Nina Simone was a passionate American jazz singer, pianist, songwriter, and a Civil Rights activist. She was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina February 21st, 1933 (2;3). Her talent was evident early in her life. She started playing piano by ear at the age of three (2;4). Her parents were both preachers, so consequently, she grew up in the church (2;4). Waymon began to study classical piano at Julliard School of Music in New York City, but left before graduation due to financial issues (3;4). She then moved back to Philadelphia with her family and applied at the Curtis Institute of Music, but was rejected (3;4). She began to sing at night clubs to showcase her talent.
In 1954, Waymon applied and received the job for a pianist position at Midtown Bar & Grill in Atlantic City, New Jersey (4). It was after this that she adopted the stage name “Nina Simone” (3;4). “Nina” came from the Spanish word “niña,” which was a nickname used by her
She performed the song live at Carnegie Hall in New York City (5). The chorus of the song is “Alabama's gotten me so upset, Tennessee made me lose my rest, And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam” (6). The murder of Medgar Evans, a black civil rights activist, in Mississippi on June 12, 1963 and the church bombing in Alabama that killed four little black girls on September 15, 1963 lead Nina Simone to write “Mississippi Goddam” (1). Additionally, in 1960, sit-ins and protests were happening in Nashville, Tennessee, which lead to the bombing of the home of civil rights lawyer Z. Alexander Looby (5). The events that happened in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee upset Nina Simone tremendously. Simone locked herself in her room until the song was complete (1). With this song, Simone not only signified her own frustration with the treatment of the African-Americans, but she spoke for many others as
Ella was born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25, 1917. When alled “The First Lady of Song” by some fans. She was known for having beautiful tone, extended range, and great intonation, and famous for her improvisational scat singing. Ella sang during the her most famous song was “A-tiscket A-tasket”. Fitzgerald sang in the period of swing, ballads, and bebop; she made some great albums with other great jazz artists such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong. She influenced countless American popular singers of the post-swing period and also international performers such as the singer Miriam Makeba. She didn’t really write any of her own songs. Instead she sang songs by other people in a new and great way. The main exception
Josephine Baker was born to Carrie McDonald, in St. Louis, MO on June 3, 1906. The situation on who Baker’s father is up to debate, it is rumored that Eddie Carson was her father. Eddie Carson was a drummer and had an entertainment act with Baker’s mother. At birth, Baker’s name was Freda Josephine McDonald. (Robinson) Later, Baker changed her name when she got into the entertainment business. In her youth, Baker was always poorly dressed and hungry; she started working at the age of 8 years old. (Whitaker 64) She worked as domestic help for a white family; the woman of the house was reportedly abusive to Baker. At the age of 12, Baker dropped out of school. After Baker dropped out of school, she became homeless. (Wood 241–318)
“We Shall Overcome” was a popular song of comfort and strength during the civil rights movement; it was a rallying cry for many black people who had experienced the racial injustices of the south. The song instilled hope that one day they would “overcome” the overt and institutional racism preventing them from possessing the same rights as white citizens. Anne Moody describes several instances when this song helped uplift her through the low points of her life as a black woman growing up in Mississippi in the 1950s and early 1960s. By the end of her autobiography “Coming Of Age In Mississippi” (1968), she saw a stream of excessive and unending violence perpetrated by white people and the crippling effects of poverty on the black people of
Joan Baez, a famous folk singer, sang her most famous song “Oh Freedom” during the civil rights movement. She expressed her want and need for equality and freedom f...
Bessie Smith was born April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She later in life became known as the “Empress of the Blues”. At the age of eighteen she being traveling with a group by the name of Moss Stokes Company. While with the group she met Ma Rainey who also became a friend and mentor to her. After traveling with the group, in 1923 she was discovered by Columbia Records. After signing with Columbia, she released her first song Downhearted Blues. The song Downhearted Blues went on to sale over 800,000 copies and became one her most popular songs. During the 1920s and 1930s she had become one of the most famous blues singers in America. During that time period Bessie recorded over 160 tracks. Because of the time period many black singers
According to Ruth Feldstein “Nina Simone recast black activism in the 1960’s.” Feldstein goes on to say that “Simone was known to have supported the struggle for black freedom in the United States much earlier, and in a more outspoken manner around the world than many other African American entertainers.” Her family ties to the south, her unique talent, her ability to travel and make money are similar to the Blues women movement that preceded her. It can be said that Nina Simone goes a step further the by directly attacking inequities pertaining to race and gender in her music. However, what distinguishes her is her unique musicianship and that is what ultimately garners her massive exposure and experiences over those of her past contemporaries.
