What Happened, Miss Simone?: A Biography

by Alan Light

Inspired by the Academy Award-nominated Netflix documentary What Happened, Miss Simone?, an intimate and vivid look at the legendary life of Nina Simone, the classically trained pianist who evolved into a chart-topping chanteuse and committed civil rights activist. 
 
From music journalist and former Spin and Vibe editor-in-chief Alan Light comes a biography of incandescent soul singer and Black Power icon Nina Simone, one of the most influential, provocative, and least understood artists of our time. Drawn from a trove of rare archival footage, audio recordings and interviews (including Simone's remarkable private diaries), this nuanced examination of Nina Simone’s life highlights her musical inventiveness and unwavering quest for equality, while laying bare the personal demons that plagued her from the time of her Jim Crow childhood in North Carolina to her self-imposed exile in Liberia and Paris later in life.
 
Harnessing the singular voice of Miss Simone herself and incorporating candid reflections from those who knew her best, including her only daughter, Light brings us face to face with a legend, examining the very public persona and very private struggles of one of our greatest artists.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Jazz, Biography Memoir, Memoir, Audiobook

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 17, 2015

About the author

A veteran music journalist, Alan Light is the author of The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah" and Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain. Light was previously the editor-in-chief of Vibe and Spin and a senior writer for Rolling Stone. He is also a frequent contributor to the New York Times.

Reviews

[Jaidee · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 "the way musical biography was meant to be" stars !!!

6th Favorite Read of 2017 (tie)

Before we begin...I NEED you to listen to the genius of Nina Simone.

I heard this in Sicily in an old hotel when I was 21 with a Russian girlfriend that I adored. She put this on one night and I was so shaken and moved by the misunderstood jazz singer that I could not do anything but be amazed, drink Marsala and hold my girl's hand while tears streamed down my face.

Here is the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKYhk...


Mr. Alan Light has achieved something remarkable here with his biography. He lets Nina, her family, friends, foes and critics do the talking to paint a remarkable moving portrait of this woman's life, struggles and genius. He writes with a compassionate and light touch about a musical genius that was misunderstood and who suffered from a major mental illness (likely a schizoaffective disorder in addtion to a severe narcissistic personality disorder) that made it incredibly difficult to get close to Ms. Simone, never mind like or love her. She was her own worst enemy and had so many internal conflicts that led to her being needy, angry, volatile and often abusive. She was not a good mother by any stretch and hurt almost everybody she knew by being emotionally and physically assaultive and cutting people off for the smallest slights.

On the other hand she created music that defies description: jazz, classical, blues, broadway, folk and even some pop. Her piano improvisation was amazing and her voice was husky, warbly and warm. She hated being compared to Billie Holiday and wanted to be seen more in line with Maria Callas. She was a black consciousness activist in the 1960s and was good friends with James Baldwin, neighbours with the widow of Malcolm X and honored by Nelson Mandela. She cut her beloved father off for a lie he told one of her siblings, she was ignored by her mother and never really found lasting love. She was a conflicted bisexual and both hated and pandered her white and gay/lesbian devotees. She lived in the USA, Liberia, Switzerland and France. She was born in rags, had periods of luxury and died alone and destitute.

Mr. Light you wrote one fuckin amazing biography and one of my life's laments is that I never got to hear the Late Miss Great Nina Simone perform live. Over the years, however, I have accumulated almost every recording that Nina made.

Ms. Simone I will not forgive you for pouring whiskey at the face of my beloved Dusty Springfield but at least you didn't punch her in the face the way you did so many other celebrities, lovers and fans.

I want to leave you with my favorite Nina Simone song. Prepare to be haunted and have some tissue nearby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e02m9...

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a frustrating biography to read. The author, Alan Light had access to all of Miss Simone's diaries and correspondence and the cooperation of the family...but this led to him only interviewing a handful of people (presumably) okay-ed by the family. So it was the same five voices over and over and little from outside sources and indeed no third-party research. I read a lot of biographies so I guess I have higher standards than most and this was really lacking.

