Nina Simone

settle down drama queen

R1 You bitch!

R2 kiss my cold ass!

R2 It's Miss Dunaway.

I never liked Nina. Her voice was harsh and I read that she could be difficult and downright rude to people.

R3 Plop that flabby moon in front of me and I will!

Her documentary was truly heartbreaking. This song plays during the end credits.

Her life was tortured but ultimately triumphant and transcendent.

I found her a bit late, but she's likely my most played Pandora station. She's one of those artists who you really have to introduce to younger friends because they likely will not know.

I always loved her version of 'Wild Is The Wind'

For sentimental reasons, this is my favorite song of hers. My roommate in college had this album, and I was wowed by how naturally she "acts" it.

And it's cool that she slips in a line from [italic]The Streets of Loredo[/italic] in an offhand way.

The best singer in the world.

^^ sorry .... LARADO

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind - it's in her song and she's right about that one.

A battered wife.

An alcoholic.

An extreme activist.

An abusive mother.

A genius pianist and singer.

A LEGEND.

I've been enjoying the material from her first album for the last year or so. It's pretty timeless.

[quote]r15 A battered wife. An alcoholic. An extreme activist. An abusive mother. A genius pianist and singer. A LEGEND.

Kerry Washington [italic]is[/italic] NINA.

Only on Lifetime.

One thing that pisses me off is her being “diagnosed” bipolar. She clearly suffered from severe PTSD brought on by her husband/manager beating the fuck out of her and threatening to murder her, and the civil/racial unrest of the times.

Why is it any better to diagnose her in her absence with PTSD than bi-polar?

R19 Seriously?

It renews my faith in humanity.

written 55 years ago and still as timely as this week's headlines

"Alabama's gotten me so upset

Tennessee made me lose my rest

And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam"

I was really moved by Beyonce's inclusion of Nina's words and music in "Homecoming." I hope she is found by the younger generation. She was not of her time -- too prescient, too angry, too forthright and too "woke." She would probably not be popular today either given that we grade artists based on visual appeal.

And thank you, r22. "Mississippi Goddam" could have been written about 2019.

saw her live in concert in Atlanta, c. 1966

the gurl was fierce

Vegas Fallout brought me here.

Why? It's NYC, not Backwoods, Georgia.

Isn't Rocketman out in the UK today?

Yes, seriously. Is PTSD more acceptable to you than Bi-polar?

Man I was born too late. The music of my generation sucks.

Nina was not of her time? You.mustn't know a lot about the 1960s. Was Eartha Kitt not of her time either?

I was disappointed by the casting choice of Zoe Saldana to play her in a movie. She looks nothing like Nina Simone.

I know this is blasphemy, but I never really cared for Niina Simone's music.

I promise you I am not a philistine. I have a massive collection of female jazz and blues singers: Ella, Sarah, Etta James, Dinah Washington, Natalie Cole, Nancy Wilson, Randy Crawford, Gloria Lynne, Dianne Reeves, Oleta Adams, etc. With Nina Simone I just didn't care for her sound.

Linda Ronstadt's version is much better.

People like R31 were mad that Zoe Saldana dared to date white guy - 'she isn't colored enough to play a black person'.

Jesus R34.

Nina Simone was such a unique singer. They place her albums in jazz but she wasn't just jazz. It's hard to categorize her music because well, she could sing and play anything. The Bee Gees, Hall and Oates, the Beatles, you name it.

[quote]r32 I know this is blasphemy, but I never really cared for Niina Simone's music.

The Collective Wisdom of DL:

[quote] Linda Ronstadt's version is much better.

Yes, I love Linda's version of "Mississippi Goddam."

lol at r37 -- she only got what she deserved.

Thanks OP. I'm new to her, and I liked the song.

Oh God. If you're new to her try some of her better stuff. What OP posted is OK but not really representative of what her true sound was. She was like an early Sade with some rough edges.

Though not one of her better known songs this is, in my opinion, her best.

this will put you in a mood for a mint julep.

and of course her signature song.

Using her music in ads gave her a mainstream resurgance.

She was bitter so much money was made off this first album, for which I guess she had a crappy contract that got her rights for a modest, flat fee.

another favorite

Baltimore

There Is A Balm in Gilead

"Balm in Gilead" is one of my favorites. I have a lot of her albums, but I keep coming back to Baltimore and a 2-CD set entitled The Essential Nina Simone.

The first song I heard by her was "A Little Sugar in My Bowl," when it was used as the theme song for a 1997 ABC dramedy about a Catholic priest, Nothing Sacred. Eventually, I bought a lot more of her CDs.

