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Tremendous pleasure
and honor to welcome
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the incredible, unique, and fantastic,
one and only Nina Simone.
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Hello.
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Hi! We're ready.
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One, two, three.
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I haven't seen you for many years,
since 1968.
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I have decided that I will
do no more jazz festivals.
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That decision has not changed.
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I will sing for you,
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or we will do and share with you
a few moments,
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after which I shall graduate
to a higher class, I hope,
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and I hope you will come with me.
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We will start from the beginning,
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which was about a little girl,
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and her name was Blue.
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What's "free" to you, Nina?
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-What's "free" to me?
-Yeah.
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Same thing it is to you.
You tell me.
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No, no, you tell me.
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I don't know.
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It's just a feeling.
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It's just a feeling.
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It's like, "How do you tell somebody
how it feels to be in love?"
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How are you going to tell anybody
who has not been in love
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how it feels to be in love?
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You cannot do it to save your life.
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You can describe things
but you can't tell them,
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but you know it
when it happens.
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That's what I mean by "free."
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I've had a couple of times onstage
when I really felt free,
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and that's something else.
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That's really something else!
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Like, all... all...
Like... like--
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I'll tell you what freedom
is to me, no fear.
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I mean, really, no fear.
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If I could have that
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half of my life, no fear.
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My mother was one
of the greatest entertainers of all time,
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hands down...
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but she paid a huge price.
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{\an8}People seem to think that
when she went out on stage,
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{\an8}that was when she became Nina Simone.
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{\an8}My mother was Nina Simone 24/7...
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and that's where it became a problem.
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When she was performing,
she was brilliant, she was loved.
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She was also a revolutionary.
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She found a purpose for the stage,
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a place from which she could
use her voice to speak out for her people.
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But when the show ended,
everybody else went home.
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She was alone
and she was still fighting...
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but she was fighting
her own demons...
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full of anger and rage.
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She couldn't live with herself...
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and everything fell apart.
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Good evening.
Our guest tonight is Nina Simone.
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Probably the foremost blues singer,
jazz singer, singer of all songs
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in the United States today.
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Nina, are you happy with
the kind of work you are doing?
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What makes me the happiest,
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is when I'm performing
and there are people out there
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who feel with me
and I know I touched them.
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But to be completely honest,
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the whole thing
seems so much like a dream.
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I never thought I was gonna
stay in show business.
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When I first got into show business,
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I wasn't a blues singer
and I wasn't even a jazz singer.
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I was a classical pianist.
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I studied to become
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the first black classical pianist
in America,
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and that's all that was on my mind.
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That's what I was prepared to be.
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I was born Eunice Waymon,
which is my real name, by the way,
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in a town called
Tryon, North Carolina.
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I started to play the piano
when I was three or four.
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My mother was a preacher
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and she took me with her
on her revivals,
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and I started to play the piano in church.
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Revival meetings were
some of the most exciting times
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that I've ever had.
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The music was so intense,
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you just sort of went out of yourself.
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I felt it tremendously.
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I was leading it.
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When I was seven, the choir of our church
gave a program at the local theater,
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and I was on that program...
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And I played some song,
I don't remember what it was,
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and these two women, two white women,
in the audience heard me.
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One of them was the woman
that my mother worked for,
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and the other one was a music teacher,
Mrs. Mazzanovich,
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and they decided right then and there
to give me lessons.
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And so, for five years after that,
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I studied piano, classical piano,
with this teacher.
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I crossed the railroad tracks
every weekend to get to Mrs. Mazzanovich.
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And, you know,
railroad tracks in the South
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are supposed to be dividing
the blacks from the whites.
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Well, it really did.
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I was so scared.
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Mrs. Mazzanovich frightened me.
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It was her being white,
in the sense that I had never seen.
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She was alien to me.
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Her white hair, the combs in it,
her pleasantness...
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I loved that.
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And she started me on Bach.
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And this Bach, I liked him.
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Mrs. Mazzanovich had it in her mind
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{\an8}that I was gonna be one of
the world's greatest concert pianists.
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{\an8}So it was all
very disciplined classical music.
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Bach, Beethoven, Debussy,
Brahms, you name it.
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Then Mrs. Mazzanovich got a fund together,
"Eunice Waymon Fund,"
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and I gave lots of recitals,
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and they would take up collection
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{\an8}to further my education
after I had left her.
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Mommy took to all of the training
like a fish to water,
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but it was a double-edged sword.
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She had a very lonely life
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because she was practicing
seven, eight hours a day.
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When I first started to take lessons,
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I became terribly aware
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of how isolated I was
from the other children,
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and how isolated I was
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from the white community
and the negro community.
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I felt it, all the time,
even when the kids used to play with me.
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They always wanted me
just to play the piano for them to dance.
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I wasn't asked too much
to do anything else.
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That was very hard.
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Part of that isolation, of course,
was the thing about color.
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I was a black girl, and I knew about it,
and I lived in it.
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I lived in the South for 17 years.
