nina Simone's album I Put a Spell On You became the most successful in her discography, and overnight made her a world star. The title hit, after which the record was named, was the song by Jay Hawkins Scrimin, which seemed mediocre to contemporaries. The composition sparkled with new colors in the performance of the singer, turning into a real musical diamond. To this day, it is included in the repertoire of various artists and is considered one of the best songs of Nina Simone. A live video of I Put a Spell On You is below.

The album also included another great hit of the singer - the song Feeling Good from the Broadway musical "The roar of makeup - the smell of the crowd".

Active citizenship

At the same time, having gained universal recognition and a wide audiencelisteners, Nina Simone got the opportunity to talk about what worries her. She was personally acquainted with Martin Luther King and supported the struggle for the rights of blacks. She expressed his ideas in her songs.

One of Simone's most famous "social" works is the song Mississippi Goddam, for which she composed the words and music herself, inspired by the brutal murder of four black children and activist Medgar Evers.

In 1968, the singer recorded her version of the poignantly political song Ain't Got No from the musical "Hair", a cult for the hippie movement. Because of this, despite the indignation of fans, Nina Simone was often criticized in the press, calling her "capricious, capricious, who does not understand anything in politics."

Creativity of the second half of the 60s

Nina Simone's work after the release of the album I Put a Spell On You is interesting not only because of its acute social theme, but also because of the flourishing of poetic and composing talent. In addition to the aforementioned Mississippi Goddam, she is credited with the great compositions Blackbird (1965), Four Women (1966), Take Me to the Water (1967), I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl (1967) and many more.

Also during this period, the singer wrote many not very popular songs. But later they were performed by other musicians, and these melodies became their calling card. For example, the members of The Animals really liked the song The House of the Rising Sun performed by her - they decided to record their own version, and in theirperformed by the composition is a hit to this day.

70s

In early 1970, tired of press attacks and government criticism, Nina Simon publicly announced that she was disappointed with the callousness and venality of US show business. In the same year, she moved to the island of Barbados, and in 1971 she moved to France, where she lived for the rest of her life. Here, in almost absolute seclusion, the singer prepared and recorded material for seven solo albums. Five of them were released immediately after creation, between 1971 and 1978, and two more were released only in 1982 and 1985.

Last years of creativity

In 1987, Nina Simon released two more music albums, but they were no longer as successful as her previous work. A six-year period of calm set in - the singer not only did not create anything, but also appeared in public extremely rarely. Finally, in 1993, another music album called A Single Woman was released. It includes one original song Simone, and previously unperformed compositions by Rod McQueen, Mac Gordon and others.

In 2008, an extended version of this album was released, which added two author's songs recorded at the same time, and one composition each by Bob Dylan, Prince, Bob Marley, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The album A Single Woman was the last in Nina Simone's discography, but after it she again began to give concerts and even lifted the taboo on visiting America.

In 2001, 68-year-oldthe singer took the stage for the last time at Carnegie Hall in New York. This was the last public appearance in the life of the singer - she admitted that she would like to perform in France, but fate decreed otherwise. Although Simone was disappointed with American show business, her first and last public performances took place in the USA.

Private life

Nina Simone often talked about herself:

Yes, I am talented among vocalists. But what's the point if I'm unhappy among women?

There were several men in her life, but with none of them Nina managed to build a happy family. She first married in 1958. The husband of the newly minted singer was a certain Don Ross, the bartender of one of the nightclubs where she regularly performed. The marriage did not last even a year, and Simon preferred not to remember her first husband. The second time Nina Simon married in 1961. Her chosen one was Andrew Stroud, a private detective from Harlem. The singer and her second husband are pictured below.

Seeing what a treasure he got, Stroud left his detective work and retrained as a manager of a rising star. In an autobiographical book called "I Curse You," Nina Simone spoke in great detail about life in her second marriage. Her husband demanded from her constant work, performances and recordings, resorting to the help of stimulants and even assault. Perhaps Stroud really helped Nina achieve heights, but she herself did not consider the means toresorted to by her husband, justified. In 1962, the couple had a daughter, Lisa, who later became a Broadway actress.

In 1970, Stroud did not support Nina's desire to leave the United States, and on this basis the couple broke up. After moving to Barbados, the singer began a romantic relationship with local Prime Minister Errol Barrow. The reason for their breakup is still unknown. However, it is believed that it was because of Barrow that Nina Simone decided to leave the island, which she really liked.

Death

In the mid-90s, the singer was diagnosed with breast cancer. She did not dare to have an operation, and the disease progressed, negatively affecting another ailment - manic-depressive syndrome, established back in the 70s. After performing at Carnegie Hall in 2001, Nina Simone felt very weak - for a whole year and a half after that she practically did not get out of bed. On April 21, 2003, the 70-year-old singer passed away. She died in her sleep, in her French mansion. The body of Nina Simone was cremated and her ashes were scattered in several African countries, according to the will.