Arts & Culture

If you're interested in music (especially jazz and soul), you've likely heard of Nina Simone.

Matt Galloway recently did an Ask Me Anything on Reddit where he mentioned her. I was reminded how much I admired her singing, passion and how she intimidated me too. 

You may also be familiar with her striking portraits. Nina was fierce, she knew the value of striking a pose. Her style spoke volumes to those in the know. Leslie Jones, you having nothing on Nina when it comes to attitude. 

So, with deep admiration I share with you a bit about Nina Simone. If you like her singing (and her fantastic piano playing), why not take the time to read about her life and her battles against racism and for civil rights in the USA during the 1950s and 1960s (and beyond)?  Simone had a long and difficult life and only died in 2003. 

"Her most influential protest song of all, 'Mississippi Goddamn,' was written in response to both the murder of activist Medgar Evers in the driveway of his Jackson, Mississippi home on June 12, 1963, and the September 15, 1963, bombing at the African American 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which murdered four young girls."

Simone's own autobiography uses one of her most famous song titles "I Put a Spell on You". 

What Happened, Miss Simone?: A Biography: "Inspired by the critically acclaimed Netflix documentary 'What Happened, Miss Simone?', an intimate and vivid look at the legendary life of Nina Simone, the classically trained pianist who evolved into a chart-topping chanteuse and committed civil rights activist." This is available as a book, DVD and ebook.

Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone: This is a "complete account of the triumphs and difficulties of the brilliant and high-tempered Nina Simone. Her distinctive voice and music occupy a singular place in the canon of America song."

Nina Simone:  "Much of her fame derives from her association with the civil rights movement, for which she wrote such classic songs as 'Mississippi Goddam', 'Four Women' and 'Young, Gifted and Black'. The defiance and affirmation of such anthems was accompanied by an equal dedication to songs of melancholy, yearning and spiritual questing. Placing Simone and her music firmly within the socio-historical context of the 1960s…  Simone defied musical categories even as she fought against social ones. Connecting its analysis to a discussion of social categorization (with particular regard to race), it argues that Simone's defiance of stylistic boundaries can be seen as a political act. From here, the focus shifts to Simone's self-written protest material, connecting it to her increasing involvement in the struggle for civil rights."

Simone was part of the wider civil rights movement in the United States. From How it Feels to be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement: "The Civil Rights movement and popular culture are so closely intertwined in American memory that, even today, the soundtrack of counter-cultural opposition is what many still associate with the 1960s mainstream. What is less remembered today is how risky political activism was, on and off-stage, for black female entertainers who were simultaneously trying to gain mass popularity".

Black Performance on the Outskirts of the Left: A History of the Impossible: "This book illustrates the black political ideas that radicalized the artistic endeavors of musicians, playwrights, and actors beginning in the 1960s. These ideas paved the way for imaginative models for social transformation through performance."

Black Fire! New Spirits: Images of a Revolution: Radical Jazz in the USA 1960-75: "At the start of the 1960s, jazz entered a unique new period of revolution as African-American musicians redefined the art form in the context of the civil rights movement, afro-centric rhythm and thought and an ideology of black economic empowerment."

I got Thunder: Black Women Songwriters on their Craft: "In this often fascinating, nostalgic, and thoroughly moving collection of 20 interviews, author LaShonda Katrice Barnett offers a rare glimpse into the careers of the world's prominent black women performing singers and songwriters."

Charleston Syllabus: Readings on Race, Racism, and Racial Violence

I'm hoping I got your curiosity about Nina Simone with some of these YouTube clips and book suggestions. You can also see her live on DVD and watch how her image and performances changed.

And if you want to listen to Simone further, and who wouldn't, TPL has many of her CDs; her music is also available via our various streaming services.

Do you know about Naxos Jazz that is free to use if you have a library card and provides live streaming music to you?

You also have access to Simone's music via the library's Hoopla service.