Nina Simone was one of the unique artists of the twentieth century. She was a representation of American Music and in specific jazz music. Simone used her talent and left a legacy of love, passion, liberty and also empowerment through her works. It was through her music that she earned the title ‘High Priestess of Souls.’ Simone would perform to her audience to the extent that the audience lost track of time because they were already taken away by her words. The element of honest emotion that Simone portrayed in her songs was the one thing that many got attracted to her pieces of work. Despite the agony of her death in 2003, she left a mark of her songs. At that time, the CD evolution, internet discovery an exposure of movies and television made it possible for her music to spread to masses of people. Simone sold over one million CDs, making her the best seller in the global catalogue. She gained recognition not only by the American citizens but also by the rest of the world.
On the 21st of February, 1993, Eunice Kathleen Waymon was born. The famous Simone had an evident seed in her since as early as three years; she was already playing the piano. Her parents did not ignore the talent she had; instead, they supported her in every step. Her mother was in the Methodist minister; thus, she got the chance to play piano in church. However, she did not sing at that time. Being brought up in church life, she knew the difference between wrong and right, thus growing up as a prudent lady. Simone started studying classical music, and after graduation, the community raised money for her to study in New York. However, her dreams of becoming the First African American woman’s classical pianist shut down. The school denied her admission; this made her conclude that racism was the reason she for not being admitted. Despite her original dream of being a pianist shut down, she did not know it was the beginning of an extensive career.
It was during an audition in Midtown Bar and Grill, that word spread about Eunice being a talented singer. She could change popular tunes that trended in those times into a unique blend of jazz, blues and even classical music. The way she sang her songs and played the piano made her attract many clubs. It was later on that she got to name herself Nina Simone. Nina got the attention of the record industry, she presented the songs she had performed, and it was later that she got signed as a jazz imprint in Bethlehem. It was during these times that she interacted with many people who directed her on the music industry. Simone endured many challenges as she tried to become the best in the industry. First, being raised in the church, brought shame to her parents that she performed in clubs. Second, Simone was a black African American lady, and in those times, there were lots of discrimination and racism. She had to be an iron lady for her to thrive in the world of famous jazz musicians who had the experience. Despite all the challenges, she managed to sprout out and be recognized by one of the renowned jazz singers like Peggy Lee.
Among the many Great American Songbooks written, only a few can reach the standards of ‘I Love You, Porgy’ by Simone. George Gershwin was the writer of the song, and Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics. Originally the song is about a novel that tells more about a disabled black beggar. The black beggar falls in love with a beautiful woman by the name Bess. However, Bess is already in another relationship, which is very violent. Crown is a drunk and violent man. Crown, later on, flees away from Bess, because he had killed someone because of a craps game. It made it easier for Bess and Porgy, the black beggar, to interact more often. Later on, they fall in love, and Porgy gets the opportunity to take care of Bess. However, Crown comes back for Bess and takes her for a picnic. Bess does not resist the offer, and he leaves with Crown. After spending the night with Crown, she gets back to Porgy.
Despite Porgy knowing that she had been with Crown, he still decided to take care of her until her fever stops. It motivates Bess to write the song confessing of how she loves Porgy. In the song, Bess tells Porgy that she knows that Crown will be back for her, but she still loves him. Porgy tells Bess that she had the freedom to go with Crown, however when Crown comes back, the story changes. Crown gets killed by Porgy, and he gets taken for a confrontation. When Porgy gets released, he realizes that Bess is gone. It gets depressing for Porgy as he thought that Bess would be there for her. The film ends when Porgy travels to New York to find Bess leaving the audience in a state of dilemma. Did Porgy see Bess? If Porgy found Bess had she moved in with life? After Gershwin read the novel, he suggested that the story gets filmed as an opera. Heyward, the publisher of the book, had an advantage because his wife was a playwright. It was easier for the novel to be adopted into the theatre, and it was a success. The play was modified, and this made it more attractive.
Many artists have covered this song after Gershwin first introduced it. Billie Holiday was among the artists who produced the cover song. Many of these cover songs did not come into the limelight. However, when Simone sang the cover song, it was an immediate success for her. The song made her get famous for being as recording artists. It shows the significant talent that Simone portrayed because having sung it as a cover song, and it resulted among the top twenty songs in the Billboard. Simone never sang the song in its original piece. Simone was a low alto singer what made her outshine other cover artists of the same song was that she quickly gets to the baritone level since it was naturally very low. She commences her piece with the salesgirl; later on, she uses creativity in her work. Instead of singing the Crab Man line first, she places the string after ‘Oh, Dey’s So Fresh and Fine.’ She takes her time, making the song much longer compared to other artists. The tempo of the song gets slower, especially in this string.’ Someday I know he is coming back to call me, He is going to handle me and hold me so, It is going to be like dying Porgy, When he calls me, But when he comes, I know, I will have to go’ After this line, the tempo gets back to normal. Simone creativity is portrayed in the song as she rearranges the order of the song.
Melodic Bending gets used in her piece. Simone uses several vocal slides in her song. In the word’ I love you Porgy, don’t let him take me’ the name don’t is bent. It shows the desperation Bess has because of another man claiming to love her. Simone has also found it necessary to consider Bess’s pain and agony. She brings out every word in the instance where Bess gets sick and Porgy nurses Bess until she is well. Simone goes ahead to point out that Crown was coming for her, but Bess wanted Porgy. Simone uses a straight tone till the end of each phrase, where she introduces a quavering vibrato. The most noticeable phrase is ‘he is going to handle me and hold me so.’ It shows how Bess fears at the thought of being taken away by Crown.
