Nina Simone

Singer

1933-02-21 – 2003-04-21

Nina Simone was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter whose work blended jazz, blues, folk, and classical influences. She became a major artistic voice of the civil rights era through politically charged recordings and performances. Her catalog remains foundational to modern vocal and protest music traditions.

Books by Nina Simone

I put a spell on you
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Nina Simone
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You're the voice
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Quotes by Nina Simone

You can't help it. An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.
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You can't help it. An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.
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Sometimes I sound like gravel, and sometimes I sound like coffee and cream.
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What I was interested in was conveying an emotional message, which means using everything you've got inside you sometimes to barely make a note, or if you have to strain to sing, you sing.
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I try to swim every damn day I can, and I've learned to scuba dive and snorkel.
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The protest years were over, not just for me but for a whole generation, and in music, just like in politics, many of the greatest talents were dead or in exile, and their place was filled by third-rate imitators.
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Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music.
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You feel the shame, humiliation, and anger at being just another victim of prejudice, and at the same time, there's the nagging worry that maybe... you're just no good.
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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.
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The worst thing about that kind of prejudice... is that while you feel hurt and angry and all the rest of it, it feeds you self-doubt. You start thinking, perhaps I am not good enough.
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There's no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were.
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