I recommend instead the companion Oscar-nominated documentary which had more perspectives, excerpts of interviews with Nina Simone, and lots of live performance clips.

[Ashlei A.K.A Chyna Doll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this in the mail and thought wow I know this looks familiar... I then realized the Documentary!! Wow I was so happy to see this!! It's a goodreads giveaway and I am so happy to have gotten this!!!
(I got this copy in pretty bad shape... cover bent completely over,pages crunched, back cover TORN OFF... but i am very happy for the opportunity to read this......)I'm going to pass it on to everyone I can... GREAT BOOK!!!!


This is the story of Mrs. Nina Simone. A very Unique, Creative, Tortured, soul..
This brilliant woman had a war within her, one side she was a classical pianist geniuses, activist, other hand she was a very hard to get along with, aggressive, cold woman. She formed relationships doomed to fail, competed with her daughter Lisa and didn't get the recognition she thought she deserved..

Until the end of her life she really had a hard life and was a cold, feared woman for it.. But I enjoyed the book
Was a really interesting book about a very overlooked woman in history!!
Famous activist
Queen of Soul
Classical genius
original trendsetter!!!!

And the Netflix documentary was good.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week:
Inspired by the Oscar-nominated TV documentary, Alan Light's biography draws on Nina Simone's early diaries, rare interviews, childhood journals and input from her daughter Lisa Simone Kelly to paint a picture of the classically-trained pianist who became a soul legend, a leading civil rights activist and one of the most influential artists of our time.

Episode One
"I was born a child prodigy darling. I was born a genius." Nina Simone

Music journalist Alan Light is the author of The Holy of the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of Hallelujah, and Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain, among others. He was editor-in-chief of the music magazines Vibe and Spin, and is a frequent contributor to the New York Times.

Writer: Alan Light
Abridger: Pete Nichols
Reader: Alibe Parsons
Producer: Karen Rose

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08gwsjb

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Happened, Miss Simone? What a great title for a book that tells a heartbreaking story of a fantastic singer. Alan Light writes the biography of Nina Simone taking the reader from Miss Simone's hardscrabble childhood through her musical talent and genius to the end of her sad life. Such talent must have made it very difficult for her to adjust to the everyday workings of life. Maybe that is why she seemed unable to fit into her own skin nor to find the love which she needed so badly.
I was a Nina Simone fan, of her blues and sultry voice. I was unaware of her civil rights activism and disappointed that she seemed to disregard the public which supported her. May she rest in peace.
What Happened, Miss Simone? is a goodreads selection which I plan to share with a fellow goodreader. Thank you.

[Krista Danis · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's nothing more exciting than reading an autobiography followed by a biography of a single individual and comparing/contrasting! The joy of this has never been more emphasized than in the case of Nina Simone and biographer Alan Light. Bonus points for getting to listen to her with intention throughout the process.

[Selina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book a long time ago and come back to it from time-to-time. After finally finishing it I have to say it is well deserving of 5 stars. It’s a a well-rounded account of Nina Simone’s enormous career, covering everything from her activism, music, interpersonal relationships and everything that came with her life as an artist. 5/5 stars

