Nina Simone‘s story is one of extraordinary talent, fierce determination, and unwavering activism, set against the backdrop of America’s civil rights movement. Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina, she emerged from humble beginnings to become one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
I’m a real rebel with a cause.
Nina Simone
Early Years and Classical Dreams
The sixth of eight children born to Mary Kate Waymon, a Methodist minister, and John Divine Waymon, a handyman, young Eunice showed prodigious musical talent from the age of three. Her mother’s employer, noticing the child’s gift, funded her early piano lessons with Muriel Mazzanovich, an English woman who introduced her to the classical works of Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert.
Eunice’s childhood dream was to become the first Black female concert pianist in America. She practiced relentlessly, often six to eight hours a day. At age twelve, she gave her first piano recital at the local library that would leave a lasting mark on her consciousness. During this performance, her parents, who had been seated in the front row, were forced to move to the back of the room to make way for white attendees. This incident deeply affected young Eunice, igniting a lifelong awareness of racial inequality and injustice. She later recalled refusing to play until her parents were allowed to return to their original seats – an early sign of the fierce determination and resistance to discrimination that would characterize her adult life.
Did you know that the human voice is the only pure instrument? That it has notes no other instrument has? It’s like being between the keys of a piano. The notes are there, you can sing them, but they can’t be found on any instrument. That’s like me. I live in between this. I live in both worlds, the black and white world.
Nina Simone
The Birth of Nina Simone
After graduating as valedictorian of her high school class, she attended Juilliard School of Music in New York City, supported by a community fund. However, when money ran out and her application to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia was rejected – a devastating blow she attributed to racial discrimination – she began playing piano at a bar in Atlantic City to earn money for private lessons.
To keep her mother from discovering she was playing “the devil’s music” in bars, she adopted the stage name Nina Simone. “Nina” came from a boyfriend’s pet name for her, derived from “niña” (Spanish for “little girl”), and “Simone” was inspired by the French actress Simone Signoret.
The Unexpected Rise
What began as a temporary solution became the foundation of an extraordinary career. The owner of the Midtown Bar & Grill where she played insisted she sing as well as play piano. This requirement led to the development of her unique style – a fusion of classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop music. Her deep, rich voice and innovative arrangements soon attracted attention.
Her 1958 recording of I Loves You, Porgy became a Top 20 hit, launching her recording career. The success led to a contract with Colpix Records and performances at prestigious venues like the Newport Jazz Festival. Her repertoire expanded to include everything from traditional folk songs to Broadway show tunes, always transformed by her distinctive classical training and soulful delivery.
Personal Struggles and Relationships
Nina Simone’s personal life was marked by turbulence and intensity. Her first marriage to Don Ross in 1958 was brief and tumultuous. In 1961, she married Andrew Stroud, a former police detective who became her manager. While the partnership proved commercially successful, it was marked by domestic violence and emotional abuse. Stroud managed her career with an iron fist, booking her for exhausting schedules of performances that often left her drained.
Her relationship with her only child, Lisa (born in 1962), was complex. While Nina loved her daughter deeply, her demanding career and struggles with mental health sometimes strained their bond. In later years, they reconciled, with Lisa following in her mother’s musical footsteps.
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.
Nina Simone
The Activist Artist
The 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four young Black girls, marked a turning point in Simone’s artistry. She wrote Mississippi Goddam in less than an hour after hearing the news, creating what would become one of the most powerful protest songs of the civil rights movement.
Her activism wasn’t limited to her music. She performed at civil rights meetings and supported the movement financially. Songs like Young, Gifted and Black, Four Women, and Why? (The King of Love is Dead) – written after Martin Luther King Jr.‘s assassination – became anthems of the era. Her unapologetic advocacy for Black rights and self-determination sometimes cost her commercially, but she remained steadfast in her commitment.
I’ll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. I mean really, no fear!
Nina Simone
Mental Health and Later Years
Throughout her life, Nina Simone struggled with mental health issues, later diagnosed as bipolar disorder with schizophrenic episodes. These challenges, combined with the trauma of an abusive marriage and the intense pressure of her career, contributed to her reputation for being difficult and unpredictable.
After leaving the United States in 1970, she lived in various countries, including Barbados, Liberia, Switzerland, and finally France. These years were marked by financial difficulties, tax issues, and periods of both professional triumph and personal struggle. Despite these challenges, she continued performing and recording, though less frequently.
I have to be composed; I have to be poised. I have to remember what my first piano teacher told me: ‘You do not touch that piano until you are ready and until they are ready to listen to you.’
Nina Simone
Musical Legacy
Nina Simone’s musical genius lay in her ability to transform any song she touched. Her classical training informed her unique piano style, while her voice – with its rich contralto and emotional depth – could convey everything from rage to tenderness. She refused to be confined by genre, moving effortlessly between classical, jazz, blues, folk, and pop music.
Her interpretations of songs like Strange Fruit, Sinnerman, and I Put a Spell on You became definitive versions. Her original compositions, particularly her civil rights songs, demonstrated her skill as a songwriter and her courage in addressing social issues through music.
Final Years and Recognition
Nina Simone spent her final years in Carry-le-Rouet, France, where she continued to perform occasionally while battling breast cancer. She died on April 21, 2003, after years of declining health. In death, she received much of the recognition that eluded her in life. She was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, and her influence continues to resonate through generations of artists.
10 Lesser-Known Facts About Nina Simone
- As a child piano prodigy, she played Bach at church revival meetings, but her mother insisted she keep her hands still while playing hymns, considering body movement while playing religious music inappropriate.
- During her time at Juilliard, she worked as an accompanist for vocal students, which helped develop her understanding of the relationship between voice and piano.
- She once held an audience member at gunpoint for talking during her performance, demanding they listen to the music properly.
- Nina Simone learned to speak and write French fluently during her later years in France, often conducting interviews in French.
- She had a close friendship with playwright Lorraine Hansberry, who inspired her civil rights activism and after whom she named her daughter Lisa Celeste Stroud (Lisa’s middle name was chosen in memory of Hansberry).
- Before her death, she was working on a second autobiography that remained unfinished, focusing on her years in Africa and Europe.
- She studied with Vladimir Sokoloff, a renowned classical pianist, in Philadelphia while working as a photographer’s assistant to pay for lessons.
- In the early 1980s, she was offered a contract by Motown Records, which she turned down because she felt the label wouldn’t give her enough creative control.
- She had a special connection to the Netherlands, where she experienced some of her most successful late-career performances and recorded her last album, A Single Woman (1993).
- During her time in Liberia, she worked briefly as a local radio DJ, playing African music and jazz, and even considered opening a music school there.
Nina Simone was an artist who refused to compromise her principles, who fought for civil rights through her art, and who maintained her artistic integrity despite personal struggles. Her story continues to inspire new generations of artists and activists, proving that music can be both a powerful form of personal expression and a force for social change.