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My mom rarely referred
to Jim Crow and segregation
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and a lot of the racial issues that
were going on at that stage in her life.
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But she did tell me about times
when she was told her nose was too big,
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her lips were too full
and her skin was too dark.
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And after she was told that,
they probably told her,
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"There's only certain things
you'll be good for in your life."
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What I knew, I knew.
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But we weren't allowed to mention
anything racial in our house.
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I wasn't consciously dealing with race.
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That wasn't consciously
on my mind at all...
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until years later.
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After I graduated from high school,
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the money that had been saved
from the Eunice Waymon Fund
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sent me to New York to Juilliard
for a year and a half.
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And then I applied for a scholarship to
Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
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I was playing Czerny and Liszt
and Rachmaninoff and Bach.
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I knew I was good enough,
but they turned me down,
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and it took me about six months
to realize it was because I was black.
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I never really got over
that jolt of racism at the time.
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Then the money ran out
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and the reality hit me
that I had to go to work.
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My parents had moved the whole family
to Philadelphia to be near me,
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and my family is very poor,
so I had to work.
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What else was there for me to do?
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So, I got myself a job
in Atlantic City for a summer.
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It was a very crummy bar
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and I used to go in in evening gowns.
I didn't know any better.
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And I played everything
that I could think of.
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Pop songs, classical,
spirituals, all kinds of things.
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It was very strange.
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And I had never sung before,
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and the owner came in the second night
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and told me if I wanted to keep the job,
I had to sing.
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So, $90 was more money
than I had ever heard of in my life,
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so I said, "Well, I'll sing,"
and ever since then, I've been singing.
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Eunice Waymon was playing
in the bars to support her family
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and to have money to continue
her classical piano training.
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{\an8}But since she didn't want
her mother to know that
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{\an8}she was playing
"the devil's music" in bars,
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she changed her name.
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Eunice Waymon became Nina Simone.
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She named herself "Niña,"
meaning "little one,"
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and she had a boyfriend
who called her "Niña,"
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and "Simone" came from
the French actress Simone Signoret.
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I didn't want
my mother to find out.
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I knew she would hate it.
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So I, kind of, kept it from her
for a long, long time.
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Was it lonely
for a young girl
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entertaining in these strange bars?
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Extremely. Extremely lonely.
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Working peculiar hours, I imagine.
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12:00 midnight to 7:00 in the morning.
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It ruined your social life, uh...
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Never had much of one.
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- Why'd you keep on with it?
- Couldn't help it.
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I have to play
and I needed money.
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It was always a matter of necessity
from day to day what I'm going to do.
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I didn't even know I was
going to stay in show business.
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I never thought about a choice.
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From the beginning,
I felt there was something eating at her.
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{\an8}You know,
"What's eating at you, Nina?"
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{\an8}And, um...
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{\an8}gradually that got stronger.
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The first time I played with Nina,
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it was the summer of 1957
at a restaurant in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
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She didn't look at me.
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Said nothing, as though I wasn't...
I wasn't even there,
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and started in on a song.
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She never told me
what key she was going to be in.
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She just started playing, and I knew
exactly where I was going to go with it.
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It was like we had
a telepathic relationship.
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Before you knew it,
we were just weaving in and out.
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And then she looked up.
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Al Schackman
is a terribly sensitive, creative man.
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He has perfect pitch,
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which means that
no matter what key I'm in,
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he's able to adapt himself immediately,
'cause I do that all the time.
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I'll change the key
in the middle of a tune.
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Nina had a wonderful way
of taking a piece of music, and...
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not interpreting it, but...
but, like, metamorphosizing it.
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You know, morphing it
into her experience.
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What I was interested in was
conveying an emotional message,
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which means using
everything you've got inside you
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sometimes to barely make a note
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or if you have to strain to sing,
you sing.
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So sometimes
I sound like gravel,
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00:18:08,087 --> 00:18:11,173
and sometimes
I sound like coffee and cream.
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When I first saw Nina
at my club in 1959,
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I was impressed.
She was different.
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{\an8}She mixed in folk music with jazz.
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{\an8}She played very fine piano.
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Her voice was totally different
from anybody else.
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It was a woman's voice,
but it had the depth of a baritone.
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That depth and that darkness carried
the insight of what was in Nina's soul...
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and it reached you very quickly.
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She was an artist.
She was an original artist.
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So we paid attention, and in 1960,
I put her on the Newport Jazz Festival,
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and she was a hit there.
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Her sound is so original.
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When she first appeared...
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{\an8}she was one of those musicians who...
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{\an8}Once-- You don't have to
hear them a bunch.
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{\an8}If you hear them once,
then the next time you hear 'em, you say,
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"Oh, that's that same one
I heard last week.
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Nobody sounds like that except her."
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At Newport,
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she was sitting on a high stool
with a tambourine,
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and I was in the back.
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She wasn't sure
she wanted to go through with it.
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If I remember right, she was a little,
you know, "What am I doing here?"
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And I said, "You're here because,
you know, you belong here."
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And she said,
"Okay, Al, but you better play."