[Beatriz Fernandes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend reading this before you watch the documentary with the same title. Despite being written after and because of that film - the director asked the author if he was interested in writing it - it has, naturally more information, which makes easier to understand the movie (that has one or two moments when the facts are not chronologicaly); also, the documentary will play as a resume of what you just read. I do recommend both because they give you insights almost exclusive of each format: the book has more information and better, well elaborated, explanations about Nina's behaviors and feelings; the film can actually show you how she played and performed, how she talked and who were all these people mentioned in the book, all these important "secondary" actors.
A good biography, I suppose, ultimately will help you understand human nature, more than anything else. And will give you almost literally the thoughts and emotions of other people - whether you share a culture or other things with them, or not. This gives us a different perspective, the world through someone else's eyes - not somebody who is fictional, but a real person. It's a great tool to be more understanding and accepting of others, which is a very human thing to do - otherwise how could we live in a society? Not just this is important, this empathy, to build a healthy social structure, but also it is essential to keep it's components - people - happy, or at least satisfied. Nina was somewhat a misfit, not just because she was black and a woman, but because of all that she was - a black female artist who protested against social injustice; a pianist trained to play classical music, who crossed several musical genders in her songs, and expected the deserved recognition for her excelence; an artist who refused to just entertain; a free spirit, maybe, specially in the closed society where she grew up, who just wanted to love and be loved. I identify with a lot of that, in a way, and I hope others can do to, for their sake - to not feel alone, mostly - and for hers - she was really a bigger than life performer and musician, who should not be forgotten. Despite, in the end, we have an explanation for her erratic, sometimes violent and rude behavior, I still think there's space for criticism - she's still responsible for some of her actions, considering that she new, at times, that something was wrong and that she needed to change or a brake; she could have gotten help sooner, I suppose. The author does not give a subjective opinion, allowing the reader to develop his/her own.
I do hope you read it, or see the documentary; but mostly I hope you will listen to her music. Because it's not outdated, not in form nor in content - that, I may say, is unfortunate, that there's still injustice. Today there's all kind of genres with solid admirers, even if not much, so her music, I'm sure, can find it's niche (s) of fans. Considering how some of them reflected her times - she said "An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times" - the experience of nowing her work is also a History lesson, and allows you to compare between then and now. I agree with her statement: music is a cultural "invention", a language to bond people, inspire people - which Nina wanted to do - to give them courage to act for change, but also preserve the past and teach the future - to prevent oblivion and perpetuate a knowledge that can be useful. “The artist is the creator of beautiful things", as Oscar Wilde said, but should also "reflect the times".

[Anneke Visser-van Dijken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bij het zien van de schitterende cover en de titel zie je meteen over wie het gaat. Het is leuk dat de kleur roze van de titel ook aan de binnenkant van de cover en achterflap is gebruikt.
Het levensverhaal van Nina Simone is op een vlotte manier geschreven, nergens heb je het gevoel dat het hapert. Elke hoofdstuk begint met een kort stukje tekst van Nina of van een bekende van Nina waardoor je gelijk een idee hebt waar het hoofdstuk over gaat.
Het is mooi om te lezen hoe bepaalde songs zijn onstaan en hoe ze te werk ging.
Na het lezen van deze biografie heb je het idee dat je Nina echt hebt gekend, maar of je haar begrijpt, is een ander verhaal. Het is een verbijsterend eerlijk verhaal dat vaak schokkend is omdat je bepaalde dingen niet verwacht had van Nina als je haar niet (persoonlijk) hebt gekend.
Ik kan me voorstellen dat sommige fans niet blij zijn met deze biografie omdat ze bepaalde dingen liever niet willen weten van hun idool. Toch is het goed dat de auteur dit boek heeft geschreven, omdat ook de mindere kanten van haar gezien mogen worden, dat ze ook maar een mens was die zo haar fouten had net zoals de meeste mensen. Een persoon die de kaas niet van haar brood liet eten, die zo haar eigen gedachtes had, deed wat ze vond dat ze moest doen, die haar eigen mening durfde te geven, dat ze ook onzeker kon zijn, die opkwam voor de zwarte mens en ook aardig kon zijn.
Na het lezen van deze biografie hou je (nog meer) van haar, heb je postuum een hekel aan haar, heb je medelijden met haar, bewonder je haar of je hebt gemengde gevoelens.
Minpuntje is dat de foto-katern midden in een hoofdstuk is geplaatst i.p.v. tussen twee hoofstukken in. Ook is het jammer dat er voor een biografie redelijk weinig foto's instaan. Dat had wel meer gemogen.

