Nina Simone
Nina Simone |
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Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), also known by her stage name Nina Simone (/ˈniːnə sɨˈmoʊn/), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music. Simone aspired to become a classical pianist while working in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, soul, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop.
Born the sixth child of a preacher's family in North Carolina, Nina's prodigious musical talent encouraged her ambition to become the first black concert pianist, but the realities of poverty and racial prejudice forced her to reconsider.[1] Her musical path changed direction after she was turned down for full scholarship at a prestigious music institute - the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia. She began playing in a small club in Phildelphia to fund her continuing musical education to become a classical pianist, and was required to sing. She was approached for a recording by Bethlehem Records, and "I love you Porgy" became a smash hit in America in 1958.[2] Over her career, Simone recorded over 40 albums, mostly between 1958 — when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue — and 1974.
Her original style arose from a fusion of gospel and pop songs with classical music, in particular her first inspiration, classical composer Bach,[3] and accompanied with her expressive jazz-like singing in characteristic low tenor. She injected as much of her classical background into her music as possible to give it more depth and quality, and as she felt that pop music was inferior.[4] Also, her intuitive grasp on the audience/performer relationship was gained from a unique background of playing piano accompaniment for church revivals and sermons regularly from the early age of six years.[5]
After twenty years of performing, she became involved in the civil rights movement and the direction of her life shifted once more.[6] Simone's music was highly influential in the fight black people faced for equal rights at this time in America, regardless of race.[7] Her powerful music was a source of inspiration and enjoyment for her generation, and continues to be for those that follow.
Biography
Youth (1933–1954)
Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina. Sixth child of eight children in a poor family, she began playing piano at age three; the first song she learned was "God Be With You, Till We Meet Again". Demonstrating a talent with the instrument, she performed at her local church, but her concert debut, a classical recital, was given when she was twelve. Simone later claimed that during this performance her parents, who had taken seats in the front row, were forced to move to the back of the hall to make way for white people. Simone said she refused to play until her parents were moved back to the front,[8][9] the incident contributing to her later involvement in the civil rights movement.
Simone's mother, Mary Kate Waymon (who lived into her late 90s), was a housemaid and also a strict Methodist minister. Simone's father, John Divine Waymon, was a handyman who at one time owned a dry-cleaning business, but who also suffered bouts of ill health. Mary Kate's employer, hearing of Nina's talent, provided funds for piano lessons.[10] Subsequently, a local fund was set up to assist in Simone's continued education. With the assistance of this scholarship money she attended high school. Simone moved to New York City, where she studied at the Juilliard School of Music.
After finishing high school, she studied for an interview with the help of a private tutor to further study piano at the Curtis Institute, but she was rejected. Simone believed that this rejection was related directly to her being black.[11]
Early success (1954–1959)
To fund her private lessons Simone performed at the Midtown Bar & Grill on Pacific Avenue in Atlantic City, whose owner insisted that she sing as well as play the piano. In 1954 she adopted the stage name Nina Simone. "Nina" (from niña, meaning 'little girl' in Spanish) was a nickname a boyfriend had given to her, and "Simone" was taken from the French actress Simone Signoret, whom she had seen in the movie Casque d'or.[12] Simone's mixture at the bar of jazz, blues and classical music, earned her a small but loyal fan base.[13]
After playing in small clubs, in 1958 she recorded a rendition of George Gershwin's "I Loves You, Porgy" (from Porgy and Bess), which she learned from a Billie Holiday album and performed as a favor to a friend. It became her only Billboard top 40 success in the United States, and her debut album Little Girl Blue soon followed on Bethlehem Records. Simone missed out on more than $1 million in royalties (mainly because of the successful re-release of "My Baby Just Cares for Me" during the 1980s) and never benefited financially from the album, after selling its rights for $3,000.[14]
Becoming popular (1959–1964)
After the success of Little Girl Blue, Simone signed a contract with the larger company Colpix Records, followed by a string of studio and live albums. Colpix relinquished all creative control, including the choice of material that would be recorded, to her in exchange for her contracting with them. Simone, who at this point only performed popular music to make money to continue her classical music studies, was bold with her demand for control over her music because she was indifferent about having a recording contract. She would keep this attitude towards the record industry for most of her career.[15]
Simone married a New York police detective, Andrew Stroud, in 1961; Stroud later became her manager.[16]
Civil rights era (1964–1974)
During 1964, she changed record distributors, from the American Colpix to the Dutch Philips, which also meant a change in the contents of her recordings. Simone had always included songs in her repertoire that hinted about her African-American origins (such as "Brown Baby" and "Zungo" on Nina at the Village Gate during 1962). But on her debut album for Philips, Nina Simone In Concert (live recording, 1964), Simone for the first time openly addresses the racial inequality that was prevalent in the United States with the song "Mississippi Goddam". It was her response to the murder of Medgar Evers and the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four black children. The song was released as a single, being boycotted in certain southern states.[17][18] With "Old Jim Crow" on the same album she reacts to the Jim Crow Laws.
From then on, a civil rights message was standard in Simone's recording repertoire, where it had already become a part of her live performances. Simone performed and spoke at many civil rights meetings, such as at the Selma to Montgomery marches.[19] Simone advocated violent revolution during the civil rights period as opposed to Martin Luther King's non-violent approach,[20] and hoped that African Americans could, by armed combat, form a separate state (Simone was not, however, a racist, and wrote in her autobiography that her family and indeed herself regarded all races as equal.[21]) She covered Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" (on Pastel Blues (1965)), a song about the lynching of black men in the South, and sang the W. Cuney poem "Images" on Let It All Out (1966), about the absence of pride in the African-American woman. Simone wrote "Four Women", a song about four different stereotypes of African-American women.[17] and included the recording on her Wild Is the Wind album in 1966.
Simone moved from Philips to RCA Victor during 1967. She sang "Backlash Blues", written by her friend Langston Hughes on her first RCA album, Nina Simone Sings The Blues (1967). On Silk & Soul (1967) she recorded Billy Taylor's "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" and "Turning Point". The album Nuff Said (1968) contains live recordings from the Westbury Music Fair, April 7, 1968, three days after the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. She dedicated the whole performance to him and sang "Why? (The King Of Love Is Dead)", a song written by her bass player, Gene Taylor, directly after the news of King's death had reached them.[22]
Together with Weldon Irvine, Simone turned the late Lorraine Hansberry's unfinished play "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" into a civil rights song. Lorraine Hansberry had been a personal friend whom Simone credited with cultivating her social and political consciousness. She performed the song live on the album Black Gold (1970). A studio recording was released as a single, and the song has been covered by Aretha Franklin (on 1972s Young, Gifted and Black) and Donny Hathaway.[17][21]
Later life (1974–2003)
Simone left the United States in September 1970, flying to Barbados, expecting her husband and manager, Stroud, to communicate with her when she had to perform again. However, Stroud interpreted Simone's sudden disappearance (and the fact that she had left behind her wedding ring) as a cue for a divorce. As her manager, Stroud was also in charge of Simone's income. This meant that after their separation Simone did not have any knowledge about how her business was managed and her worth. Upon returning to the United States, she also learned that she was wanted for unpaid taxes, causing her to go back to Barbados again to evade the authorities and prosecution.[23] Simone stayed in Barbados for quite some time, and had a lengthy affair with the Prime Minister, Errol Barrow.[24][25] A close friend, singer Miriam Makeba, persuaded her to go to Liberia. After that she lived in Switzerland and the Netherlands, before settling in France during 1992.
She recorded her last album for RCA Records, It Is Finished, during 1974. Simone did not make another record until 1978, when she was persuaded to go into the studio by CTI Records owner Creed Taylor. The result was the album Baltimore, which, while not a commercial success, did get good reviews and marked a quiet artistic renaissance in Simone's recording output.[26] Her choice of material retained its eclecticism, ranging from spiritual songs to Hall & Oates' "Rich Girl". Four years later Simone recorded Fodder On My Wings on a French label. During the 1980s Simone performed regularly at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London where the album Live at Ronnie Scott's was recorded during 1984. Though her on-stage style could be somewhat haughty and aloof, in later years, Simone particularly seemed to enjoy engaging her audiences by recounting sometimes humorous anecdotes related to her career and music and soliciting requests. In 1987, the original 1958 recording of "My Baby Just Cares For Me" was used in an advert for Chanel No. 5 perfume in the UK. This led to a re-release which stormed to number 5 in the UK singles chart giving her a brief surge in popularity in the UK. Her autobiography, I Put a Spell on You, was published during 1992 and she recorded her last album, A Single Woman, in 1993.