I didn't know who she was until I saw the movie Point of No Return. I've been hooked since.

I have 14 hours worth of Nina Simone CDs on my computer.

"Young, Gifted, and Black"

"Mississippi Goddam"

Agree with R49 that Baltimore is some of her best work. Pretty sombre stuff on that album. Truly, music to open up a vein to.

"Strange Fruit"

"The Family"

This is my favorite of hers.

"Break Down and Let It All Out"

Love Simone, but 'Strange Fruit" will always be Billie's song

Feeling Good is my favorite. Love Nina.

Please keep this thread alive love Nina Simone hands down my favorite artist

Am I crazy for thinking Joan Armatrading is kind of her vocal successor?

Oh, I don’t like her. Very militant.

^^ But listen to that song - - there's a vocal similarity, in her early days.

Joan sucks ass. Not in a good way either.

I don’t care for the extremist black stuff.

[quote]r66 Joan sucks ass. Not in a good way either.

Watch it, bitch! Or I put a spell on you - -

[quote] Oh, I don’t like her. Very militant.

[quote] I don’t care for the extremist black stuff.

Give it a rest.

then get off this thread and go back to donnie and marie

SINNERMAN is the best song ever.

Better yet, there’s the magic of the “ignore” button.

OP's selection showcases her ability to be exuberant and rousing. It is one of my favorites. The studio recording of the same song is just OK.

R47

I never heard Baltimore before until listening to your posting. Wow so unique from her usual sound very modern sounding but with great instrumentation.

R18. No competence psychologist would “diagnose” someone from edited media, decades after their death.

Yes.

Leave that to US, the experts.

Irving Berlin wrote it.

Alice Faye introduced it in 1937 - the film was "On the Avenue"

Billie Holiday recorded it in 1954 - sadly outclassed on the recording by Lester Young.

It was my introduction to Nina Simone in 1966.

R32, don't feel like such a philistine. Her voice really is an acquired taste. But once you acquire it...man. So much soul and pain in her delivery. I didn't discover her until my 30s and her music just blew me away.

I had no idea who Nina Simone was until this promo for Six Feet Under, which is embarrassing to admit.

Love that r79.

slightly OT trivia: "strange fruit" was written by Abel Meeropol, who adopted the two sons orphaned when the Rosenbergs were executed. He also taught at Dewitt Clinton HS in NYC where one of his students was James Baldwin

R81

That’s very interesting never knew that

What happened when she toured with Bill Cosby? She had her first break during that tour. Did Cosby rape her?

Her version of Little Girl Blue was my first exposure to her. The song is already so melancholy, and the juxtaposition of Good King Wenceslas as the accompaniment just makes it even sadder.

R84 love it!

Her live performance of Mississippi Goddamn a few days after MLK's assassination in 68 was her best...The pain, sadness and anger are palpable... Love the ad libbed slight at Lerlene Wallace (wife of Mr. Segregation Now, Segregation Tomorrow, Segregation forever)...

For those of you who are not fond of her more political tunes, here's a folk song for you, which is where I was exposed to her in the first place.

I discovered her watching her in some British movie about drug addicts. The only thing I remember about the movie was a girl sitting on a toilet while the song Sugar In My Bowl was playing. I instantly loved her singing but don't remember anything about the movie except that scene because of the song. R71 Sinnerman was featured at the end of the movie The Thomas Crown Affair. The remake with Renee Russo.

"The Assasin"/"Point of No Return" with Bridget Fonda is not a British movie.

Thanks for reminding me!

No R90 It wasn't the point of no Return It was way before that movie came out. I think the movie I am remembering came out in the early '80s. It was a British movie and all the actors had British accents. I saw The Point of no Return and it featured Nina Simone all through the movie but the movie I am talking about only had that one song. I have been a fan of Nina Simone ever since.

Wasn’t Simone bisexual or gay? I’ve read that her husband believed that she was attracted to women, and couldn’t forgive her for it.

I finally saw the documentary "What Happened, Miss Simone?" I don't know why it took me so long to see it. Great film, and very depressing. She lived such a sad life.

Her music is so resonant today.

There's a gay somewhere who told a Nina Simone story on another gay site years ago that highly amused.

The gay's father bought front row Nina concert tickets for the white gay and his sister. They were both young teens. The gay adored Nina Simone.

Nina came out on stage and immediately pointed out the two whites in the front row. Hilarity ensued.

Gay, if you're here please tell this great story again.

I had the rare good luck to see her perform 2 times in Atlanta, in 1992 and in 2000. Both shows were fantastic, among the best concerts I ever saw.

By all accounts a racist bitch.

Astounding artist and black as a boot