Nina Simone: The Biography
- ISBN-10
- 1845134303
- ISBN-13
- 9781845134303
- Category
- Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts
- Pages
- 346
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2009
- Publisher
- Aurum
- Author
- David Brun-Lambert
Description
'I will die at 70 because afterwards there is nothing but pain.' And sure enough Nina Simone was 70 years old when she died in the South of France after a lifetime's quest for serenity, which forever eluded her. Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in North Carolina at the tail-end of the Great Depression, she was a precocious child with dreams of becoming the first black classical soloist, but was rejected by an elite New York conservatoire − she always believed it was because of the colour of her skin. She began performing jazz, blues and classical songs in a bar to fund her studies, taking the stage name Nina Simone in 1954 to prevent her mother finding out she was playing 'the devil's music'. In 1958 her rendition of the Gershwin standard 'I Loves You Porgy' became her only US Top 40 hit, and her subsequent debut album Little Girl Blue was a success. Her passionate belief in racial equality and civil rights saw her become increasingly radicalised in the 1960s, addressing the issue on record and on stage in songs such as 'Mississippi Goddam' and her version of 'Strange Fruit'. She went into self-imposed exile from America in 1970, settling in Barbados and then France. Nina Simone recorded over 40 albums, wrote some of the best-known popular songs in the canon and gave concerts described as quasi-religious experiences. This is the first biography to tell her whole extraordinary story. David Brun-Lambert is a highly regarded French writer and broadcaster.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
Lady Sings the Blues
By Billie Holiday, William DuftyIn a poignant, dramatic memoir, Billie Holiday tells not only of her rise to fame as a blues singer, but also of the exploitation and racial prejudice she encountered as well as of her struggle with heroin addiction.
-
The Great American Popular Singers
By Henry Pleasants... Judy , 343 Knight , Fuzzy , 283 Koehler , Ted , 28 Kristofferson , Kris , 354 , 369 , 370 Krupa , Gene , 146 Jackson , Jeanette , 200 Jackson , Mahalia , 30 , 75 , 198 , 199– 203 , 205–12 , 265 , 276 , 320 , 325 , 326 , 364 Jagger ...
-
A Biographical Handbook of Hispanics and United States Film
By Gary D. Keller... II , 93 Kolb , Keith , I , 198 Korda , Alexander , II , 69 Kosloff , Theodore , I , 76 ; II , 76 Kotero , Apollonia , II , 93 Kramer , Stanley , I , 128 , 136 , 187 ; II , 161 Krantz , Jacob , see Cortez , Ricardo Kristofferson ...
-
Bogey: The Films of Humphrey Bogart
By Clifford McCartyNorman Holdsworth Charles Drake Dr. Grant Grant Mitchell Detective Lt. Egan Patrick O'Moore Nora Grant Ann Shoemaker Robert Freston Frank Wilcox Phillips Edwin Stanley Detective Lt. Workman James Flavin Mrs. Allman Mary Servoss With ...
-
Robert Altman: Interviews
By Robert Altman... 98 Gods Must Be Crazy , The ( Uys ) , 174 Goldberg , Whoopi , 165 , 174 Goldblum , Jeff , 186 Golden Globe Awards ... 58 , 183 Hale , Alan , 3 Hall , Angela , 165 Hammett , Dashiell , 199 Hand That Rocks the Cradle , The ( Hanson ) ...
-
Wong Kar-Wai: Auteur of Time
By Stephen TeoThis, the first book-length study of Hong Kong cult director Wong Kar-wai, provides an overview of his career and in-depth analyses of his seven feature films to date.
-
An Actor, and a Rare One: Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes
By Tony EarnshawAfter the inquest , Holmes speaks with Inspector Lanner and Miss Turner . Lanner sees no hope for McCarthy , but Holmes thinks differently . He quizzes Miss Turner on her relationship with McCarthy , and she reveals they had hoped to ...
-
The Complete Films of Marlene Dietrich
By Homer DickensThrough a clever bit of business , the boys put over a big deal with a steel tycoon named Morgan Prentiss ( Samuel S. Hinds ) , and soon Pittsburgh has gone highbrow by marrying the boss's daughter Shannon ( Louise Allbritton ) .
-
Peter Jackson: A Film-maker's Journey
By Brian SibleyWritten with Jackson's full participation, this extensive biography, illustrated with never-before-seen photos from Jackson's personal collection, tells the inside story of how a New Zealander became Hollywood's hottest property?from the ...
-
卓别林
By 孙鹏著本书主要内容包括：童年时光；初次登台；不安定的日子；舞蹈班的一员；艰难时日；初露锋芒；奔波在卡诺；第一次出国等。