In 1993, Simone settled near Aix-en-Provence in Southern France. She had been ill with breast cancer for several years before she died in her sleep at her home in Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône on April 21, 2003. Her funeral service was attended by singers Miriam Makeba and Patti Labelle, poet Sonia Sanchez, actor Ossie Davis and hundreds of others. Elton John sent a floral tribute with the message "You were the greatest and I love you".[27] Simone's ashes were scattered in several African countries. She left behind a daughter, Lisa Celeste, now an actress/singer who took on the stage name Simone and has appeared on Broadway in Aida.[28]
Musical style
Simone standards
Throughout her career, Simone gathered a collection of songs that would become standards in her repertoire (apart from the civil rights songs). These songs were self-written tunes, cover versions (usually with a new arrangement by Simone), or songs written especially for Simone. Her first hit song in America was a cover of George Gershwin's "I Loves You, Porgy" (1958). It peaked at number 18 in the pop singles chart and number 2 on the black singles chart.[29] During that same period Simone recorded "My Baby Just Cares for Me", which would become her biggest success years later in 1987, when it was featured in a Chanel no. 5 perfume commercial. A music video was then created by Aardman Studios.[30]
Well known songs from her Philips albums include "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" on Broadway-Blues-Ballads (1964), "I Put a Spell on You", "Ne Me Quitte Pas" (a Jacques Brel cover) and "Feeling Good" on I Put A Spell On You (1965), "Lilac Wine" and "Wild Is the Wind" on Wild is the Wind (1966).[31] Especially the songs "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Feeling Good" and "Sinnerman" (Pastel Blues, 1965) have great popularity today in terms of cover versions (most notably The Animals' version of the former song), sample usage and its use on various movie-, TV-series- and videogame soundtracks. "Sinnerman" in particular has been featured in the TV series Scrubs, on movies such as The Thomas Crown Affair, Miami Vice, and Inland Empire, and sampled by artists like Talib Kweli and Timbaland. The song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" was sampled by Devo Springsteen on "Misunderstood" from Common's 2007 album Finding Forever, and by little-known producers Rodnae and Mousa for the song "Don't Get It" on Lil Wayne's 2008 album Tha Carter III. The song "See-Line Woman" was sampled by Kanye West for "Bad News" on his 808s and Heartbreak album.
Simone's years at RCA-Victor spawned a number of singles and album songs that were popular, particularly in Europe. In 1968, it was "Ain't Got No, I Got Life", a medley from the musical Hair from the album 'Nuff Said! (1968) that became a surprise hit for Simone, reaching number 2 on the UK pop charts and introducing her to a younger audience.[32] In 2006, it returned to the UK Top 30 in a remixed version by Groovefinder. The following single, the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody" also reached the UK top 10 in 1969. "House of the Rising Sun" featured on Nina Simone Sings The Blues in 1967, but Simone had recorded the song earlier in 1961 (featuring on Nina At The Village Gate, 1962), predating versions by Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan.[33][34] It was later picked up by The Animals and became their signature hit.
Performing style
Simone's bearing and stage presence earned her the title "High Priestess of Soul".[citation needed] She was a piano player, singer and performer, "separately and simultaneously".[16] On stage, Simone moved from gospel to blues, jazz and folk, to numbers with European classical styling, and Bach-style counterpoint fugues. She incorporated monologues and dialogues with the audience into the program, and often used silence as a musical element.[35] Simone compared it to "mass hypnosis. I use it all the time"[21] Throughout most of her life and recording career she was accompanied by percussionist Leopoldo Fleming and guitarist and musical director Al Schackman.[36]
Simone had a reputation in the music industry for her volatility. In 1995, she shot and wounded her neighbor's son with a pneumatic pistol after his laughter disturbed her concentration.[37] She also fired a gun at a record company executive whom she accused of stealing royalties.[38] Simone took medication for her condition from the mid-1960s on.[39] All this was only known to a small group of intimates, and kept out of public view for many years, until the biography Break Down And Let It All Out written by Sylvia Hampton and David Nathan revealed this secret in 2004.
