Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on 21st February 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, USA, one of eight children. Like a number of other black singers in the U.S., she was inspired as a child by Marian Anderson, and began singing at her local church, also showing great talent as a pianist. Her public debut, a piano recital, was made at the age of ten. Her parents, who had taken seats in the front row, were forced to move to the back of the hall to make way for white audience members. This incident contributed to her later involvement in the civil rights movement.
Simone's mother, Mary Kate Waymon (who lived into her late nineties) was a strict Methodist minister; her father, John Divine Waymon, was a handyman and sometime barber who suffered bouts of ill-health. Mrs Waymon worked as a maid, and her employer, hearing of Nina's talent, provided funds for piano lessons for the little girl. Subsequently, a local fund was set up to assist in Eunice's continued education.
At seventeen, Simone moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she taught piano and accompanied singers. She was able to begin studying piano at New York City's prestigious Juilliard School of Music but lack of funds meant that she was unable to fulfill her dream of becoming America's first Black classical pianist. She later had an interview to study piano at the Curtis Institute, but was rejected. Simone believed this rejection, which fueled her hatred of racism, was because she was black.
Simone turned to blues and jazz after getting her start at the Midtown Bar & Grill on Pacific Avenue in Atlantic City, taking the name Nina Simone in 1954; "Nina" was her boyfriend's nickname for her, and "Simone" was after the French actress Simone Signoret. She first came to public notice in 1959 with her wrenching rendition of George Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy" (from Porgy and Bess), her only Top-Forty hit in the United States. This was soon followed by the single "My Baby Just Cares for Me" (this was also a hit in the 1980s in the United Kingdom when used for television advertisements for Chanel No 5 perfume).
Throughout the 1960s, Simone was involved in the civil rights movement and recorded a number of political songs, including "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" (later covered by Aretha Franklin and Donny Hathaway), "Backlash Blues", "Mississippi Goddam" (a response to the murder of Medgar Evers and the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama killing four black children), "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free", and Kurt Weill's "Pirate Jenny", from The Threepenny Opera, re-cast in a southern town.
In 1961, Simone recorded a version of the traditional song "House of the Rising Sun", which was then covered by folk-blues artist, Dave Van Ronk, and later recorded by Bob Dylan, where it was picked up by The Animals and became their signature hit. Other songs she is famous for include "I Put a Spell on You" (originally by Screamin' Jay Hawkins), The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun", "Four Women", Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released", the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody", and "Ain't Got No (I Got Life)". The latter, from the musical Hair, was her debut in the UK charts, reaching number two in 1968, and a remixed version of the recording by Groovefinder was a UK Top Thirty hit in 2006.
Broadway musicals also supplied several hits for Simone: "My Baby Just Cares for Me", "Love Me or Leave Me", "Feeling Good", and "Ne Me Quitte Pas". Also "You Can Have Him" on the LP Live at Town Hall recorded when she was twenty-six years old; at the end of this operatic performance, which displays her great skill as an actress as well as a musician, she whoops with joy. This single recording encapsulates her extraordinary power, wit, flexibility, sensuality and occasional menace.
In 1987 Nina experienced a resurgence in popularity when "My Baby Just Cares for Me", a track from her first Bethlehem Records album (1958) became a huge hit in the UK and elsewhere. Nina's versatility as an artist was evident in all her music, which often had a folk-music simplicity.
In a single concert, she moved easily from gospel-inspired tunes to blues and jazz and, in numbers like "For All We Know", to numbers infused with European classical stylings, and counterpoint fugues.
Throughout most of her career she was accompanied by percussionist Leopoldo Flemming and guitarist and musical director Al Shackman.
In 1971, Simone left the United States following disagreements with her agents, record labels, and the tax authorities, citing racism as the reason. She returned in 1978 and was arrested for tax evasion (she had withheld several years of income tax as a protest against the Vietnam War). She lived in various countries in the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe, continuing to perform into her 60s. In the 1980s, she performed regularly at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London. In 1995, Simone reportedly shot and wounded her neighbour's son with an air pistol after his laughing disturbed her concentration.
She had a reputation in the music industry for being volatile and sometimes difficult to deal with, a characterization with which Simone strenuously took issue.
Though her onstage style could be somewhat haughty and aloof, in later years, Simone particularly seemed to enjoy engaging her adoring audiences by recounting sometimes humorous anecdotes related to her career and music and soliciting requests. Simone's regal bearing and commanding stage presence earned her the title the "High Priestess of Soul."
In 1993, she settled near Aix-en-Provence in the south of France. She had been ill with cancer for several years before she died on 21st April 2003 in her sleep at her home in Carry-le-Rouet.