Lees verder op https://surfingann.blogspot.nl/2017/0....

[Malcolm Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember exactly when I first heard a Nina Simone record, but it was some time in the early 1980s. It could have been in a nightclub or played on friend's record player. Being pre-internet we had no idea who she was or anything about her life. It was only when a someone told me that I realised that she was playing the piano as well as singing - the extent of her genius really hit home.

There's a line in 'One Day' that says something like ' in a student flat in Edinburgh in the 1980's you were never more than ten feet away from a Nina Simone album' and by the mid eighties that was true.

I was lucky enough to see her in London in the late eighties at the Dominion Theatre. I found my self next to an American tourist, who had been a fan in the sixties, the last time he'd seen her was at a protest. He'd been making a call from a phone box on Tottenham Court Road when he looked up and saw Nina Simone's name splashed across the Theatre - he hadn't known what happened to her, even assumed that she'd died and the joy of his rediscovery was infectious. The power of perfume commercials ?

The resurgence of racism and xenophobia we've seen seems to give a new relevance to this engaging biography - the injustices that fired Nina Simone seem to be echoed across the World today. Light has an easy style that tells an astonishing and tortured story of struggle and artistic brilliance. Having enjoyed Simone's music for many years I wish that this book and the documentary had come along a long time ago. Recommended for long time fans and anyone who is discovering her for the first time.

[F. Dum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solide Biographie einer der für mich großartigsten Künstlerinnen aller Zeiten. Das Buch war eine Auftragsarbeit nach dem Erfolg des Films, und ich muss sagen: Man merkt's. Es fehlt eine gewisse Linie, vieles wiederholt sich, der Schreibstil ist nüchtern, fast technisch... der Film ist jedenfalls um Längen besser -- was natürlich auch daran liegt, dass dort viele Liveaufnahmen und Musik geboten werden, die hier naturgemäß fehlen, und mit denen man den problematischen und faszinierenden Charakter dieser Frau am besten erfährt. Ich würde sogar sagen, wer den Film gesehen hat, braucht das Buch nicht wirklich; Neues erfährt man hier nicht. Dennoch für Simone-Fans durchaus lesenswert, weil einige Aspekte ihres Lebens (u.a. der Charakter Andrew Strouds) etwas ausführlicher beleuchtet werden als im Film.

[Tamyka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished this I liked learning about her but it was my first Nina simone biography so I want to read another in order to better determine author’s bias. I felt sad for her she seemed so misunderstood and unappreciated and obviously she struggled with mental health and I can imagine the challenge of that with being an unambiguously Black woman back then

[Emily Mellow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really not great writing. I kept reading to the end, just because I wanted to know everything about her life, but it was depressing and also not written with much skill.
Three stars for comprehensive research and compilation of all the quotes, though.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really interesting and it didn't sugarcoat anything. The writing itself was a little on the dry side but I'm looking forward to watching the documentary.

[Joe Skilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simone herself would not allow her work to be reduced simply to a product of anger, a push-button reaction to white racism that could be dismissed without an acknowledgement of the musics layers. "I sing from intelligence," she said. "I sing from letting them know that I know who they are, and what they have done to my people around the world. Thats not anger - anger has its place, and fire moves things. But I sing from intelligence."


"Rules to remember: 9. Keep in touch with Friends. They are valuable, as you are a loner by nature."

[Jo-Ann Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written, easy to read book about a very troubled woman. She possessed musical genius but an explosive, erratic personality.

While the book was basically well written, compared to other biographies, it seemed to lack depth and insight into this personality.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comprehensive biography tells of the spectacular life of Nina Simone. I had no idea that her life was full of twists and turns. Fascinating life she lived!

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

BOTW

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08gwsjb

Description: Inspired by the Oscar-nominated TV documentary, Alan Light's biography draws on Nina Simone's early diaries, rare interviews, childhood journals and input from her daughter Lisa Simone Kelly to paint a picture of the classically-trained pianist who became a soul legend, a leading civil rights activist and one of the most influential artists of our time.

Music journalist Alan Light is the author of The Holy of the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of Hallelujah, and Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain, among others. He was editor-in-chief of the music magazines Vibe and Spin, and is a frequent contributor to the New York Times.

Episode One: "I was born a child prodigy darling. I was born a genius." Nina Simone

[Jazzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanting a fuller vision of Simone's life I decided to read both her autobiography and a biography. For the biography, I chose this book. I did not read this book completely, and chose to focus on parts of her life. I read about half, skimmed other parts, and skipped a few chapters altogether.

I'm glad I read her autobiography first, because it provided a great base from which to branch out. It also allowed me to better identify Alan Light's biases and point of view. Light did a good job with this book but it was important for me to remember how his life and limitations influenced how he presented Nina in this book. Keeping that in mind as context, and having first read Nina's version of her life, I was able to, I feel, extract a truer picture of Nina than either book presents alone.

The more I learn about Nina, the more I respect her, pity her, and am inspired by her.

Next, I'll tackle Princess Noire.

[Darren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been a Nina fan for about half my life, the highlight of that capped early when I saw her in concert in 1998. I knew very little about her reputation, her history and her life. When she died I learnt a bit more through the obits. This book told me stuff I really had no idea about, particularly her struggles with mental health problems that made her at turns violent, paranoid, mean and needy. It can't have been easy to be around her.

Nina Simone was a fierce genius and I would have liked more insight into her creative process and musicianship. Personally, I've long been interested in her friendship with another important artist, the writer James Baldwin. They were both active in the civil rights movement and used their art to communicate the aims and anger of the fight. It doesn't get much of a look in here. But it's the first biography I've read about her, and my respect for her remains intact.

[Don Gorman · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2) Nina Simone is an important part of music history. She was renowned for her unruly personality as much as her amazing talent. This book does and does not explain a lot of that. Her family background and life history makes for a reasonable story, but some of it does feel very strange to today's reader. The abuse she endured, from the outside and self inflicted , is overwhelming, and her actions at time were unjustifiable. Her involvement in the civil rights and other social movements were well known, and were also a very important part of the figure she became. That all being said, she was a musical genius and reading this book has sent me to the library to grab a whole bunch of her music and give it a listen one more time with a new ear. A true Diva.

[Michaël Van Caeneghem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik heb Nina Simone in de jaren 80-90 verscheidene malen live gezien, samen met mijn goeie vriend Roger Nupie. In de loop van die jaren werd Roger één van de personal assistants van Nina in het zgn ‘A-team’. Hij komt dan ook dikwijls aan het woord in deze biografie. Ik heb dan ook al heel wat van de tragische verhalen uit haar turbulente leven gehoord. Deze biografie is tot nog toe de beste die over haar werd geschreven. De auteur heeft bijzonder veel research gedaan en verder gewerkt op de documentaire, die op Netflix is te zien. Er wordt niets verbloemd in het boek. De auteur laat de belangrijke mensen uit Nina’s leven aan het woord, zonder in adoratie of dweperij te vervallen, zodat je, volgens mij, toch wel een correct beeld van haar leven krijgt. Een aanrader.

[Graziella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conoscevo Nina Simone solo per la sua voce straordinaria e la sua bravura, ma non sapevo niente della sua vita. Uno straordinario talento unito ad una incommensurabile fragilità, a u desiderio talmente grande d'amore da non poter essere corrisposto, tanto era ideale. Impossibile viverle vicino, soprattutto per la figlia.
Bella biografia, ben scritta.

[Guðjón Bragason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ævisögur þurfa ekki endilega að vera langar. Þessi bók gerir ævi þessarar merku söngkonu, píanista og lagahöfundar mjög góð skil á 260 bls. Tengsl hennar við mannréttindabaráttu, geðræn vandamál og flókin tengsl við fjölskyldu fá sitt rými. En tónlistin er samt alltaf í forgrunni. Mikill snillingur sem Simone var en alger diva einnig.

