Raised in the church by her Methodist minister mother and handyman/preacher father, she showed her astonishing abilities as early as the age of three. But it is important not to fall into the tired clichés expounded by the very society that caused the conditions to arise. Of course, the scars of being raised in a racist, segregated state gave rise to mental health challenges later in her life, as her daughter would attest to. If she was angry, then there was (literally) a whole world of reasons to be angry. “Complex” though is code for “difficult” in some minds and nothing screams ignoramus quite like the tired old racist trope of the “angry black woman.” Born in Tryon, North Carolina on February 21, 1933, Eunice Kathleen Waymon could hardly have entered the world nearer the bottom of society’s pile. As a black woman born in the rural south of the USA, a future was far from guaranteed, let alone an opportunity to shine in the way she did. Firstly, that she was a musical giant, a legend who truly merits the word being used about her and, secondly, she was often labeled a “complex” character. Happy 55th Anniversary to Nina Simone’s seventh studio album I Put A Spell On You, originally released in June 1965 (specific release date N/A).Īnyone who has paid any more than cursory attention to Nina Simone’s career or watched any of the numerous documentaries that have detailed her professional and personal life will know two things unequivocally.
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