Nina Simone: Black is Beautiful

Legendary performer Nina Simone sang a mix of jazz, blues and folk music in the 1950s and '60s. A staunch Civil Rights activist, she was known for tunes like "Mississippi Goddam," "Young, Gifted and Black" and "Four Women."

Nina Simone studied classical piano at the Juilliard School in New York City, but left early when she ran out of money. 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." In the 1960s, Simone expanded her repertory in exemplary fashion while becoming identified as a leading voice of the civil rights movement. She later lived abroad and experienced major mental health and financial issues, though she enjoyed a career resurgence in the 1980s. Simone died in France on April 21, 2003.

Background and Early Life

Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina, Nina Simone took to music at an early age, learning to play piano at the age of 3 and singing in her church's choir. 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 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.

Turning away from classical music, she started playing American standards, jazz and blues in Atlantic City clubs in the 1950s. Before long, she started singing along with her music at the behest of a bar owner. 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. The performer eventually won over such fans as writers Langston Hughes, Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin.

Innovative Fusion of Styles

Simone began recording her music in the late 1950s under the Bethlehem label, releasing her first full album in 1957, which featured "Plain Gold Ring" and the title track, "Little Girl Blue." 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.

In many ways, Simone's music defied standard definitions. 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. She was often called the "High Priestess of Soul," but she hated that nickname. She didn't like the label of "jazz singer," either. "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.

Prominent Civil Rights Singer: "Mississippi Goddam" and "Four Women"

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.

Struggles and Career Renaissance

As the 1960s drew to a close, Simone tired of the American music scene and the country's deeply divided racial politics. 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. For years, Simone also struggled with severe mental health issues and her finances, and clashed with managers, record labels and the Internal Revenue Service.

Touring periodically, Simone maintained a strong fan base that filled concert halls whenever she performed. 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. 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." That same year, Simone attended South African leader Nelson Mandela's 80th birthday celebration.

Death and Legacy

In 1999, Simone performed at the Guinness Blues Festival in Dublin, Ireland. She was joined on stage by her daughter Lisa Simone Kelly for a few songs. Lisa, from Simone's second marriage to manager Andrew Stroud, followed in her mother's footsteps. Among an array of performance accomplishments, she has appeared on Broadway in Aida, using the stage name "Simone."

In her final years, reports indicated that Nina Simone was battling breast cancer. She died at the age of 70 on April 21, 2003, at her home in Carry-le-Rouet, France.