8/23/19 Nina Simone - Black Is The Color

Nina Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina on February 21st, 1933. Nina’s prodigious talent as a musician was evident early on when she started playing piano by ear at the age of three.

She was a classically trained pianist who realized that the odds of a black female having a concert careerin 1950 was between slim and none. She started playing in piano bars in Atlantic City, and overnight Eunice Waymon became Nina Simone by taking the nickname “Nina” meaning “little one” in Spanish and “Simone” after the actress Simone Signoret.

Her undeniably remarkable talent in the end created a legacy of liberation, empowerment, passion, and love through a magnificent body of works. 

Here is one example. Please watch at least the first 3 minutes of this live performance from 1969. Nina starts playing piano, and continues to play during the first 30 seconds as the announcer adjusts her piano bench! She then proceeds to deliver an Egyptian Goddess version of this traditional Irish folk song. She is then joined by Emil Latimer on guitar.

https://youtu.be/NWmCbEbMmeU