Portrait of the singer Nina Simone, October 1969. (Photo by Jack Robinson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
When speaking about some of the greatest names in music history, Nina Simone is up there on the list.
She was called “The High Priestess of Soul” — she also produced an album of the same name — because her low register, raspy voice commanded attention. Simone’s performances were moving; her lyrics and harmonies felt like a sermon.
She was born Eunice Waymon on 21 February 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, in the United States. Her parents were ministers and her journey in music traces back to her upbringing in the Methodist Church where she played piano.
She would later adopt her stage name Nina Simone to create a new identity for herself, one that wouldn’t trace back to her family because they did not approve of her career choice.
In her autobiography, I Put A Smile On You, published in 1991, Simone details her experiences of living through the civil rights movement and the importance of music.
“Anything human can be felt through music, which means that there is no limit to creating that can be done through music. You can take the same phrase from any song and cut it up in so many different ways; it’s infinite. It’s like God, you know?”
What made Simone’s music and career legendary was her versatile sound that ranged from jazz and the blues to gospel, R&B and pop and her songs that promoted the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s.
She died in her sleep on 21 April 2003 at the age of 70. Simone’s discography, which consists of more than 40 albums, is her legacy and tells the tale of the US’s turbulent history.
‘Mississippi Goddam’ (1963)
What started out as an ordinary Sunday service at a Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on 15 September 1963, ended in the shedding of innocent blood when a bomb exploded, killing four people.
The church had a predominately African American following and was a meeting place for civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr.
Only 14 years later would there be justice for the victims. Robert Chambliss, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, was found guilty of murder for his part in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and sentenced to life in prison.
It was on the bedrock of these events that inspired the song Mississippi Goddam. The uptempo electronic jazz tune released in 1964 demonstrates Simone’s great distress over the senseless brutality and persecution of black people.
‘Feeling Good’ (1965)
The song has become a symbol of emancipation. Simone recorded the track after human rights activist Malcolm X was assassinated on 21 February 1965 at Columbia University in New York but was only released in June of that year.
President Lyndon B Johnson would go on to sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in August, which outlawed discriminatory practices such as literacy tests that made it difficult for African Americans to vote.
Simone’s version of Feeling Good — by composers Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the 1964 musical The Roar of Greasepaint — The Smell of The Crowd — was on her I Put A Spell On You album. Her version was also used on the soundtrack of various movies, including Point of No Return, Repo Men, Last Holiday, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, and Cruella.
‘I Wish I knew How It Would Feel To Be Free’ (1967)
The song was composed and recorded by American jazz pianist Billy Taylor as I Wish I Knew, which featured on his 1963 album Right Here Right Now. Four years later Simone recorded it as I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free and included it on her Silk & Soul album put out in 1967.
The lyrics express a desire to experience equality, unity and emancipation. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was expanded in 1968 and is also known as the Fair Housing Act because it banned “discrimination concerning the sale, rental, or financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, and sex”.
‘Revolution’ (1968)
It’s 1969 in New York City and the watershed Harlem Cultural Festival is taking place to celebrate the youth, culture and black power while promoting black pride. Stevie Wonder, Riley King aka BB King and the group Gladys Knight & The Pips are among the leading acts.
Simone takes to the stage and performs Revolution, a jazz song that demonstrates her vocal abilities.
Written by Simone and composer Weldon Irvine, the song is about her thoughts about the US’s political landscape. Revolution is about racism, equality and emancipation, highlighting the struggles of black people in the 1960s.
‘Four Women’ (1989)
Still affected by the deaths of four young women in the 1963 Baptist Church bombing, Simone composed a song about the invisibility of African American women in society.
The Four Women are Aunt Sarah, Saffronia, Sweet Thing and Peaches — each representing a different stereotype of a black woman. For instance Aunt Sarah is described as an older, dark-skinned woman who is strong, while Saffronia’s tale is about the effects of rape and slavery. She’s mixed race. Her father is a rich, white slave master who took advantage of her mother one night.
Sweet Thing is the prostitute whose power lies in seduction. She has “hips that invite” and a “mouth like wine”.
Peaches is a child born to slave parents and is angry and resentful. Some believe Peaches is Simone
Each woman is described by factors beyond their control such as their hair, skin tone and upbringing. Simone’s lyrics illustrate that in a racist world, black women are reduced to their looks and valued based on background.