Legacy and influence
Music
Musicians who have cited her as important for their own musical upbringing are among others Van Morrison, Christina Aguilera, Elkie Brooks, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Kanye West, John Legend, Elizabeth Fraser, Cat Stevens, Peter Gabriel, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Mary J. Blige, Michael Gira, Angela McCluskey, Lauryn Hill, Patrice Babatunde, Alicia Keys, Ian MacKaye, Kerry Brothers, Jr. "Krucial", Amanda Palmer and Jeff Buckley.[17] [40] [41] [42] John Lennon cited Simone's version of "I Put a Spell on You" as a source of inspiration for the Beatles song "Michelle".[42] Musicians who have covered her work (or her specific renditions of songs) include Black Rock Coalition Orchestra, J.Viewz, Carola, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Marilyn Manson, Donny Hathaway, David Bowie, Elkie Brooks, Roberta Flack, Jeff Buckley, The Animals, Muse, Cat Power, Katie Melua, Timbaland, Feist, Shara Worden, Common, Lil Wayne, and Michael Bublé. Simone's music has featured in soundtracks of various motion pictures and video games, including but not limited to The Big Lebowski (1998), Point of No Return (AKA The Assassin, 1993) Notting Hill (1999), Any Given Sunday (1999), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), Six Feet Under (2001), The Dancer Upstairs (film) (2002), Before Sunset (2004), Cellular (2004), Inland Empire (2006), Sex and the City (2008), The World Unseen (2008), Revolutionary Road (2008), Watchmen (2009), and The Saboteur (2009). Her music is frequently used in remixes, commercials and TV series.
Film
The documentary Nina Simone: La Legende (The Legend) was made in the '90s by French filmmakers,[21] based on her autobiography I Put A Spell On You and featuring live footage from different periods of her career, interviews with friends and family, various interviews with Simone then living in the Netherlands, and on a trip to her birthplace. A portion of footage from The Legend was taken from an earlier 26-minute biographical documentary by Peter Rodis, released in 1969 and titled simply Nina.[43]
Her filmed 1976 performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival is available on video courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment, and is screened annually in New York City at an event called "The Rise and Fall of Nina Simone: Montreux, 1976," curated by Tom Blunt.[44]
Plans for a Nina Simone biographical film were released at the end of 2005 to be based on Simone's autobiography I Put A Spell On You (1992) and to focus on her relationship in later life with her assistant, Clifton Henderson, who died in 2006. TV writer Cynthia Mort (Will & Grace, Roseanne) is working on the script, and singer Mary J. Blige will play the lead role. The movie is scheduled for 2012.[45]
Her music was recently used in the S4C show, "Alys".
