Nina+Simone

==== I n a time where racism was prevalent, Nina Simone wrote songs not only for entertainment but to protest the inequalities faced by the African-American race. Nina Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21,1933 in Tyron, North Carolina.Her mother Mary Kate Waymon was a methodist minister and maid and her father, John Divine Waymon, was a handyman and barber. Eunice had four brothers and three sister and she was the sixth child. At a young age Eunice was a piano prodigy.It was through the monetary aid of a benefactor that Eunice was able to pay for her first piano lesson when she was six years old. It was perhaps at a young age Eunice's passion for civil rights was developed as she experienced racism firsthand at ten years old. While she was performing a piano recital at the town library,her parents were forced to give up their seats in the front row so that a couple of white audience members could be seated. IN 1950 Eunice left North Carolina to attend the [|Juliard School of Music in New York.] In 1954 Eunice took a job as a singer/pianist at the Midtown Bar and Grill in Atlantic City where she adopted the stage name Nina Simone, nina from a nickaname given by an old boyfriend and Simone from the French actress Simone Signoret.====

====In 1958, Nina recorded her first album titled "Jazz as played in an exclusive side street club" and sold over a million copies. In 1959 Nina signed with Colpix. While signed to Colpix Nina recorded ten albums and the hit song, [|"I loves you Porgy"]. This would be only her Top 40 hit in the U.S. IN 1964 NIna began a collaboration with the Phillips record label, in which she recorded nine albums, one of which included them famed song "I put a spell on you". In 1966 Nina was under the RCA record Label. It was under RCA that Nina would record nine of her top albums, including her version of a song by the Bee Gees that would get her a spot on the top ten songs on the British charts. It was throughout the 1960's that Nina Simone became involved in the civil rights movement by recording numerous songs of protest. After the Medgar Evers murder Nina wrote her first song of protest entitled "Mississippi Goddam", and 1969 she recorded the song "To be young gifted and black", a song that was later recorded by Aretha Franklin in 1972. Nina was a prevelant figure within not only the civil rights movement but the black power movement as well, for her some of her songs became the anthems for both of these movements. She used her musical talents not only to entertain but to illustrate the cruel injustices being placed upon the Afrfican American society.====

====In 1970, Nina flew to Barbados leaving behind her wedding rings as a proposal fro divorce from her husband Andy Stroud. Stroud had been her long time manager and solely controlled all of the funds she received. Following the divorce from her husband Andy, in 1971 Nina left the .S. fed up with racism. During this time she lived her life like a nomad living incountries such as Africa, Europe, an the Carribean. In 1978 when she returned she was arrested for tax evasion, for she witheld her taxes as a way to protest against the war in Vietnam. Taking a break from recording Nina chose to further pursue her education. She received a degree from the University of Massachusetts and Malcolm X University in Chicago. Nina took extreme pride in her degrees and preferred to be called Dr. Nina Simone. In 1992 Nina published her autobiography entitled, "I put a spell on you". Ensuing her autobiography, NIna recorded her last album entitled, "A single woman".====



====In 1993 Simone retired and decided to live in the south of France near [|Aix-en-Provence]. It was the age of 70 in 2003 in which Nina passed away quietly in her home after battling breast cancer for several years. As she wished, her ashes were spread across a number of African continents.She was known as the "High Priestess of Soul", but her music was far more than just soul music. Her music was not only played on the radio but was also featured in movies and commercials. Nina undoubtedly broke music barriers, for she was virtually unclassifiable. She took the art of piano playing and singing to new heights while simultaneously acting as a voice for the African American population as her songs served as inspirational anthems and lyrics of truth during the civil rights movement and the black power era. Her work and talents did definitely did not go unnoticed. In 1966 she was the first woman to receive the Jazz Cultural award, and in 1967 the National Association of Television and radio Announcers named her the female jazz singer of the year. Despite her passing her unprecedented voice and piano talent can still be heard inspiring musician to this day.====

Albums
 * 1959 Little Girl Blue
 * 1959 Nina Simone And Her Friends
 * 1959 The Amazing Nina Simone
 * 1959 Nina Simone At The Town Hall
 * 1960 Nina Simone At Newport
 * 1961 Forbidden Fruit
 * 1961 Nina Simone At The Village Gate
 * 1962 Nina Simone Sings Ellington
 * 1963 Nina's Choice
 * 1963 Nina Simone At Carnegie Hall
 * 1964 Folksy Nina
 * 1964 Nina Simone In Concert
 * 1964 Broadway ... Blues ... Ballads
 * 1965 I Put A Spell On You
 * 1965 Tell Me More
 * 1965 Pastel Blues
 * 1966 Let It All Out
 * 1966 Wild Is The Wind
 * 1966 Nina With Strings
 * 1966 This Is
 * 1967 Nina Simone Sings The Blues
 * 1967 High Priestess Of Soul
 * 1967 Sweet 'N' Swinging
 * 1967 Silk And Soul
 * 1968 'Nuff Said
 * 1969 And Piano!
 * 1969 To Love Somebody
 * 1970 Black Gold
 * 1971 Here Comes The Sun
 * 1971 Heart And Soul
 * 1972 Emergency Ward
 * 1972 It Is Finished
 * 1974 Gifted And Black
 * 1977 I Loves You Porgy
 * 1978 Baltimore
 * 1980 Cry Before I Go
 * 1982 Nina Simone
 * 1982 Fodder On My Wings
 * 1987 Live At Vine Street
 * 1988 Live At Ronnie Scott's
 * 1989 Nina's Back
 * 1990 Live
 * 1992 In Concert
 * 1993 A Single Woman
 * 1996 The Great Show Of Nina Simone: Live In Paris
 * Compilations
 * 1966 The Best Of Nina Simone
 * 1975 Fine And Mellow
 * 1982 The Artistry of Nina Simone
 * 1983 Music For the Millions
 * 1984 My Baby Just Cares For Me
 * 1987 Lady Midnight
 * 1989 The Nina Simone Story
 * 1993 16 Greatest Hits
 * 1993 A Single Woman
 * 1997 Anthology: The Colpix Years

works cited

"Bioraphy." __The Nina Simone Web__. 19 Feb 2009 .  "Nina Simone Biography (1933-2003)." __bio. true story__. 19 Feb 2009 .  "Nina Simone Biography ." __last.fm__. 19 Feb 2009 .