Nina Simone
Nina Simone (Eunice Kathleen Waymon) was born on February 21st, 1933. Nina passed away April 21st, 2003 at 70 years old. Nina Simone was born in Tryon, North Carolina, USA.
Nina Simone was best known as a songwriter, singer, civil rights activist, arranger, and composer from the United States. She developed a reputation for singing songs of protest love and black empowerment with a rough-edged voice, dramatic style, and urgent emotional intensity.
Growing up, Simone developed some incredible abilities in the organ and piano. Unfortunately, she had to deal with racism at 12 years old, as she went to the library for a piano recital and her parents were made to stand at the back of the room due to their skin color.
Nina would then study music before she started working as a performing pianist. Things began to take off in 1954 when she was forced to sing at the club where she worked as a pianist or else be fired. This was what made her realize how good she was and by 1959 she had released
I Loves You, Porgy, her first album that had distinct cabaret and jazz standards.
During the 1960s, she began dabbling in protest songs given that she had by then made friends with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., who invited her to perform at civil rights demonstrations. Her very popular song
Mississippi Goddam was produced during this period.
During the mid-sixties, she added gospel and folk selections to her repertoire and this made her even more popular. Simone would introduce herself to younger new listeners with
My Baby Just Cares for Me, which was part of a
Chanel commercial in the 1980s.
Frustrated with racism in the United States, she moved away in 1973 and lived in Europe, Africa, and Barbados for much of her later life. Even though she suffered from ill health in the latter part of her life, she continued to perform and tour until she passed on in 2003.
I Put a Spell on You is a book that tells of Nina’s childhood in a small town in North Carolina during the Depression era.
She was lucky to find favor with caring neighbors and a visionary music teacher who ensured she got lessons to become a classical pianist. After completing her studies at Juilliard, she became an entertainer and singer in a nightclub who skillfully improvised classical songs which made her a star.
It then follows her path through her participation in the civil rights movement where she made her name as a protest singer. She would then become increasingly disillusioned and then went on self-imposed exile.
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Nina Simone: F.A.Q
When was Nina Simone Born?
Nina Simone was born on February 21st, 1933.
When did Nina Simone die?
Nina Simone died on April 21st, 2003 at 70 years old.
Where was Nina Simone Born?
Nina Simone was born in Tryon, North Carolina, USA.
What was the first book Nina Simone wrote?
The first book written by Nina Simone was I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone, published in 1991.
What was the most recent book Nina Simone wrote?
Her most recently released work was I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone on January 1st, 1991.
How many books has Nina Simone written?
Nina Simone has written 1 book. All of her books are Non-Fiction Books.