Nina Simon is a singer whose voice to this day is a symbol of the "black" blues, named by fans of "Lady Blues" and "Priestess of the soul." However, she is known not only for her vocal achievements. Being a talented pianist, composer, she became a fighter for the civil rights of blacks (another nickname of Nina is āMartin Luther in a skirtā). Biography of Nina Simon, her work, personal life and interesting facts - later in this article.
early years
Eunice Kathleen Waymon, better known by her pseudonym Nina Simon, was born February 21, 1933 in a small town in North Carolina (USA). Her father was a priest, and her mother was a housewife. In addition to Eunice, the family had five older children and two younger ones, besides all the weather, and even Mrs. Wamon could not get a little part-time job. Despite the fact that the family lived extremely poorly, there was a piano in the house - on it the father of the family composed gospels for sermons.
Eunis was interested in music almost from birth, and already at the age of three she herself tried her hand at the keys. The girlās hearing was unique. By the age of six, she already knew several piano compositions. At the same time, she began to sing in the church choir.
Here the girlās talent was noticed by a local music teacher. He invited Eunice's parents to give her lessons, but since they could not pay for the classes, he decided that after classes the girl would stay and accompany him in classes with other students. It suited everyone. When the training was completed, Eunice continued to work with the teacher, thus earning her first money. Below you can see a baby photo of Nina Simon.
The beginning of creativity
The first participation of the young talent in this concert was the efforts of the same music teacher. Eunice was 12 years old, she had a number that included two songs with independent accompaniment on the piano. The concert was children's, and the first seats in the hall were reserved for the relatives of novice artists. But Eunice's black parents were asked to make their seats for white spectators who did not want to sit in the back rows.
When the girl went on stage and did not see her parents, she made a scandal, refusing to sing and play, until her dad and mother returned to the front row seats. So, at the first performance, the future singer showed her strong character, which became her hallmark in her future career.
Thanks to her talent, after graduating from high school, Eunice was able to enter the Juilliard School, the prestigious music school in New York. In the daytime, studying, and speaking at nightclubs at night, she first used the pseudonym "Simon" - in honor of Simone Signoret, whom she loved very much. A little later, the name "Nina" was added. And so, in 1953, Nina Simon was first announced on the club scene in Atlantic City.
By the end of the 50s, the singer recorded as many as ten albums. They included songs by Duke Ellington and other jazz musicians, as well as classic blues ballads and compositions from Broadway musicals.
I Put a Spell On You
But the real glory came to the singer only in 1965. Nina Simon's album, I Put a Spell On You, became the most successful in her discography, and overnight made her a world star. The title hit, on which the disc was named, was the song of Sky Jay Hawkins, which seemed contemporaneous to contemporaries. The composition began to play with new colors performed by the singer, turning into a real musical diamond. To this day, she is included in the repertoire of various artists and is considered one of the best songs of Nina Simon. I Put a Spell On You live video is presented below.
Also included in the album is another great hit of the singer - the song Feeling Good from the Broadway musical "Roaring Make-up - the smell of the crowd."
Active citizenship
At the same time, gaining universal recognition and a wide audience of listeners, Nina Simon got the opportunity to talk about what worries her. She personally knew Martin Luther King and supported the struggle for the rights of blacks. She expressed his ideas in her songs.
One of Simonās most famous āsocialā works is the song Mississippi Goddam, the lyrics and music for which she composed herself, impressed by the brutal murder of four black children and activist Medgar Evers.
In 1968, the singer recorded her version of the acutely political song Ain't Got No from the musical "Hair", a cult for the hippie movement. Because of this, despite the indignation of fans, Nina Simon was often criticized in the press, calling her "capricious, wayward, not understanding anything in politics."
Creativity of the second half of the 60s
The work of Nina Simon after the release of I Put a Spell On You is interesting not only in the highly social subjects, but also in the heyday of poetic and composing talent. In addition to the aforementioned song Mississippi Goddam, her authorship noted the magnificent compositions Blackbird (1965), Four Women (1966), Take Me to the Water (1967), I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl (1967) and many others.
Also during this period, the singer wrote many not very popular songs. But later they were performed by other musicians, and these melodies became their hallmark. For example, the song The House of the Rising Sun in its performance really liked the members of the band The Animals - they decided to record their version, and in their performance the composition is a hit to this day.
70s
In early 1970, tired of press attacks and criticism of the government, Nina Simon publicly announced that she was disappointed with the soullessness and venality of the US show business. In the same year she moved to the island of Barbados, and in 1971 she moved to France, where she lived the rest of her life. Here, almost in absolute solitude, the singer prepared and recorded material for seven solo albums. Five of them were released immediately upon creation, in the period from 1971 to 1978, and two more were released only in 1982 and 1985.
The last years of creativity
In 1987, Nina Simon released two more music albums, but they were no longer as successful as her previous works. A six-year period of calm came - the singer not only did not create anything, but she appeared extremely rarely in public. Finally, in 1993, another music album called A Single Woman was released. It included one authorās song Simon, and previously unseen songs by Rod McQueen, Mac Gordon and others.
In 2008, an extended version of this album was released, where two original songs recorded at the same time were added, and one song by authorship of Bob Dylan, Prince, Bob Marley, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The album A Single Woman was the last in the discography of Nina Simon, but after it she again began to give concerts and even removed the taboo on visiting America.
In 2001, the 68-year-old singer last appeared on the Carnegie Hall stage in New York. This was the last public appearance in the life of the singer - she admitted that she would like to perform in France, but fate decreed otherwise. Although Simon was disappointed with American show business, her first and last public appearances took place in the USA.
Personal life
Nina Simon often spoke of herself:
Yes, I am talented among vocalists. But what's the point, if at the same time I am unhappy among women?
In her life there were several men, but with none of them Nina was unable to build a happy family. She first married in 1958. The husband of the newly minted singer was a certain Don Ross, the bartender of one of the nightclubs, where she regularly performed. The marriage could not stand a year, and Simon preferred not to remember her first husband. The second time Nina Simon got married in 1961. Her chosen one was Andrew Stroud, a private detective from Harlem. The singer and her second husband in the photo below.
Seeing what treasure he got, Stroud left the detective work and retrained as a manager of a rising star. In an autobiographical book entitled "I curse you," Nina Simon spoke in great detail about life in her second marriage. The husband demanded from her constant work, performances and recordings, resorting to the help of stimulants and even assault. Perhaps Stroud really helped Nina achieve heights, but she herself did not consider the means that her husband had resorted to as justified. In 1962, the couple had a daughter, Lisa, who later became an Broadway artist.
In 1970, Stroud did not support the desire of Nina to leave the United States, and on this basis the couple parted. After moving to Barbados, the singer began a romantic relationship with local Prime Minister Errol Barrow. The reason for their breakup is still unknown. However, it is believed that it was because of Barrow that Nina Simon decided to leave the island, which she really liked.
Death
In the mid-90s, the singer was diagnosed with breast cancer. She did not decide on the operation, and the disease progressed, adversely affecting another ailment - manic-depressive syndrome, established back in the 70s. After speaking at Carnegie Hall in 2001, Nina Simon felt very weak - for almost a year and a half after that, she practically did not get out of bed. On April 21, 2003, the 70-year-old singer died. She died in a dream in her French mansion. Nina Simon's body was cremated, and her ashes were scattered in several African countries, according to the will.