Nina Simone
On the 24th of June, 1958, Nina Simone released her debut jazz album "Little Girl Blue".
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| Nina Simone (original name Eunice Waymon) February 21 1933, North Carolina, U.S. - April 21, 2003, Carry-le-Rouet, France) |
Listen to the track "Little Girl Blue" here (it starts with a tune you may recognise):
Nina Simone began playing the piano and organ as a girl. Her awareness of racism was acutely heightened at the age of 12, when she gave a piano recital in a library where even her own parents had to stand at the back, because they were black.
Simone was a student of classical music at the Julliard School of Music (New York City) and began performing as a pianist. Her vocal career began in 1954 in a nightclub, when the owner of the club threatened to fire her unless she sang too.
"I had travelled North to Philadelphia and a friend of mine told me of an engagement in Atlantic City. Well, he contacted the owner and successfully achieved that goal. The owner said he wanted a singer and of course I was a pianist. So he asked me, he said 'Can you sing, Nina?' And I said, well I know one, just one little song, and it goes like this: I love you Porgy..."
- Nina Simone
Her first album, "Little Girl Blue", featured her distinctive versions of jazz and cabaret standards, including "I Loves You, Porgy," which became a 1959 hit.
"I Loves You Porgy" by George and Ira Gershwin (from the opera Porgy and Bess), here:
In the 1960s Simone began to sing protest songs and became friends with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. She frequently performed at civil rights demonstrations. Her popularity continued to grow as she added folk and gospel selections to her repertoire. Saddened and angered by American racism, she left the U.S. in 1973 and lived in Barbados, Africa, and then Europe for the rest of her life.
Simone gained a reputation for throwing onstage tantrums, insulting inattentive audiences, and abruptly cancelling concerts. A 1980s Chanel television commercial that included her vocal "My Baby Just Cares for Me" helped introduce her to many new, younger listeners. A similar renaissance occurred in the 21st century when her recording of "Sinnerman" was remixed as an electronic dance track. Despite ill health, she continued to tour and perform and she maintained a devoted international following until her death in 2003.
Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, On This Day
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