Simone was the recipient of a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2000 for her song "I Loves You Porgy." She has also received fifteen Grammy Award nominations. On Human Kindness Day 1974 in Washington, D.C., more than 10,000 people paid tribute to Simone. Simone received two honorary degrees in music and humanities, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Malcolm X College. She preferred to be called "Dr. Nina Simone" after these honors were bestowed upon her. Only two days before her death, Simone was awarded an honorary degree by the Curtis Institute, the music school that had refused to admit her as a student at the beginning of her career.
In 2002, the city of Nijmegen (The Netherlands) named a street after her, the Nina Simonestraat. Simone lived in Nijmegen between 1988 and 1990.
Simone was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
In 2010 a statue in her honor was erected in Trade Street, Tryon, North Carolina, her place of birth.
*Official site
Fine and Mellow
Nina Simone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My man he don't love me he treats me oh so mean
He's the meanest man that I've ever see
My baby wears high peg pants stripes are really yellow
Baby wears high peg pants stripes area really yellow
When he starts into love me he's so fine and mellow
Love will make you drink and gamble make you stay out all night long
Love will make you do things that you know is wrong
Do right baby if you stay home every day
I'll do right baby if you stay home every day
You're so mean and evil I know you're gonna drive me away
Why did he leave me why did he have to go
Why did he leave me why did he have to go
Went off and left me baby I loved him so
I'll be a good wife to you if it means anything to you
I'll stay home every night and I'll love you
And kiss you every night and one of these days
If you're good to me honey one of these day
If God is good to me I'll bring you a little burny
Come back to me baby try me one more time
Cos without your loving I swear I'm gonna lose my mind
In "Fine and Mellow," Nina Simone laments the mistreatment she receives from her lover, describing him as the "meanest man" she's ever seen, while also expressing a desire to be loved. She describes a contradiction in her feelings towards her lover, noting that when he is loving and sweet, she feels a sense of ease; however, when he is cruel, she suffers. Simone sings about the power of love to make individuals do things they know are not good for them, such as drinking and gambling, but also speaks of the desire to be faithful and good to one's partner. She begs her lover to return to her and won't lose her mind without his love, delivering the poignant line, "why did he leave me? Baby, I loved him so."
The lyrics of "Fine and Mellow" showcase Nina Simone's ability to create evocative and emotionally charged songs that reflect the complexities of love and relationships. The emotion in her voice heightens the tension and vulnerability of the lyrics, making the song a powerful lamentation of heartbreak and hope.
Line by Line Meaning
My man he don't love me he treats me oh so mean
My partner mistreats me despite the fact that I love them.
He's the meanest man that I've ever seen
I have never seen someone as cruel as him.
Baby wears high peg pants stripes are really yellow
My lover wears peculiar clothing including high-waisted pants and yellow stripes.
When he starts into love me he's so fine and mellow
However, when my lover shows affection for me, he's very gentle and pleasant.
Love will make you drink and gamble make you stay out all night long
Love can lead one to develop bad habits, spending all their time and money recklessly rather than being responsible.
Love will make you do things that you know is wrong
Passion can cause someone to act in a way contrary to their values.
I'll do right baby if you stay home every day
I am willing to be a faithful partner to my significant other if they stay home and don't cause trouble.
You're so mean and evil I know you're gonna drive me away
I am convinced that my cruel and wicked partner will ultimately force me to leave them.
Why did he leave me why did he have to go
I wonder why my lover abandoned me and walked away.
Went off and left me baby I loved him so
I loved him deeply, but he still abandoned me.
I'll be a good wife to you if it means anything to you
If it matters to my lover, I am willing to be a faithful and committed spouse.
I'll stay home every night and I'll love you
I will remain at home every night, committed to loving my partner.
And kiss you every night and one of these days
I will show affection to my significant other every evening, and hopefully, this will lead to a better relationship with them.
If God is good to me I'll bring you a little burny
If life goes well, I may be able to bring my partner a little child one day.
Come back to me baby try me one more time
I want my beloved to return to me and consider giving our relationship another shot.
Cos without your loving I swear I'm gonna lose my mind
Without your affection, I feel that I will lose my sanity in despair.
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BILLIE HOLIDAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@veroniqueconti3891
Let's swing ! I love this version of the song.
@tyroneaguillard2379
Breathtaking everything I hear it. Madam could turn a phrase, and a song.
@ianmorton4136
Fantastic
@arxsyn
she looked stunning in that white dress. I wish l had one like that! So classy.
@bluenote1969325
最高です！
@peter47ish
Thank you Judy,quite true on both accounts. Peter S.
@Ssekinah
♡♡♡
@bluenote1969325
最高です！