Ella was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. In school, she sang in glee club, but her passion was to rather dance. In the 1920s and early 1930s , jazz began to sweep the nation. In 1932, Fitzgerald’s mother was killed in a car accident. After her mother’s death, the two sisters were shifted among her family members and Ella became a restless, unhappy teen. She usually w...
Known mostly by her stage names, “Lady Ella”, “The Queen of Jazz”, and “The First Lady of Song”; Ella Jane Fitzgerald, born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25th 1917 was renowned for her improvisational ability in her scat singing. She never
It appears Maya Angelou could answer the timeless question what does it mean to be a women?” She shows her confidence and pride in her identity as a women in the poem “Phenomenal Woman” that I found on the internet. She says,
Fast. Risky. Intriguing. The upbeat tempo, clashing of high-hats, and randomness in the seduction of jazz draws in an audience during a performance. The musical art form of jazz uses key elements that mainstream music normally use to draw an audience in. However, the added emphasis of improvisation sets jazz apart from mainstream music. Improvisation calls for a musician to create new music on the spot. Musicians use elements like tempo changes, tone, riffs, and etc., to express improvisation. As jazz originates from the African American
Aretha was born into a family that attended a Baptist church, with her father named, C.L Franklin, who was a Baptist preacher and gospel singer. Her mother was also a gospel singer and somehow there came to be reports that her mother had abandoned Aretha and her siblings, but she claims it to be all a lie (“CNN”). She was the fourth of five children, and lost her mother in 1952, a few years after her parents had gotten divorced.
Josephine Baker Josephine Baker was an African American woman who had to overcome discrimination and abuse in achieving her dream of becoming a singer and dancer. She did this during the 1920s, when African Americans faced great discrimination. She had a hard childhood. Her personal life was not easy to handle. Furthermore, she overcame poverty and racism to achieve her career dream.
While Jim Crow laws were reeking havoc on the lives of African Americans in the South, a massed exodus of Southern musicians, particularly from New Orleans, spread the seeds of Jazz as far north as New York City. A new genre of music produced fissures in the walls of racial discrimination thought to be impenetrable. Musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, "King" Oliver and Fletcher Henderson performed to the first desegregated audiences. Duke Ellington starred in the first primetime radio program to feature an African American artist. And a quirky little girl from Missouri conquered an entire country enthralled by her dark skin, curvaceous body and dynamic personality. Josephine Baker was more than a Jazz musician. She embodied the freedom and expressiveness of that which is known as Jazz.
Etta James, originally “JamesEtta” Hawkins,was born on January 25th 1938 in Los Angeles California. Her mother’s name was Dorothy Hawkins. She was an African American. (Rolling Stone Magazine.) Etta James was raised by her mother. She grew up not knowing who her father was. It was said at one time that Rudolf Walter Wanderon Jr. also known as “Minnesota Fats” an American professional billiards player, was said to be her father. Throughout some of her childhood. Etta was mostly raised by some of her friends, and relatives, that lived close to her in the nearby neighborhood. Everyone loved Etta. Etta started performing at the young age of five. At this age, Etta known as a gospel prodigy. She grew up attending church. The first time she had ever sung was actually in the choir of the church she attended. When she was twelve, she began singing in a trio. When Etta was fifteen years old she was what some might call a rebel child. She began ditching school just to hang out with friends and drink because she thought that she could be independent.
Toni Morrison was born Chloe Ardelia Wofford on February 18th, 1931, in the small town of Lorain, Ohio. She was the second born of her four siblings that her mother, Ramah Willis, and father, George Wofford, had. Morrison grew up during the Great Depression, which had begun in 1929. Growing up, Morrison heard stories about the violence that took place against African Americans. Both sets of Morrison’s grandparents were a part of the “Great Migration”, which took place during the early 1900s. Her maternal grandparents left the city of Greenville, Alabama, in 1910 due to the loss of their farm. As for her paternal family, they left Georgia and headed north the same year as her maternal family to escape sharecropping. Chloe’s childhood was filled with African American Folklore, music, rituals and myths. Like Morrison’s grandmother, Willis for example, would keep a dream journal which she tried to decode each dream symbol into winning numbers. Throughout her childhood her father and grandmother helped develop a love of storytelling. She would mainly hear about the violence that took place against the African Americans, but Chloe’s mother warned her against the hatred of whites. During her early education, she went to an integrated school. She was the only African American student in her first grade class, but was still one of the best students in her class. Her success in school would not stop! She excelled in high school where she graduated with honors from Lorain High School in 1949. She then went on to Howard University in Washington DC, where she majored in English, and continued to succeed academically. During her time at Howard, she then changed her name to “Toni” because many people were not able to pronounce her actual name. C...