Nina Simon: biography, best songs, interesting facts, listen

Nina Simon

This legendary woman performed as a composer, pianist and arranger. But most of all the audience remembered her as a singer. Devoted fans even gave her the unusual nickname “priestess of soul,” it was in this status that she fell in love and remembered them.

short biography

In the state of North Carolina in the town of Tryon on February 21, 1933, Eunice Kathleen Wymon was born (this is the real name of the singer). Her father was a priest and the family lived extremely modestly. The only grand piano in Vaimon’s house was an old piano, and little girl Eunice played music with pleasure from the age of three. In addition, she sang with her sisters in the church choir, and also took piano lessons. The girl really wanted to become a talented pianist and perform on tour. From the age of ten she was already so strong as a novice musician that she began to give concerts. Her first performance took place in the city library.

Close friends helped little Eunice to get a musical education. She enrolled in one of the most prestigious places - Juilliard School of Music College of Music. Since her parents did not have the money to pay for tuition, the girl was forced to start working, acting as an accompanist.

The appearance of Nina Simon

In 1954, the owner of a restaurant in Atlantic City noticed a talented girl and offered her a job. Initially it was planned that Eunice would be a pianist, but the public was fascinated by her voice, so very soon she had to retrain for a singer. At the same time, the future star decides to take a pseudonym - Nina Simon. According to her, "Nina" is a kind of nickname, just so one former guy called her, which means "little girl" in translation. "Simon" - was borrowed from the popular actress Simon Signaret. Since then, the beginning singer performs only under an assumed name.

Nina Simon's style was unique, because it included all the best from jazz music, blues and classics. Connoisseurs of music were immediately subdued, barely worth it to hear her singing, and after only a few months, the singer appeared admirers of her work.

The recording of the song "I Loves You, Porgy!" from the opera Gershwin "Porgy and Bess"is considered her first significant success, after which her name became recognizable. This single instantly conquered the charts and took the 13th line of the pop chart, selling millions of copies. It was an unprecedented success. Following this, Nina works on the first solo album, which received The name “Little Girl Blue". These records were made by a small company King. Nina continues to record her own compositions and until the end of the 50s she publishes nine records. All of them were performed in various genres: jazz, blues, pop. The road to show business Now Nina was open and there signs a lucrative contract with Colpix Records.For this company, she created ten albums and four of them were live.The actress liked to try herself in different styles and roles.She searched for her image and she easily managed to manifest her versatility.Simon recorded folk songs, ballads from Broadway musicals, songs by Duke Ellington, as well as Israeli folk songs.

In 1964, she turned to Philips and began recording under their label. It is believed that during this period Nina Simon created her best records. The album "I Put Spell On You" became a real sensation, and the song of the same name from it is still considered one of the best, feminine tracks. For three years she managed to record seven albums. In addition, other studios also continued to collaborate with her, releasing records. So, only in 1966, five of her albums were released by three different companies, which immediately diverged with incredible success.

"High Priestess of Soul" is one of the gems of this period. It was after the execution of the "High Priestess of Love" that Nina Simon was nicknamed by the worshipers of the "priestess of soul."

After leaving America, due to the prosperous racism, she tried to live in different countries: the Netherlands, Switzerland, England and stayed in France. Records began to occur less and less, and the interest of the public to her name began to fade away. A few concerts now took place without much ado, they were only going to true connoisseurs.

In 1987, Nina Simon again declared itself, though it was connected with the commercial. The composition "My Baby Just Cares for Me", created in the early period of creativity, was used in advertising the perfumes of the famous brand Chanel. The single became so popular that it quickly reached the top of the UK charts.

In 1991, the singer released her autobiography, which was first published in England, then in America, and a year later she was also translated into other languages. Suddenly, the general public again shows interest in her work, thanks to the film "Point of No Return". It is noteworthy that the image of the main character of this film was written off from Nina herself, in connection with which several of her songs are performed in the film at once.

In the wake of newfound success, Simon begins to work with a new label and writes down the album "A Single Woman", which was the last for her.

Gradually, the singer's health deteriorated, and in 1994 she suffered a nervous breakdown. Nina even had to cancel her performances, and in the studio she could no longer work.

In 2001, Simon performed at Carnegie Hall, but she could not independently go on stage without assistance. The last 1.5 years of her life the artist has not appeared to the general public, preferring to spend time at home.

The actress died on April 21, 2003 in France, near Marseilles.

