The Work Of Nina Simone - 1160 Words

Nina Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon, February 21, 1933 in North Carolina. The sixth of eight children, she began playing the piano at the age of three and showed extreme talent for classical music. Due to the poverty of her family, her mother worked as a maid. Nina showed her talent to her mother’s employer, who recognized her great ability and started a fund to pay for Nina’s piano lessons and early education. When she was twelve she performed a classical piano recital. Her parents had taken two front seats to proudly watch their daughter, but were forced to move to the back row in favor of the white attendants of the concert. Nina refused to play a single note until her parents regained their seats. She later cited this incident as one of the main reasons she became a Civil Rights activist. After high school, she was given a partial scholarship to Julliard School in New York City. She left Julliard, due to lack of funds, began to play jazz and blues, and made ends meet playing in night clubs. Shortly after, she took on the stage name Nina Simone. She was able to release her first album, â€Å"Little Blue Girl†, in 1958. With this album she was able to gain influential African Americans, like Langston Hughes and James Baldwin, as fans of her work. Civil Rights Songstress: Mississpi Goddam In the 1960s Nina Simone was known as the leading voice, or musician, of the Civil Rights movement. After the assassination of Civil Rights leader and activist Medgar Evers andShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Mississippi Goddam By Nina Simone And Dear Mr. President Essay1449 Words   |  6 PagesDear Mr. President The two songs I am comparing for this comparative essay are Mississippi Goddam by Nina Simone and Dear Mr. President by Alecia Beth Moore, more commonly known to the public as P!nk. Nina Simone was born in 1933, and her musical talent was first discovered when she was only three years old, when she learned how to play the piano solely by ear. In 1964 Nina Simone released Mississippi Goddam and to this day it is known to be one of her most famous protest songs. P!nkRead MoreWho Is Nina Simone?1444 Words   |  6 Pagesperformance. Nina Simone is perhaps the most politically significant figure of the latter group, as she not only actively participated as a proponent of civil rights efforts, but became a pioneer in black power and feminist ideology. Nina Simone transcended the typical ideas of blackness through her music, and used this position of respectability to further more radical, advanced ideas of black liberation that would make up much of the rhetoric for the 1970s and beyond. Before Nina Simone was an activistRead MoreEssay on Civil Rights, Equality and the Music of Nina Simone2399 Words   |  10 Pages Nina Simone used music to challenge, provoke, incite, and inform the masses during the period that we know as the Civil Rights Era. In the songs† Four Women†, â€Å"Young Gifted and Black†, and Mississippi God Damn†, Nina Simone musically maps a personal intersectionality as it relates to being a black American female artist. Kimberly Crenshaw defines intersectionality as an inability for black women to separate race, class and gender. Nina Simone’s music directly addresses this paradigm. Read MoreThe Most Iconic Civil Rights Movement Influencers Of All Time By Billie Holiday1590 Words   |  7 Pages Billie was discovered by producer John Hammond and her career had begun. Holiday then began to work solo at the New York Cafà © Society club. Here, Billie created some of her best work including the track titled â€Å"Strange Fruit†. At first, Billie Holidays record company at the time, Columbia Records, wanted nothing to do with her song Strange Fruit and the message it proclaimed. Holiday decided to work with Commodore records instead to have this track recorded. At the time of this songs release, AmericanRead MoreThe, Pastel Blues, By Nina Simone1310 Words   |  6 PagesNina Simone’s 8th studio album, Pastel Blues, is an album featuring a fusion of sistering genres: blues, jazz, soul, folk, and gospel. Nina, being the brilliant arranger she was, is known for her ability to blend these genres into her signature sound. A sound most struggle to classify due to its avant garde nature. She got her start in music by playing the piano in church. One evening her church had a recital where her talents were recognised. Which lead to her starting piano lessons. Nina and herRead MoreAnalyzing 50 s And 60s American Society Through Music1778 Words   |  8 Pages50’s and 60s American society through music The two songs that I am going to analyze Is Nina Simone â€Å"To Be Young, Gifted and Black,† and Gil Scott Heron â€Å"Whitey on the Moon†. I will view both of these songs in terms of there contributions to the counter hegemonic force fighting against the dominant white supremacist ideology that was prevalent during the 50’s and 60’s. To give some quick context about Nina Simone, she was a genuine musical artist who routinely recorded music that ranged across tunesRead MoreShaping Societys Culture and Hierarchy600 Words   |  2 Pagesbe defined as a system for white people to exploit and oppress in order to obtain power and privilege over others. (Martinez) In the book, Feminist Theory from Margin to Center, Bell Hooks illustrates how in todays society, people of colour often work under the authority of a white person. (Hooks pg.50) This is because in the past, these people of colour have experienced how white supremacists group practiced their power with the use of oppression. The Holocaust that happened during World War IIRead MoreAnalysis Of Kanye West s Yeezus Album2386 Words   |  10 Pagesanother song called Strange Fruit sung by Nina Simone which is a very political song talking about gruesome lynchings that happened before and at the turn of the century. With help from the sample, West uses the pain of lynching and drug abuse to compare with the break ups he goes through. The instrumental of the song starts off very slow at the beginning we can hear a piano in the background that slowly begins to play. Over this soft piano sound we hear Nina Simone break through. She sets us up with anRead MoreMusic That Made The Movement1495 Words   |  6 Pages Music that Made the Movement The United States is a country which was formed by the hard work of the First Nations people, the British, and African Americans. Unfortunately, blacks were subjected to slavery. In the 1900’s blacks were becoming more discontented, thus began the emergence of the civil rights movement. Along with rallies and peaceful protests, music played a very important role in bringing change to a society where white supremacy reigned. In addition to their efforts, jazz and bluesRead MoreAfrican American Vernacular1239 Words   |  5 Pagescivil rights of African American and deemed them second class citizens. Even during the days of slavery, there were many efforts made that helped to expose the atrocities that occurred against African Americans. This included photographs and written works such as books and newspaper articles. During the early 20th century, racism against African Americans was exposed via songs that called for a change of societal practices and views. â€Å"Southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood