Black History Month: High Priestess of Soul by Nina Simone
Simone was a highly influential vocalist, musician, and civil rights activist
High Priestess of Soul
Nina Simone
Philips PHM 200-219
Released 1967
Nina Simone was a singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Born Eunice Waymon in 1933 to a poor family in North Carolina, Simone began playing piano at the age of three or four. She was 12 when she performed her first classical recital. Her parents were forced to give up their front row seats to white patrons and removed to the back row. Simone refused to play until her parents were returned to the front row. This incident was the seed of her involvement in the civil rights movement. In the 1950s, she changed her name and in 1959 released her debut album and recorded mostly pop music. In 1964, she signed with Colpix Records and recorded her first protest songs, “Mississippi Goddam” about the murder of Medgar Evans and the bombing of a black church, and “Old Jim Crow” about Jim Crow Laws in the South. Simone performed and spoke at civil rights gatherings and supported the black nationalism movement led by Malcolm X. She released High Priestess of Soul in 1967. The album is an example of the wide range of styles that Simone recorded, including pop, gospel, folk, jazz, and even rock with a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Brown Eyed Handsome Man.” On most of the songs here, Simone is backed by a big band arranged by Hal Mooney. These are contrasted by two gospel songs, an arrangement of the traditional hymn “Take Me to The Water” and Simone’s original “Come Ye” backed only by percussion. Simone is able to shape and adapt her amazing voice to any arrangement or style. Her silky, smoky vocal on “Keeper of the Flame” is stunning. After the release of High Priestess of Soul, the title was given to her by others much to her chagrin.
Simone continued her activism and recorded more songs about the black experience in America, and she felt that this hurt her career. She left the US and lived in Barbados for a time. When she returned to the US she learned that a warrant had been issued for unpaid taxes that she deliberately did not pay as an act of protest against the Vietnam War. She quickly returned to Barbados to avoid arrest. She moved frequently to Liberia, Switzerland, Paris, the Netherlands, and eventually to France. In the latter part of her life she was diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder and also suffered from breast cancer which took her life in 2003. Simone is highly regarded as a pioneering musician and cited as an influence by a long list of musicians including Elton John, Christina Aguilera, and Alicia Keys. Her songs have been featured on countless movie and video game soundtracks. She received four Grammy nominations and received a Grammy Hall of Fame award. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Mary J. Blige in 2018. Her recording of “Mississippi Goddam” was selected for the National Recording Registry.
Great article. Went to Spotify to listen to some of her music. Powerful.