Nina Simone, stage name of Eunice Kathleen Waymon, (Tryon, North Carolina, 21 February 1933 - Carry-le-Rouet (France), april 21, 2003) was an African Americansinger-songwriter, pianist and civil rights activist. She is especially included the jazz musicians, but had itself a hate this term. In her work are also the influences of blues,rhythm-and-blues and soul to hear.
Content[]
Life Course[Edit][]
Youth[Edit][]
Simone was born as one of eight children. Like a number of other African-American artists, she was inspired by Marian Anderson and she began to sing in the local church, including her special talents were visible behind the piano . At the age of ten when she debuted at a piano concerto, which her parents had to sit in the front row were replaced by whites. This incident made sure Simone later became involved in the American Civil Rights Movement of Martin Luther King.
When she was seventeen, Simone moved to Philadelphia, where she gave piano lessons and other artists accompanied. Thanks to sponsors of benefactors, she could play the piano further learning on the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City. They could not, however, by a lack of funds as the first African American give a piano concert. She Later applied for a job at the Curtis Institute, where she was rejected, according to Simone because she was black, but more likely is that the free and impulsive spirit that Simone was not properly fit into the straitjacket of classical music and the Curtis Institute gave Simone the heartfelt advice to use her talents in blues and jazz. Simone is always remain her piano playing Bach and Chopin classic laced with patches which occurred most frequently. Simone said about itself "best of both worlds, if I feel it I need to play it".
First hits[Edit][]
Instead chose Simone for blues and jazz, after she started working in a night club in Atlantic City. In 1954 , she took the name "Nina Simone" to-"Nina" was the pet name of her boyfriend for her (Spanish for "girl") and "Simone" was referring to the French actress Simone Signoret. The audience noticed her for the first time in 1959 by her heartbreaking rendition of George Gershwin's "I Loves You, Porgy" (from the musical Porgy and Bess), which ultimately its only top-40 hit in the United States turned out to be. The hit was followed by "My Baby Just Cares for Me", which became a hit again in 1987 (including # 1 in Netherlands), because it was used in a TV campaign for Chanel No. 5perfume. Her biggest hit in Netherlands, "Ain't Got No, I Got Life", was re-released in 1998 , after it was used in an advertisement for Amev-insurance. The efforts of Simones husband and manager Andrew Stroud have ensured that they became a worldwide star.
Civil Rights[Edit][]
Simone In the 1960s was involved in the civil rights movement and she took some political songs, including "To be young, gifted and black" (later covered by Donny Hathawayand Aretha Franklin ), "Mississippi goddam" Backlash blues "," (a reaction to the murder of Medgar Evers and the bombing of a church in Birmingham (Alabama) in which four black children were killed), "I wish I knew how it feels to be free" and Kurt Weill's Bertolt Brechts "Pirate Jenny", this time located in a hotel in the South.
Highlights[Edit][]
In 1961 took Simone her version of the traditional song "The House of the Rising Sun", a song later recorded by Bob Dylan and became a hit in the version of The Animals. Other songs where they are known by is his "I put a spell on you" (original by Screamin' Jay Hawkins), "Here comes the sun" by The Beatles, "Four women", "I shall be released" (also by Dylan) and "Ain't got no-I got life". Simones versatility as an artist with her music, which she proved by its simplicity to the folk music did think. In a single concert she could easy passing of gospel-oriented music to blues and jazz. In the film "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968), with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, was the song "Sinnerman" by Simone and that made sure they became known to a wider audience. "Sinnerman" is also used as a sample for the song Get By by American rapper Talib Kweli. In the remake of this film from 1999, this time with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, sat the same song. Nina Simone performed for the first time in Netherlands on 25 december 1965 in the Mickery theater in Loenersloot. This concert is broadcast on television. The registration of this concert is more than 40 years been search but now recovered. This was followed by concerts in 1967, 1968, 1971 (along with Boy Edgar's Big Band). During this concert Simone sang the most pervasive and cutting by the soul version of Billie Holidays lurid "Strange Fruit" (about a lynch party in Alabama) they once sang. The television recording of this concert is to date still could not be retrieved in the archives. In 1978 and 1982 she performed at the North Sea Jazz festival and in 1988 she gave a series of eight concerts throughout the Netherlands. Simone has always had a good relationship with Netherlands, she felt good in the relaxed atmosphere and had many friends including Willie Labuschagne, Boy Michael Edgar, Juhasz (whose daughter Nina godchild was by Simone), Gerrit de Bruin. Even if there were no concerts in Netherlands in the years from 1965 to 1971, spending a total of Simone often in Netherlands. The separation of Simone with her husband and manager Andrew Stroud under its existence the Foundation washed away and they broke the ties with RCA, her record company since 1966. Typically, Simone stood out that her latest record with RCA "It is finished" as name. RCA understood Later why. Simone wanted to give concerts in this period actually no more but lack of money forced her anyway now and then Eventually she left for Africa on the stage. and stayed there for several years, without action. In 1976 by lack of money forced she came back to Europe. Simone found Claude Knobs of the Montreux Jazz festival prepared her to fit into the already crowded programme of its festival. Simone would do a 20-minute concert and also got paid for 20 minutes. The concert lasted over an hour. This concert is a dvd in the trade with the name "Nina Simone live at Montreux 1976"
Later life and death[Edit][]
In 1971 the United States left Simone after disagreement with managers, record companies and the tax authorities. They also gave the racism as reason to leave. She came back in 1978 and was arrested for tax evasion (they declined to specify a number of years taxable income as a protest against the Viet Nam war). She has lived in different countries, such as the Caribbean Islands, countries in Africa and Switzerland.From 1988 to 1992 lived Simone in Netherlands, first in Amsterdamand then in Nijmegen . Then she moved to France, where she lived until her death. Simone continued to occur until she was 68. In 1983 and 1984 she appeared regularly at Ronnie Scotts jazz club in London. From 1984 to 1988 Simone went through a deep valley, driven by her emotional impulsiveness was its almost impossible even to act and to lead a stable life, resulting in wrong choices, wrong managers and finally complete chaos, no longer know where and eventually she called her best friend in her emergency in Netherlands, Gerrit de Bruin. Together with Raymond Gonzalez who acted as manager has the Brown Simone for choosing asked: we will ensure that you will get a House concerts for your books, showing structure in your life but can that only if you cooperate. Do you work with it or you don't work with it? Simone picked up that chance and moved to Netherlands.