Honors
On Human Kindness Day 1974 in Washington, D.C., more than 10,000 people paid tribute to Simone.[46][47] Simone received two honorary degrees in music and humanities from the University of Massachusetts and Malcolm X College.[48] She preferred to be called "Dr. Nina Simone" after these honors were bestowed upon her.[49] Only two days before her death, Simone was awarded an honorary degree by the Curtis Institute, the school that had turned her down at the start of her career.[50]
Discography
Year | Album | Type | Label | Billboard |
---|---|---|---|---|
1958 | Little Girl Blue | Studio | Bethlehem Records | |
1959 | Nina Simone and Her Friends | Studio | ||
The Amazing Nina Simone | Studio | Colpix Records | ||
Nina Simone at Town Hall | Live and studio | |||
1960 | Nina Simone at Newport | Live | 23 (pop) | |
Forbidden Fruit | Studio | |||
1962 | Nina at the Village Gate | Live | ||
Nina Simone Sings Ellington | Live | |||
1963 | Nina's Choice | Compilation | ||
Nina Simone at Carnegie Hall | Live | |||
1964 | Folksy Nina | Live | ||
Nina Simone in Concert | Live | Philips Records | 102 (pop) | |
Broadway-Blues-Ballads | Studio | |||
1965 | I Put a Spell on You | Studio | 99 (pop) | |
Pastel Blues | Studio | 8 (black) | ||
1966 | Nina Simone with Strings | Studio (strings added) | Colpix | |
Let It All Out | Live and studio | Philips | 19 (black) | |
Wild Is the Wind | Studio | 12 (black) | ||
1967 | High Priestess of Soul | Studio | 29 (black) | |
Nina Simone Sings the Blues | Studio | RCA Records | 29 (black) | |
Silk & Soul | Studio | 24 (black) | ||
1968 | Nuff Said | Live and studio | 44 (black) | |
1969 | Nina Simone and Piano | Studio | ||
To Love Somebody | Studio | |||
1970 | Black Gold | Live | 29 (black) | |
1971 | Here Comes the Sun | Studio | 190 (pop) | |
1972 | Emergency Ward | Live and studio | ||
1974 | It Is Finished | Live | ||
1978 | Baltimore | Studio | CTI Records | 12 (jazz) |
1980 | The Rising Sun Collection | Live | Enja | |
1982 | Fodder on My Wings | Studio | Carrere | |
1984 | Backlash | Live | StarJazz | |
1985 | Nina's Back | Studio | VPI | |
1985 | Live & Kickin | Live | ||
1987 | Let It Be Me | Live | Verve | |
Live at Ronnie Scott's | Live | Hendring-Wadham | ||
The Nina Simone Collection | Compilation | Deja Vu | ||
1993 | A Single Woman | Studio | Elektra Records | 3 (top jazz) |
Additional releases | ||||
1969 | A Very Rare Evening | Live | PM Records (Japan) | |
1975 | The Great Show Live in Paris | Live | RCA? | |
1997 | Released | Compilation | RCA Victor Europe | |
2003 | Gold | Studio remastered | Universal/UCJ | |
Anthology | Compilation (from many labels) | RCA/BMG Heritage | ||
2004 | Nina Simone's Finest Hour | Compilation | Verve/Universal | |
2005 | The Soul of Nina Simone | Compilation + DVD | RCA DualDisc | |
Nina Simone Live at Montreux 1976 | DVD only | Eagle Eye Media | ||
2006 | The Very Best of Nina Simone | Compilation | Sony BMG | |
Remixed and Reimagined | Remix | Legacy/SBMG | 5 (contemp.jazz) | |
Songs to Sing: the Best of Nina Simone | Compilation/Live Compilation | Deluxe | ||
Forever Young, Gifted & Black: Songs of Freedom and Spirit | Remix | RCA | ||
2008 | To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story | Compilation | Sony Legacy | |
2009 | The Definitive Rarities Collection - 50 Classic Cuts | Compilation | Artwork Media | |
? | Nina Simone Live | DVD only: Studio 1961 & '62 | Kultur/Creative Arts Television |
References
- ^ Simone|Cleary|2003|p=1-62}
- ^ Simone|Cleary|2003|p=1-62}
- ^ Simone|Cleary|2003|p=23}
- ^ Simone|Cleary|2003|p=91}
- ^ Simone|Cleary|2003|p=17-19}
- ^ Simone|Cleary|2003|p=91}
- ^ Simone|Cleary|2003|p=95}
- ^ Simone & Cleary 2003, p. 26
- ^ Hampton 2004, p. 15
- ^ Simone & Cleary 2003, p. 21
- ^ Simone & Cleary 2003, pp. 41–43
- ^ Brun-Lambert 2006, p. 56
- ^ Simone & Cleary 2003, pp. 48–52
- ^ Simone & Cleary 2003, p. 60
- ^ Simone & Cleary 2003, p. 65
- ^ a b "L'hommage: Nina Simone Biography". Retrieved 2007-08-14.
