Nina Simone

Real Name:
Eunice Kathleen Waymon
Profile:
American singer, songwriter, pianist.

Born: 21 February 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, USA.
Died: 21 April 2003 in Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône, France (aged 70).

Nina was giving piano recitals after playing at her local church at an early age. Her childhood piano lessons were funded by her mother's employer and a local fund set up by her music teacher, so impressed were they by her talent.

She moved to Philadelphia aged 17, teaching piano and playing to raise the money for her studies at New York's renowned Juilliard School Of Music. To fund her family she worked in a bar in Atlantic City where she was also required to sing and built up a devoted following.

She recorded Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy" which became a US Top 40 hit and transported her to a bigger stage, performing at Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival.

Her repertoire went on to embrace numerous Civil Rights anthems, a movement for which she was a passionate and prominent supporter. She left the US in the 1970s, moving first to Barbados, and some other places, including Africa and the Netherlands, before eventually settling in France where she died from cancer in 2003.

Nina's voice drew heavily on other music forms. It was infused with gospel, blues, soul, jazz, R&B, and folk. And it found a wider audience late in her life when "My Baby Just Cares For Me" became an unlikely UK chart hit when it featured in a TV ad campaign.

In fact her music stayed very popular with advertisers as her tracks have been used to promote a multitude of products on TV, including yoghurt ("Ain't Got No (I Got Life)"), Diet Coke ("I Put A Spell On You"), cars ("Sinnerman"), fabric conditioner ("Feeling Good"), and perfume ("Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"), et al.
Sites:
Aliases:
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Artist

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Albums

CP 407 The Amazing Nina Simone — Nina Simone Nina Simone The Amazing Nina Simone (Album) Colpix Records CP 407 US 1959 Sell This Version
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BCP-6028, BCP 6028 Little Girl Blue — Nina Simone Nina Simone Little Girl Blue (Album, Comp, Single) Bethlehem Records BCP-6028, BCP 6028 US 1959 Sell This Version
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CP 409 Nina Simone At Town Hall — Nina Simone Nina Simone Nina Simone At Town Hall (Album) Colpix Records CP 409 Canada 1959 Sell This Version
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SCP 412, CP 412 Nina At Newport — Nina Simone Nina Simone Nina At Newport (Album) Colpix Records SCP 412, CP 412 US 1960 Sell This Version
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CP 419 Forbidden Fruit — Nina Simone Nina Simone Forbidden Fruit (Album) Colpix Records CP 419 New Zealand 1961 Sell This Version
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CP 421 At The Village Gate — Nina Simone Nina Simone At The Village Gate (Album) Colpix Records CP 421 US 1962 Sell This Version
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SCP425, SCP 425 Nina Simone Sings Ellington — Nina Simone Nina Simone Nina Simone Sings Ellington (Album) Colpix Records SCP425, SCP 425 Canada 1962 Sell This Version
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CP 455 At Carnegie Hall — Nina Simone Nina Simone At Carnegie Hall (Album) Colpix Records CP 455 US 1963 Sell This Version
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CXS-242 Live — Nina Simone Nina Simone Live Coronet Records CXS-242 US 1964 Sell This Version
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CP-465, CP 465 Folksy Nina — Nina Simone Nina Simone Folksy Nina (Album) Colpix Records, Colpix Records CP-465, CP 465 US 1964 Sell This Version
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BL 7678 In Concert — Nina Simone Nina Simone In Concert (Album) Philips BL 7678 UK 1964 Sell This Version
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S 130, S-130 Starring Nina Simone With George Wallington — Nina Simone Nina Simone With George Wallington Nina Simone With George Wallington - Starring Nina Simone With George Wallington Spin-O-Rama S 130, S-130 US 1964 Sell This Version
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PHS 600-148 Broadway - Blues - Ballads — Nina Simone Nina Simone Broadway - Blues - Ballads (Album) Philips PHS 600-148 US 1964 Sell This Version
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PHS 600-202 Let It All Out — Nina Simone Nina Simone Let It All Out (Album) Philips PHS 600-202 US 1965 Sell This Version
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PHS 600-172 I Put A Spell On You — Nina Simone Nina Simone I Put A Spell On You (Album) Philips, Philips PHS 600-172 Canada 1965 Sell This Version
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PHM 200-187 Pastel Blues — Nina Simone Nina Simone Pastel Blues (Album) Philips PHM 200-187 US 1965 Sell This Version
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PCR-4-600-207 Wild Is The Wind — Nina Simone Nina Simone Wild Is The Wind (Album) Philips PCR-4-600-207 US 1966 Sell This Version
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CP - 496, CP 496 Nina Simone With Strings — Nina Simone Nina Simone Nina Simone With Strings (Album) Colpix Records CP - 496, CP 496 Australia 1966 Sell This Version
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740.506 Silk & Soul — Nina Simone Nina Simone Silk & Soul (Album) RCA Victor, RCA Victor 740.506 France 1967 Sell This Version
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SF 7883 Nina Simone Sings The Blues — Nina Simone Nina Simone Nina Simone Sings The Blues (Album) RCA Victor, RCA Victor SF 7883 UK 1967 Sell This Version
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SFX-7387 High Priestess Of Soul — Nina Simone Nina Simone High Priestess Of Soul (Album) Philips SFX-7387 Japan 1967 Sell This Version
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LSP-4065 'Nuff Said! — Nina Simone Nina Simone 'Nuff Said! (Album) RCA Victor LSP-4065 Canada 1968 Sell This Version
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LSP-4102 Nina Simone And Piano! — Nina Simone Nina Simone Nina Simone And Piano! (Album) RCA Victor LSP-4102 New Zealand 1969 Sell This Version
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DRS1-0082 To Love Somebody — Nina Simone Nina Simone To Love Somebody (Album) RCA Victor DRS1-0082 US 1969 Sell This Version
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LP-7705 Gifted & Black — Nina Simone Nina Simone Gifted & Black (Album) Canyon Records (3) LP-7705 US 1970 Sell This Version