Interesting Facts

• One of the most vivid impressions of childhood was a case that occurred at her concert. Nina recalled him later in an interview. She performed in her city in the church, and her parents came to the concert, who always supported her daughter in everything. Somewhere in the middle of the performance, the girl noticed that her relatives were asked to release the first rows and were sent to the end of the hall, as the white guests had to give way. The aspiring actress immediately interrupted her performance and demanded that her parents be returned to their seats, otherwise she would not play.
• Nina Simon had another nickname "Martin Luther in a Skirt" and it was connected with the fact that the actress always actively supported the rights of dark-skinned people and fought against racial discrimination. Even in her work in many songs perceptible social themes.
• 40 years of life Nina Simon dedicated to her work. During this time, she managed to record and release 170 albums and singles. In total, her song catalog includes 320 songs.
• In 2015, the movie "What happened, Miss Simon?" Was released, which was dedicated to the life and work of the legendary singer.
• In the Grammy Hall of Fame, there is a portrait of Nina Simon, who takes pride of place.
• In 1990, a documentary about the life of the singer "The Legend" was published, and several talented directors worked on it.
• During the lifetime of the singer was awarded two honorary degrees and the title of Doctor of Arts at the University of Massachusetts.
• The Curtis Institute of Music promoted the artist to an honorary degree in 2003, and many years ago this institution did not agree to accept young student Nina Simon into their ranks.
• In North Carolina, a monument was erected in honor of a popular singer.
• In 2016, the film "Nina" was released, dedicated to her life path. The picture shows her in detail let him to glory. The main role played Zoe Saldana. Director paintings by Cynthia Mort.
• Simona’s daughter Lisa Celeste (Lisa Simon Kelly), born in 1962, followed in Mom’s footsteps. Now she is the star of the musical Elton John "Aida" and successfully performs on Broadway.
• In 2010, one Canadian singer Kelly Evans recorded an album called "Nina". It collected the most popular singles "priestess soul."
• In 1995, Nina Simon was sentenced conditionally for 8 months for disturbing the peace. The actress fired a shotgun into the crowd of noisy teenagers playing near her house. In the same year, the singer was fined $ 5,000 for disappearing from the accident scene.
• Nina Simon's famous quote: "Jazz is a white term for black people."

Best songs

Song "Feeling good familiar to many lovers of modern music. In addition, of the entire repertoire of the singer, she is the most famous. However, few people know how this single was created. For the first time he sounded in a musical, for which he was written by the British Leslie Brikass and Anthony Newley. The public was able to get acquainted with this essay on August 3, 1964, during the premiere of the play. And the song performed by Sai Grant. In 1965, the production was moved to Broadway and the party went to Gilbert Price. In the same year, Nina Simone recorded her original version and added it to the famous album I Put a Spell on You. It is curious that Stanley Green called this single "a resonant song of emancipation", having written his opinion about it in the Encyclopedia of the Theater of Musical in precisely this way. Researchers of the singer have repeatedly expressed the opinion that the manner of performance of Nina Simon, her voice perfectly conveyed the idea of ​​the authors of the legendary song.

During its existence, the hit has experienced several rapid ups, thanks to advertisers. So, in 1987, having sounded in a commercial of the conditioner for linen, the song immediately became popular again, returning to the country's music charts.

In 1994, this single performed by Nina Simone was used in the advertising of Volkswagen cars, which again made it popular. In subsequent years, many performers recorded this hit, among them the duet Huff and Herb. Their version has reached 31 places in the music chart. It was also performed by Pussycat Dolls, Michael Buble, the band Traffic. Jay-Z and Kanye West used samples from her in their tracks.

"Feeling Good" (listen)

"Ain't Got No, I Got Life" was born in 1968 and entered the album Nuff Said! She is a potpourri from the musical "Hair". Poems by James Rado and Jerome Ranyi, music by American composer Galt MacDermot. Filled with Nina Simon, the composition immediately gained unprecedented popularity, reaching the top of the charts. So, in the UK she was in second place, and in the Netherlands in the first. Advertisers have not bypassed this hit, using it in many commercials. In Russia, she gained a new wave of popularity thanks to the TV series "Kitchen", where she was used as a soundtrack.

"Ain't Got No, I Got Life" (listen)

"I Put a Spell on You" - This is another masterpiece that has become the singer's calling card. It was written in 1956 by Scrimein Jay Hawkins, a talented blues musician. It is curious that the composer intended to make his own work in the style of a love blues ballad. However, during the recording process, plans changed and a slightly different option emerged. "I realized that I could make destructive songs," Hawkins later admitted. Predictably, the novice came to taste to music lovers and quickly gained popularity, despite the fact that it was banned in some stores and radio stations. In order to enhance the stage effect, Jay Hawkins suggested adding a “crazy” sound, enhancing it accordingly with fireworks. The result was one of the first performances in the style of "shock-rock" and later it gained a lot of followers.

The song itself remained extremely popular and a large number of covers were recorded on it. One of the most recognizable is the composition of Nina Simon, which she included in the eponymous album, released in 1965. Later, she was performed by many other foreign artists, including Bayan Ferri, Estelle, Jimmy Barnes, Joe Cocker, Marilyn Manson, and others. In various versions she sounded in many films, cartoons, commercials and TV shows.

"I Put a Spell on You" (listen)

Personal life

In 1958, Nina Simon marries Donald Ross, but her marriage did not last a year. Soon she meets her second spouse and goes after him in 1961. This time, her chosen one is a person far from the world of music - detective Andrew Stroud. However, soon the man decided to quit his job and retrain as music managers. He even arranged a contract with RCA Record for Nina. In addition, he actively tried to fulfill his role and even influenced the choice of compositions for records and the creative process.

Married to Andrew Stroud, a daughter was born to Nina Simon, but in 1970 the couple decided to divorce. After that, the artist goes to the island of Barbados. She liked it there, but her managers were very angry because they could not earn any more from her concerts. After a while, Nina Simon meets the Prime Minister of the island, Errol Barrow, and they have a short romance. After leaving Barbados, Nina Simon continues to travel the world.

Nina Simon's songs in the cinema

Many songs of Nina Simon remain relevant in our time. Until now, the public is delighted with its enchanting vocals, containing in itself the warmth, independence, ardor and the most tender feelings. And as you know, time has no power over real feelings. Nina Simon was not like many stars of show business, she did not strive for world fame, she was too multifaceted, eclectic and categorical for this.