Nina Simone, born as Eunice Kathleen Waymon was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and activist in the Civil Rights Movement who employed a broad range of musical styles –including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop.
From a young age, Simone was musically talented. She began playing piano at the age of three and after demonstrating a real talent with the instrument, she began performing at her local church. Able to play virtually anything by ear, she was soon studying classical music. It was from these humble roots that Eunice developed a lifelong love of Johann Sebastian Bach, Chopin, Brahms, Beethoven, and Schubert. After being denied admission to Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, she took a job as a photographer’s assistant, an accompanist, and began teaching music to local Philadelphia students to earn cash.
Waymon performed at the Midtown Bar & Grill on the Pacific Avenue in Atlantic City to fund her private music lessons. Despite being the sixth child of a preacher, Waymon enjoyed singing secular music and changed her name to Nina Simone to disguise herself from family members, after deciding to play "the devil's music" or "cocktail piano" at the nightclub. Word spread about this new singer and pianist who was transforming popular tunes of the day into a unique synthesis of jazz, blues, and classical music; she gained a small but loyal fanbase.
At the age of twenty-four, Nina came to the attention of the record industry. After submitting a demo of songs, she had recorded during a performance, she was signed to Bethlehem Records. Nina delved into the repertoire of her setlist from the club performances prior to choose the songs doe her debut set with Bethlehem Records.
Her stay with Bethlehem Records was short, and after moving to New York City, she signed with Colpix Records. As Nina’s reputation as an engaging live performer grew, it wasn’t long before she was asked to perform at the prestigious Newport Jazz Festival. Her stay with Colpix resulted in some wonderful albums – nine in all, all which contained tracks that highlighted Simone’s element of storytelling within her music. Nina’s Colpix recordings cemented her appeal to a nightclub-based U.S. audience. Once she moved on to Phillips [Records], Simone was ready to expand her following globally and to comment on her sensitive opinions of the Civil Rights Movement.
“Her first LP for the label, 1964’s In Concert, signaled Nina’s undaunting stand for freedom and justice for all, stamping her irrevocably as a pioneer and inspirational leader in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. 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. Such risks were seldom taken by artists during that time of such dramatic civil upheaval.”
This was not the first time that Simone stood up for her civil rights. When Simone was 12 years old, she refused to perform at her recital until her parents could move back to their original seats (near the front) that they were forced to move out of. And her admission denial to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia represented another slap in the face for social injustices. But it took the killing of Medgar Evers and the four girls in Birmingham to act as catalysts for a transformation of Nina’s activist career. From then on, a civil rights message was standard in Simone's recording repertoire, becoming a part of her live performances.
Simone's consciousness on the racial and social discourse was prompted by her friendship with black playwright Lorraine Hansberry. Nina Simone's social commentary was not limited to the Civil Rights Movement; "Four Women" exposed the Eurocentric beauty standards imposed on black women in America, as it explored the internalized dilemma of beauty that is experienced between four black women with skin-tones ranging from light to dark. Nina Simone explains in her autobiography "I Put a Spell on You," the purpose of the song was to inspire black women to define beauty and identity for themselves without the influence of societal impositions.
Her first hit song in America, her rendition of George Gershwin's "I Loves You, Porgy," peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. "My Baby Just Cares for Me" became her biggest success years after its original recording after it was featured in a 1986 Chanel No. 5 perfume commercial. She also had two songs that were featured in the Broadway Musical “Hair.”
Too many artists to name have been influenced by the legacy of Nina Simone, and many of her songs have been used in countless movies. Her impact on musical history is prominent and sometimes overlooked by the sheer excellence and unique modifications to her sound, but Ms. Nina Simone was one of the greatest jazz musicians to ever do it.
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