Add Review

Vart

Vart

February 8, 2023
Wish I had the chance to see Nina Simone live!
themachinery

themachinery

September 23, 2022
Favourite all-time singer regardless style or genre. Her voice.., her interpretations... she simply shines above everything for eternity.
nodalpoints

nodalpoints

August 9, 2022
does anyone know if her song '22nd century' made it onto any vinyl?
See 1 reply
aiweiergou

aiweiergou

July 21, 2022
crazy musicican, Her music is so good, I cant believe my ears.
Talkinfun

Talkinfun

January 13, 2022
I'm willing to bet she sold off rights to her performances at random times when she needed money without thinking of the long term consequences. She only wrote a handful of songs; she is really one of the greatest interpreters of all time, but not really a songwriter so she never made any money from publishing. So who knows what kind of band contracts she signed for short term gain that gave people access to her recordings and her live shows. And there's probably a ton of bootleg stuff and no one in her corner to shut it down. There's a ton of compilations from live shows that she probably sold the right to or were bootlegged, diminishing her brand. .
johnwhitman11

johnwhitman11

March 20, 2021
can anyone explain why are there so many compilations rehashing the same songs on so many different labels? 2012-8 compilations, 2013 & 2014-9 compilations each. never seen anything like this.
See 3 replies
dimebucker

dimebucker

February 22, 2015
Can you get anything from: Live At Montreux 1976 ‎on vinyl??
See 7 replies
Douglas_Jones

Douglas_Jones

February 4, 2014
She's just point blank the greatest singer of all time, and a devil at the pianna. There are singers, there are Singers, and there are SINGERS. And none of them can touch her, Nina flies a trillion miles high above the rest. The one time i was privileged to hear her sing and play i was sitting behind Nick Cave....you shoulda seen the look on that boys face!
See 4 replies
Bourbonman

Bourbonman

December 16, 2013
edited over 9 years ago
There was truly no one like Nina Simone. Many of the finest artist that lived did not have a specific style labeled to them. Simone truly was one, although you could easily dismiss her as a jazz artist. To me, she however outgrew that trademark pretty quickly.
Like Elvis Presley, she wrote few songs of herself. But while Aretha Franklin for instance took Otis Redding´s R.e.s.p.e.c.t and pretty much made it her own, Nina on the other hand took way more of other tracks and did the same. Dambalah by Exuma for instance. The original is a very folksy and livid tune, Nina simply stripped it down to a dark hymn and created this intense message instead. Listening through her albums and then tracking down the originals and you will see, Nina took them and re-invented them. Many times i just prefer her versions. She simply marvelled at it.
She also released plenty of live material. Im pretty glad she did, because ultimately, she was better on stage than on studio. Often bringing plenty humour with her repertoire, sometimes acting crazy and hard to understand (She was rumoured to be Bi-Polar anyways). Check her first Montreux performance on You Tube for some of that.
She has been a huge inspiration to me despite her sad turmoils in life. But since the first track of Ellingtons´s "Mood Indigo" that kicks your teeth in, to her deep explorations into african slave hymns, and civil rights movement. She was a tour de force most the time.
Forever Nina Simone.
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