Sometimes Gravel, Sometimes Cream: Nina Simone's Resurgence

Nina Simone is having a moment -- unfortunately it comes 12 years after her death, but perhaps now is when her music resonates most with listeners. The soul, gospel, jazz singer and pianist is the subject of a biopic, a documentary soon to be released and a documentary already finished. Artists from Common to John Legend cite Ms. Simone as a major influence, especially in the recent political and social arena. 

John Schaefer sat down with the Liz Garbus, director of the documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone? to talk about the importance of Nina Simone in today’s music scene, the rocky life she lived and the unforgettable nature of her music.

Interview Highlights

Liz Garbus on Nina Simone’s place in music today:

She is an artist we need right now. Today’s artists have been calling on her as an inspiration in a way that you can kind of combine musical prowess and excellence and unforgettableness (if you can call that a word) and political action. At the Oscars, Common and John Legend gave a shout out to Nina Simone and quoted her with a quote that is in our film, “An artist's duty is to represent the times.” That is a mantra or call-to-action that feels very appropriate for today’s climate in which a movement is being reignited on the streets.

Liz Garbus on the title, “What Happened, Miss Simone?”:

Nina had a resurgence later on, and part of that resurgence was fueled by a Chanel ad that played “My Baby Just Cares For Me.” That’s when she kind of hit the scene again. But there was this time where this larger than life, huge star, Nina Simone from the ‘60s, really disappeared from the scene.

Garbus on Nina’s journey to becoming a vocalist:

You’ll learn she was a classically trained pianist. She had no intention of being a vocalist, she had no intention of singing and performing in clubs. She was a child prodigy who trained with a Russian immigrant in her small town of Tryon in North Carolina. She became a virtuoso pianist and came to New York to go to Juilliard. Then the money ran out and she started playing in clubs in Atlantic City. The bar owner said to her, “Look, if you’re going to stay here you better sing.” And that’s when Eunice Waymon turned into Nina Simone.

Nina Simone on how she sang:

What I was interested in was conveying an emotional message. Which means using everything you’ve got inside you sometimes to barely make a note, or if you to strain to sing – you sing. So sometimes I sound like gravel and sometimes I sound like coffee and cream.

Nina Simone on what freedom is:

I’ve had a couple of times when I really felt free and that’s something else. That feeling is something else. I’ll tell you what freedom means to me: No fear. I mean really no fear. If I could have that half of my life, no fear."

What Happened, Miss Simone? will be released to Netflix June 26.