Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Nina Simonewas an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist who worked in a broad range of musical styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJazz Singer
Date of Birth21 February 1933
CityTyron, NC
CountryUnited States of America
long joy remember
Music has been a burden and a joy for as long as I can remember.
music mean play
To most white people, jazz means black and jazz means dirt, and that's not what I play. I play black classical music.
love goal heartache
What is love but a prelude to sorrow...with heartache ahead for your goal.
crazy home thinking
Greed has driven the world crazy. And I think I'm lucky that I have a place over here that I can call home.
thinking people black
I think the rich are too rich and the poor are too poor. I don't think the black people are going to rise at all; I think most of them are going to die.
mother emotional missing
Every day has its emotional difficulties. I miss my mother whether I'm singing her music or not.
music song misunderstood
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," a song that was written for Simone, she confronted the band's lead singer, Eric Burdon. "So you're the honky," she said, "who stole my song and got a hit out of it?
pay intimate audience
I am particular about the seating of the audience - also about how much money they pay - but most of all where they are seated. If I am going to sing something intimate, who am I going to sing it to?
philadelphia racism black
I applied for a scholarship to Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. I knew I was good enough, but they turned me down. And it took me about six months to realize it was because I was black. I never really got over that jolt of racism at the time.
freedom years excellence
I had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about... Now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important.
sorry thinking black
I'm sorry that I did not become the world's first black classic pianist. I think I would have been happier.
african-american no-excuses young
There's no excuse for the young...
children breathing everyday
Everything that happened to me as a child involved music. It was part of everyday life, as automatic as breathing.
music rights people
I was always a politician from the day the civil rights people chose me as their protest singer.