Nina Simone developed a distinctive style of music and presentation that has proved to be popular across age and trend barriers. Her singing and compositions were a mixture and a subtle amalgam of elements of Jazz, soul, pop and blues. The range of her songs traversed almost every genre; including works by Bob Dylan and Jacques Brel, as well as many other artists. Some critics claim that the secret of her unique style and appeal lay in her background of gospel music.
The secret of her delivery has always seemed to me to lie in that background in the gospel church. She can muster the vocal majesty and electrifying force of a Southern preacher, or a singer such as Mahalia Jackson.
(Gayford, M. )
Others describe her voice and presentation of the songs as "haunting" and this can be ascribed to particular way in which she uses jazz phrasing and in her use of timing in her songs.
Her autobiography gives us some insight into this astounding talent and into the reasons for her popularity. In her book I Put a Spell on You she states that she wanted to "make people feel on a deep level. It's difficult to describe because it's not something you can analyse; to get near what it's about you have to play it. And when you've caught it, when you've got the audience hooked, you always know because it's like electricity hanging in the air." (...
Protest Song One protest song from the 1960s that stands out is Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddman.” It is a song about the racism in the South that was tearing the country apart in the 1960s. As an African American and friend of Malcolm X, Nina Simone was angry about what she saw and this song’s lyrics express that anger: “I can’t stand the pressure much longer,” she sings early in the
Black Studies: Music�Reaction 1Nina Simone is the artist behind the songs "Young Gifted and Black" and "Black Gold". Nina Simone was an iconic jazz and R&B singer and songwriter, who emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. She was a powerful civil rights activist and a vocal advocate for the struggle of African Americans. She was also well known for her powerful performances and her work that combined classical with jazz
Simone and the Role of the Black ArtistNina Simone said quite simply that the �artist�s duty is to reflect the times,� and so as a Black Artist she saw it as her duty to reflect the times that black people especially were going through in her day and age (�Nina Simone: An Artist�s Duty�). She did that especially in songs like �Mississippi Goddamn,� which criticized society for its racism and
The five items found in the time capsule are: 1) a 1964 record by Nina Simone called “Wild is the Wind,” 2) A Time magazine from 1964, with a painting of the face of Lee Harvey Oswald on the cover and a banner saying: “The Warren Commission: No Conspiracy, Domestic or Foreign,” 3) a photograph of Lyndon Johnson and Mathilde Krim 4) the original Orville Nix film of John F.
Poetry Explication and Analysis Essay: “Describe Yourself in Three Words or Less” by Rita Dove Part I: Scansion and Analysis Rita Dove’s “Describe Yourself in Three Words or Less” is a poetic slap in the face to politeness and manners. She makes no apologies and no excuses. Her words resound with the lyrics of Nina Simone who sang similarly in her songs about being independent and doing as she pleased. Dove echoes
When Willie Lynch wrote his letter to white slave owners in America in the 17th century, laying out the blueprint for the American Establishment on how to create racial tensions in order to facilitate the white slave owners’ rule over their African slave, he unwittingly laid the foundation stone for American elitism and racism that has since come to characterize the ruling class’ use of mass media in controlling the
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