Besides, Simone’s unique quality is the way she interprets the lyrics of the song using her way. Instead of singing ‘I loves you, Porgy.’ She says it as ‘I love you, Porgy.’ It is a way of showing her level of education as a classically trained musician. Instead of singing the Crab Man line first, she places it the lime after ‘Oh, Dey’s So Fresh and Fine.’ On top of using her creativity to rearrange the song, her voice also attracts so much attention. Simone’s voice is natural and disengaged. The way she sings she tries to bring out the aspect of the difference between the idea of hope and the bitter reality. She tries to portray how the black beggar is hoping to have a strong relationship with the beautiful girl, Bess. However, the sad truth is that Porgy found it challenging to be involved with the girl. First, after Porgy’s release from prison which he finds out that Bess had already left. Second, finding Bess would be a difficult task for him.
As Nina continues with the song, the slow pace of Jazz music is embraced in the right way. The way she repeats the phrase ‘devil crabs ‘in a slow-motion takes the listeners into deep thoughts. The deep thoughts induce a memory of the evil crab; this makes the viewers think of the evil things that they may have come across. It also tries to portray the heinous acts both parties did. First Crown, kills a man merely because of a game. Second, Porgy also kills Crown when he comes back for Bess. She later spins and makes Porgy the primary topic of thought. She deepens her voice into a thoughtful melancholy, as she sings the line where the black beggar confesses of how he loves Porgy. It is clear that not only has Simone applied talent in this cover song, but she has embraced creativity and art simultaneously. Her piano playing is an art. She plays the piano using a perfect pace in line with the words of the songs before the interlude. After she resumes, her voice gets escorted with some bits of Bass and percussion. She truly portrays so much talent in her song.
‘Strange Fruit’ is another excellent cover of Simone. The song was released; however,many did not want to listen to the song. The context Holiday delivered made many confused. He did not elaborate on the song; this raised confusion about the song. Even after a Jazz scholar, Barry Unalov offered to explain to Happy more about the song; his efforts bore no fruits. However, when Simone got hold of the piece, the song was never the same again. Begginning with the arrangement of the song, it is different from that of Happy. Simone uses a slower pace to significantly outline the gravity of the lines of ‘Strange Fruit.’ She does not use so many Jazz instruments as compared to Happy. Her voice and piano are right for her to continue with the song. This song helps Simone talk about the Civil Rights Movement. Through the song, she portrays a picture of the African American community and the many years they underwent so much loss and suffering. Simone recorded the song during a time when the civil rights campaigns were at its peak. It was after Simone had already joined the movement. Through singing, it made the civil movement much stronger. She recorded the song in 1965 on the album Pastel Blues.
In the song, she further substitutes ‘trees ‘with ‘leaves’ in the phrase, which states ‘For the sun to rot, for the leaves to drop.’ Simone sings in a slow tune on the line ‘leaves,’ ‘finally landing on the word, ”drop.’ It makes this phrase have vast meanings. Nina Simone sang this song in such a way that one would think she was the true and original voice of ‘Strange Fruit.’ Besides being famous as a jazz musician, she was also a civil rights activist. Through her music, she was able to express her opinions in the civil rights movement. She uses her music to speak to thousands of people in the black community who are struggling to get to a second-class citizen. Most of her powerful anthems were to encourage the black community that change was going to happen. Her most significant mark was on the genre of protest songs, mostly concerning the civil rights movement. Her ability to interpret songs was also a talent she had that enabled her to give a clear message to the audience. In both songs, Simone talks of a black person; it is clear that from the time she gets denied the right to join the school, this made her more motivated to speak out for the black community. She also got the chance to visit Nigeria, where she had a better understanding of the African community. These made her more motivated to fight for the civil rights movement.
Simone presents herself as a reputable artist because of the more than five hundred songs she recorded on over forty albums. She was and remained a talented musician because of the legacy she left in the Jazz music. She used a combination of genres such as gospel, blues, classical, jazz and the European classical. That is why she was often described as a jazz and something else singer because she often combined jazz with another genre. These made her music more appealing to the public. Her unique way of interpreting cover songs was also amusing. Her way of interfering with the order of the song made the song more appealing to listen to. Her ability to play the piano and sing at the same time was an added advantage for her. Simone’s other side of being an activist for the black community emphasized more using her songs. She represented the black community in her songs, showing that inside her, she had a fighting spirit. Rap Brown, the chairman of SNCC, described Simone as the singer of the black revolution because she sings the real protest songs about the race issue without fear of what is to happen next.
References.
Tillet, Salamishah. “Strange Sampling: Nina Simone and Her Hip-Hop Children.” American Quarterly 66, no. 1 (2014): 119-137.
Beckley-Roberts, Lisa Osunleti. “What Happened, Miss Simone?.” (2016): 538-540.
Moore, Alicia L., and I. Neal La Vonne. “Foreword:” Young, Gifted, and Black: Keeping Your Soul Intact.” Black History Bulletin (2010): 4-6.
Tkweme, W. S. “Blues in Stereo: The Texts of Langston Hughes in Jazz Music Ellison’s Hemingways.” African American Review 42, no. 3/4 (2008): 503-512.
Hudson, Theodore R. “When I Know the Power of My Black Hand.” (1974): 133-135.