In The Netherlands, accompanied by Brown, came weather rust in her life and she picked up the thread of her performances followed until 2002 on. hundreds of concerts, she published her autobiography and was also her last cd "A Single Woman" released. In 1995 in Bouc Bel Air shot Simone on her guy next door with an air rifle as they were by his laughter couldn't focus. In the music world she had the reputation to be difficult and fickle. Simone itself tried to rectify this image of her although she always recognized to suffer from her impulsiveness and emotionality which makes them did things that they actually did not want to do.This emotionality/impulsivity was also one of the properties during her concerts, with which they coupled with her extraordinary piano playing and striking voice a room full of swinging and then again howling spectators had. In the twilight of her career she looked during performances often back on events in her career, including her sometimes special requirements. Simones Royal requirements and behavior on stage earned her the title "High Priestess of Soul" on Simone had to have nothing of that title themselves, I play "black classical music" and my name is Nina Simone. Simone died Easter Monday 2003 at her home in Carry-le-Rouet to the effects of breast cancer.
Discography[Edit][]
Albums[Edit][]
| Album (s) with any charts in the
the Dutch Album Top 100 |
Date of
appear |
Date of
entry |
Highest
position |
Number Of
weeks |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nuff Said | 1968 | ||||
| Nina Simone and Piano | 1969 | ||||
| To Love Somebody | 1969 | ||||
| Black Gold | 1970 | ||||
| Here Comes the Sun | 1971 | ||||
| Emergency-Ward | 1972 | ||||
| It Is Finished | 1974 | ||||
| Baltimore | 1978 | ||||
| The Rising Sun Collection | 1980 | ||||
| Fodder on My Wings | 1982 | ||||
| Backlash | 1984 | ||||
| Nina's Back | 1985 | ||||
| Live & Kickin | 1985 | ||||
| Let It Be Me | 1987 | ||||
| Live at Ronnie Scott's | 1987 | ||||
| The album | 1987 | 05-12-1987 | 10 | 11 | Compilation album |
| A Single Woman | 1993 | ||||
| I got life (And many more) | 1998 | 21-02-1998 | 16 | 11 | Compilation album |
Singles[Edit][]
| Single (s) with any charts in the
the Dutch Top 40 |
Date of
appear |
Date of
entry |
Highest
position |
Number Of
weeks |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I Put a Spell on You | 1957 | - | |||
| My baby just cares for me | 1958 | - | |||
| I Loves You Porgy | 1958 | - | |||
| Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood | 1964 | - | |||
| Sinnerman | 1964 | - | |||
| Feeling Good | 1965 | - | |||
| Ain't Got No-I Got Life | 1968 | 28-12-1968 | 1 (5wk) | 16 | |
| To love somebody | 1969 | 08-03-1969 | 10 | 7 | |
| Revolution | 1969 | 19-04-1969 | 18 | 5 | |
| To Be Young, Gifted and Black | 1970 | - | |||
| Mr. Bojangles | 1971 | 13-11-1971 | tip14 | - | |
| My baby just cares for me | 1987 | 05-12-1987 | 1 (1wk) | 9 | Reissue/Nr. 2 in the Single Top 100 |
| Ain't got no-I got life | 1998 | 31-01-1998 | 9 | 8 | Reissue/Nr. 11 in the Single Top 100 |
| Ain't got no-I got life | 2007 | 28-04-2007 | tip6 | - | with Groovefinder /No. 56 in the Single Top 100 |
Radio 2 Top 2000[Edit][]
| Number (s) with markings
in the Radio 2 Top 2000 |
' 99 | ' 00 | ' 01 | ' 02 | ' 03 | ' 04 | ' 05 | ' 06 | ' 07 | ' 08 | ' 09 | ' 10 | ' 11 | ' 12 | ' 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| My baby just cares for me | 908 | 1143 | 1440 | 1617 | 1282 | 1001 | 1072 | 838 | 1037 | 1000 | 1091 | 1027 | 1161 | 1054 | 1067 |
| Ain't got no-I got life | 745 | 687 | 926 | 988 | 782 | 702 | 660 | 613 | 661 | 651 | 720 | 569 | 573 | 294 | 461 |
| Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood | - | 1707 | - | - | 1882 | 1888 | - | 1624 | 1738 | 1850 | 1872 | 1797 | 1788 | 1453 | 1731 |