- ^ a b c d Neal, Mark Anthony (2003-06-04). "Nina Simone: She Cast a Spell — and Made a Choice". Retrieved 2007-08-14.
- ^ Simone & Cleary 2003, pp. 90–91
- ^ "The Nina Simone Database: Timeline". 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ^ Simone & Cleary 2003
- ^ a b c d Lords, Frank (1992). Nina Simone, La Legende (documentary) (DVD). France, United Kingdom: Quantum Leap.
{{cite AV media}}
: External link in
(help)|title=
- ^ Simone & Cleary 2003, pp. 114–115
- ^ Simone & Cleary 2003, pp. 120–122
- ^ Simone & Cleary 2003, pp. 129–134
- ^ Brun-Lambert 2006, p. 231
- ^ Sunderland, Celeste (2005-07-01). "All about Jazz: review "Fodder on My Wings" & "Baltimore"". Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ "BBCnews: Funeral held for singer Simone". BBC News. 2003-04-25. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
- ^ Frank, Jonathan. "Talking Broadway Seattle: Aida". Retrieved 2007-08-14.
- ^ "Allmusic Guide: "I Love You Porgy" Billboard chart position". Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- ^ Boscarol, Mauro. "Nina Simone Web: My Baby Just Cares for Me". Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- ^ Hampton 2004, pp. 196–202
- ^ Hampton 2004, p. 47
- ^ Boscarol, Mauro. "Nina Simone Web: House of the Rising Sun". Archived from the original on November 13, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- ^ Hampton 2004, pp. 202–214
- ^ Nupie, Roger. "Dr. Nina Simone: Biography". Retrieved 2010-02-21. [dead link]
- ^ Simone & Cleary 2003, pp. 58–59
- ^ "BBC Obituary: Nina Simone". BBC News. 2003-04-21. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- ^ Sebastian, Tim (1999-03-25). "BBC Hard Talk: Putting Music First". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- ^ Hampton 2004, pp. 9–13
- ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (2005). "Mary J. Wants To Bring Nina Simone Back To Life". Retrieved 2007-08-14.
- ^ Fiore, Raymond. "Entertainment Weekly: Seven who influenced Alicia Keys' Life". Retrieved 2007-08-14.
- ^ a b "The Nina Simone Web: Influenced by Nina". Archived from the original on May 3, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
- ^ Peter Rodis documentary, "Nina"
- ^ Stein, Joshua David (24 March 2010). "Pressed for time: The Rise And Fall Of Nina Simone". New York Press.
- ^ Untitled Nina Simone Project at IMDB.com
- ^ Hampton 2004, p. 85
- ^ Kelly, John (2005-04-25). "Answer Man: Kindness Turned Brutality". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
- ^ Kolodzey, Jody. "Remembering Nina Simone". Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- ^ Hanson, Eric (2004). "A Diva's Spell" (PDF). Williams Alumni Review. Archived from the original (pdf) on September 10, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- ^ "The Nina Simone Foundation". Retrieved 2006-12-07.
Bibliography
- Brun-Lambert, David (2006) [2006]. Nina Simone, het tragische lot van een uitzonderlijke zangeres (in Dutch and translated from French original). Introduction by Lisa Celeste Stroud, afterword by Gerrit de Bruin. Zwolle: Sirene. ISBN 90-5831-425-1.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (help) - Hampton, Sylvia (2004) [2004]. Break Down and Let It All Out. David Nathan, introduction by Lisa Celeste Stroud. London: Sanctuary. ISBN 1-86074-552-0.
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(help) - Simone, Nina (2003) [1992]. I Put a Spell on You. introduction by Dave Marsh (2nd ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80525-1.
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External links
- Official website
- The Nina Simone Database – A comprehensive Nina Simone website
- Nina Simone – Legacy Recordings Page
- L'hommage: Nina Simone – Tribute and archival site
- Nina Simone at The Music Box – A collection of reviews
- Eunice Waymon-Nina Simone Memorial Project North Carolina-based scholarship, statue & music festival
- Nina Simone Biography at About.com
- Obituary from The Daily Telegraph
- Nina Simone at Find a Grave
- Nina Simone: The "Princess Noire" - audio report by NPR
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