[Lore LongSoulSystem · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a huge fan of hers but I like her activism and energy.
This biography includes a lot.
It broke my heart to listen she was both an abuse victim and an abuser.

She was a difficult and wild woman, but very corageous.

[André · Rating 5 out of 5]

Citaat : Al mijn nummers, de belangrijkste dan, delen aan het einde een schop uit. Ik geef je een schop en laat je nadenken, je voelt het meteen.
Review : Nina Simone wordt geboren als Eunice Kathleen Waymon, zesde in een rij van acht kinderen en droomt van kindsbeen af van een beroemde klassieke pianiste te worden. Het zingen, waar ze later zo beroemd om zal worden, komt er pas later bij. En dat vormt de basis voor haar ganse latere leven, lijkt mij. Ze wordt vaak gezien als iets of iemand die ze niet is of niet wil zijn. Echt gelukkig zal ze nooit worden, ondanks haar vele liefdes, haar huwelijken en de geboorte van haar dochter. Ze wordt al worstelend geboren en zal dit blijven doen. Dit maakt haar misschien tot de grote talentvolle artieste die ze is maar dit maakt ook dat ze nooit echt volledig gelukkig is of zich op haar plaats voelt. Nina Simone heeft veel gedaan voor de burgerrechtenstrijd en voor de muziek, het is ook een vrouw die andere vrouwen tot voorbeeld kan dienen maar het is ook een vrouw die niet goed in haar vel zat en dit vaak op agressieve wijze toonde ten op zichte van haar geliefde, familie en fans. Het levensverhaal van Nina Simone is op een vlotte manier geschreven, nergens heb je het gevoel dat het hapert. Elke hoofdstuk begint met een kort stukje tekst van Nina of van een bekende van Nina waardoor je gelijk een idee hebt waar het hoofdstuk over gaat.Ondanks haar grote talent werd de briljante en tegenstrijdige Nina Simone gedwarsboomd door haar eigen instabiliteit. Alan Light schijnt nieuw licht op haar leven in deze definitieve biografie Op het podium voelde Nina Simone zich vrij en ongeremd. Maar in de gewelddadige, turbulente en zinloze tijden van de Civil Rights Movement in de jaren zestig, had Simone moeite om haar artistieke identiteit en ambitie te verzoenen met haar toewijding aan de burgerrechtenstrijd. Alan Light neemt ons mee op een geloofwaardige tocht langs de verdrietige en verbijsterende wirwar van Nina Simone's leven. Het resultaat is een aangrijpend eerlijk, fascinerend portret van een strijdbaar maar getroebleerd artiest. In een fascinerende nieuwe biografie komt de strijdbare maar getroebleerde zangeres ook zelf aan het woord. Met een schokkende eerlijkheid. Ze overleed in 2003 ten gevolge van alcoholmisbruik en een bipolaire stoornis. Haar muziek leeft voort: 'Feeling good', 'Sinnerman', 'I loves you Porgy', 'My baby just cares for me', nummers die je regelmatig hoort in series en commercials. Een unieke mix van soul, folk, Bach en jazz. Er kwamen een Netflix-documentaire en een speelfilm*. De muziekjournalist Light schreef deze biografie op basis van de research voor die film en dit boek borduurt vooral verder op de Netflix-documentaire ‘What happened Miss Simone’.

