1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi again everyone, I'm Eves and you're listening 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: to This Day in History Class, where instead of going 4 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:12,959 Speaker 1: back to the future, we go back to the past. 5 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 1: Today is February. The day was February ninety three singer, musician, 6 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 1: and activist Nina Simone was born. Simone is remembered for 7 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: her unique musical style that blended several different genres and 8 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: often expressed social commentary. Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Wyman 9 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: in Tryon, North Carolina. Her mother was a Methodist minister 10 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: and domestic worker, and her father was a handyman and preacher. 11 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: She was the sixth of eight children. Music was an 12 00:00:57,440 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 1: important part of her life from the time she was 13 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: a child. Ould She played piano in her mother's church, 14 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 1: and she took piano lessons with a woman named Muriel Mazanovich, 15 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:11,040 Speaker 1: who influenced her love of Bach in turn box music 16 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: influence Simon's drive to become a concert pianist. After she 17 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: graduated from high school, Simone began attending the Juilliard School 18 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:23,399 Speaker 1: of Music. She planned on going to the Curtis Institute 19 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: of Music in Philadelphia, but the school rejected her application. 20 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,679 Speaker 1: Simone believed that she did not get in because of 21 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: her race, but her family had already moved from North 22 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 1: Carolina to Philadelphia, so Simone stayed in the city and 23 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 1: gave piano lessons. Hoping to earn more money, Simone decided 24 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 1: to start playing piano and bars in ur She auditioned 25 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,559 Speaker 1: to sing at the Midtown Bar in Grille in Atlantic City, 26 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: New Jersey. She began singing and playing piano for six 27 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 1: hours a night. There. She mixed classical, gospel, jazz, and 28 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: blues her music, topping it off with her deep vocals. 29 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: She built up an audience of young people at the 30 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: bar and moved on to more upscale clubs in Philadelphia. 31 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,640 Speaker 1: Her mother, deeply religious, disapproved of her performing in bars, 32 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: so she took the stage name Nina Simone, based on 33 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: the word Nina, a nickname she was given by a 34 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: boyfriend in the name of the French actress Simone Sor. 35 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 1: Having had much success in bars, Simone hired agent Jerry Fields, 36 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:34,079 Speaker 1: who connected her with beth Lehem Records. In ninety nine, 37 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: her debut album, Little Girl Blue was released. The first single, 38 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: I Loved You Porgi, was a hit and helped launch 39 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: her career. I Love You, Buggy Dude let Him, but 40 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: Simone was unhappy with her experience at beth Lehem Records. 41 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: She soon signed with Colpicks Record and released her first 42 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: album with them, The Amazing Nina Simone. From that point 43 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: she gained more success as a live performer. She performed 44 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: at the Newport Jazz Festival in Carnegie Hall. She married 45 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: Andrew Stroud and had a daughter in nineteen sixty two, 46 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: and she continued to perform in jazz clubs, though she 47 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: resisted the label of jazz singer. As she recorded more songs, 48 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: Simone began to merge her own style of music with 49 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 1: her political views. Her music was influenced by the Civil 50 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: rights movement and acts that took place during it, like 51 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: the Birmingham church bombing and the murder of Mega Evers. 52 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: The song Mississippi Got Damn expresses her anger over these 53 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: events and her advocacy of civil rights. Alabama's Got Miss 54 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: Sharp Sick, California's made Me lose my rest, everybody knows 55 00:03:52,880 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 1: about Fish Now and just Ship I Know you can feel. 56 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: Simone also became friends with Lorraine Hansbury, who was also 57 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: an artist who spoke up for civil rights and other 58 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: social causes at the time. Simone continued to write protest songs, 59 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: such as Sunday in Savannah and to Be Young Gifted 60 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: in Black Good. She made friends with other people in 61 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: the movement, such as James Baldwin and Langston Hughes, but 62 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:46,160 Speaker 1: throughout the nineteen seventies. In early nineteen eighties, Simone lived 63 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 1: abroad in places like Liberia, Belgium, Barbados, France, and the Netherlands. 64 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,719 Speaker 1: She was disillusioned by American society and the civil rights movement. 65 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: On top of that, she left her husband, who had 66 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 1: been abusing her. She continued to perform, but she was 67 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: affected by bipolar disorder. She often had outbursts on stage, 68 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: and she faced many more personal difficulties In her later years. 69 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: She published an autobiography, released the album A Single Woman, 70 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: and had her music featured on soundtracks. She spent the 71 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:22,840 Speaker 1: last years of her life at her home in France. 72 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: She died in two thousand three, just a month after 73 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 1: her passing. The Curtis Institute, which rejected her application decades prior, 74 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: awarded her an honorary degree. Since her death, she has 75 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,480 Speaker 1: been the subject of a lot of scholarship in films 76 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,919 Speaker 1: regarding her personal life, as well as her contributions to 77 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 1: music and the civil rights movement. I'm Eve Jeffcote, and 78 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: hopefully you know a little more about history today than 79 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 1: you did yesterday looking at her content a little more 80 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:58,600 Speaker 1: sophisticated than cat memes in your feed. Connect with us 81 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 1: on social media at T D I h C Podcast, 82 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:06,720 Speaker 1: or if you would prefer to email us, you can 83 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: send us a message at this day at I heart 84 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:13,960 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks for listening Mary History to all, 85 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:24,720 Speaker 1: and to all a good night. For more podcasts from 86 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,520 Speaker 1: I heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 87 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:29,279 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.