[Jeff Howells · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not one for hero worship, but Nina Simone is definitely one of the few who I hold above everyone else. She's my favourite female singer by a country mile and she is responsible for my favourite ever song (the one I would take, above all others, to a desert island). Yet strangely her legacy has not been treated well: there are a plethora of greatest hits knocking around but it's not easy to get hold of the albums she released in her lifetime.
This is the accompanying book to the Netflix documentary (also titled What Happened Miss Simone?) and is based on letters diaries and available interviews.
Whatever you think of her music, Nina Simone, the person, was a difficult person to love. It's clear from the book that she was deeply troubled - and that she had undiagnosed (or at least not publicly acknowledged) mental health issues - possibly she was bi polar...there are also hints she may have had Schizophrenia.
Her sexuality was fluid, and she had relationships with men & women. Her marriage was abusive, and when it finally broke down she searched in vain for a lasting relationship. In fact her most meaningful relationship was a musical one - with her longtime guitarist.
I think it's clear that the issues she had caused her to be viewed by many as being a bit of a nightmare, and it's good that this book goes someway to explain the reputation she had.
But let's not forget she was practically unique in 20th century music - a classically training black women who had a voice of such power & emotion who could turn her hand to soul, jazz, pop. She could create songs & she could interpret songs (her cover versions are often better than the originals). She could sing love songs & protest songs - she inspired the civil rights movement.
It's a short book - I would love at some point to see a big doorstep of a biography that assesses in detail her music, but for now read this, watch the documentary, but please go out and listen to her music. You won't be disappointed.

[Coleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from someone who won it in a Goodreads giveaway, and passed it on to me. It was a paperback, NOT a hardback.

This biography of Nina Simone has a wide range of contributions from those who knew her. Some who obviously liked her, and some who did not. But the reader can assess the truth and consistency of the comments. In any event, Nina Simone was a great classical pianist, but unfortunately that was not to be her future career through no fault of her own except her color. She also was a great singer and entertainer, but definitely had her quirks.

Prior to reading the book, I had watched Nina play the music accompaniment on the piano, and sing "Love Me or Leave Me". She played a Bach fugue in the middle of the song. Absolutely fantastic. They do not mention this in the book but many of her albums and concerts and entertaining is discussed.

Unfortunately, she had some very bizarre incidents in her life which affected her performances and her life. I admit that it made the story difficult for me to read because I liked her so much, it was distressing for me to read sad things about her. On the other hand, she had been beaten about the head during her life such that I wondered how much brain damage could have been inflicted upon her, and how that affected her behavior.

In any event, I finished the book and I still go on line to find her music and listen to her singing and continue to like her.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I had realized that Nina Simone had written her own memoir. I would've chosen to read it first. This biography is very thoroughly researched and includes many interviews from people who knew Simone and were close to her, and it did give me a pretty good overview of Simone's life. The author, Alan Light, though, is incapable of understanding the nuance of Simone's civil rights work or her sexuality. Light fails to comprehend (and therefore convey) the exhaustion and emotional toll that being a Black woman and a Black performer during the civil rights movement clearly took on Simone. He fails to give the appropriate weight to the fear, confusion, and danger that Black people faced (and sadly continue to face today). I also thought the conclusions Light drew and the assumptions he made about Simone's motivations regarding her sexuality were offensive (in particular the narrow, heterocentric way he characterizes Simone's choice to have a threesome with another woman and her estranged husband). All in all, moments like these led me to question all Light's judgment and his conclusions in this book. I don't think he could really understand or empathize with a complex woman like Nina Simone.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

The way Nina was written about overall made her seem quite annoying and arrogant; I don't doubt elements of this about her character were true, but it made me uncomfortable how unsympathetically it was described. She was a black woman with mental health struggles in a time when they couldn't even give a name to her condition - to me her attitude was wholly understandable if not excusable. I got the impression from his writing that Alan viewed Nina as an unwarrantedly inflated ego. Maybe it's to balance her own biography, but he put more of a spotlight on what other people had to say about her, often disparaging things that contradicted what she herself said.

Also, I dunno if there was really a whole book's worth of material. The writing got a bit repetitive at times, explaining over and over how she's troubled/a diva/unstable etc. That was established about her character from the beginning! Don't think you need to use so many words to remind us everytime she flakes out on another concert.