241
00:20:52,376 --> 00:20:55,087
And I said,
"Don't worry, I'll play."
242
00:21:02,469 --> 00:21:05,932
But then, if you watch during
her performance of "Little Liza,"
243
00:21:06,015 --> 00:21:08,142
she has that little smile
from time to time.
244
00:21:09,601 --> 00:21:11,312
She let go,
and it was really cute.
245
00:21:21,197 --> 00:21:23,574
Then I recorded
seven or eight tunes
246
00:21:23,657 --> 00:21:25,785
that I had been doing all of those years,
247
00:21:25,868 --> 00:21:28,704
{\an8}and of course, the public
picked out "I Loves You Porgy."
248
00:21:28,788 --> 00:21:32,249
{\an8}It was not pushed or promoted
to be a hit at all.
249
00:21:42,134 --> 00:21:44,971
-Girls! Guys! Hi.
-Hi, Hugh, nice to see you.
250
00:21:45,054 --> 00:21:46,055
Real good.
251
00:21:46,138 --> 00:21:48,515
Eleanor, you want to, uh,
take Don's coat here,
252
00:21:48,599 --> 00:21:52,103
and maybe you can show the girls
where the powder room is and bedroom.
253
00:21:52,186 --> 00:21:53,687
Hello, there.
254
00:21:53,770 --> 00:21:55,314
Very nice to have you with us
this evening.
255
00:21:55,397 --> 00:21:56,523
This is Playboy's Penthouse,
256
00:21:56,607 --> 00:22:00,277
and I'm Hugh Hefner,
editor/publisher of Playboy magazine.
257
00:22:01,487 --> 00:22:05,574
I'd like you to meet someone that
I think most of you know, Nina Simone.
258
00:22:05,657 --> 00:22:10,246
She came out of nowhere
in the last year as a recording star.
259
00:22:10,329 --> 00:22:12,832
Now has a very, very big record in "Porgy"
260
00:22:12,915 --> 00:22:14,959
that is breaking
all kinds of sales records.
261
00:22:15,042 --> 00:22:16,543
We're very happy she could join us
262
00:22:16,627 --> 00:22:18,045
-tonight on Playboy's Penthouse...
-Thanks.
263
00:22:18,129 --> 00:22:22,674
...and she's going to play and sing
a little bit for us now with her group.
264
00:22:25,970 --> 00:22:27,263
Do you want to hear "Porgy"?
265
00:22:27,346 --> 00:22:29,140
- Very much!
- Right!
266
00:22:29,223 --> 00:22:31,725
Good, that's what we'll do.
267
00:23:45,466 --> 00:23:48,219
Nina, there's a man
named Andy Stroud.
268
00:23:48,302 --> 00:23:51,263
He walked into your life
and became a permanent part.
269
00:23:51,347 --> 00:23:52,931
How did you meet your husband?
270
00:23:53,015 --> 00:23:58,854
He came to see me at a nightclub
and a mutual friend introduced us.
271
00:23:58,937 --> 00:24:03,525
{\an8}Nina came to the table and sat,
and I was eating a hamburger plate,
272
00:24:03,609 --> 00:24:06,820
{\an8}and there were fries,
and she dipped into them.
273
00:24:06,903 --> 00:24:09,198
{\an8}And she wanted to know if it was okay.
I said, "All right."
274
00:24:09,281 --> 00:24:14,495
We got cute and then she gave me
that card with a note on it.
275
00:24:14,578 --> 00:24:19,041
{\an8}Then I went over to see her at her place
in the next day or two.
276
00:24:38,477 --> 00:24:41,730
How did you know that
Andy Stroud was to be your husband
277
00:24:41,813 --> 00:24:44,775
and not just another guy
out for a date or something else?
278
00:24:44,858 --> 00:24:47,736
That's a hard question.
279
00:24:47,819 --> 00:24:51,365
He told me that he had
wanted to meet me for a long time.
280
00:24:51,448 --> 00:24:54,076
{\an8}And he had come for me.
I fell in love with him.
281
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:58,997
Then later, he scared me to death.
He was so, you know...
282
00:24:59,081 --> 00:25:02,876
He knew what he wanted
and he just took over.
283
00:25:05,671 --> 00:25:09,258
He abandoned his own career
as a sergeant of the police department
284
00:25:09,341 --> 00:25:10,551
to manage me,
285
00:25:10,634 --> 00:25:15,056
and for the first time, I knew what it was
not to be just floundering out there.
286
00:25:33,532 --> 00:25:35,367
I just remember meeting Andy.
287
00:25:35,451 --> 00:25:41,373
Here was a tough, New York,
you know, vice squad cop,
288
00:25:41,457 --> 00:25:46,170
that when he stepped out
of his car uptown, people ran.
289
00:25:47,754 --> 00:25:52,509
And he had... he had a way
of just saying one word...
290
00:25:52,593 --> 00:25:54,261
"Hey."
291
00:25:54,345 --> 00:25:57,598
...and that could put
a lot of fear in people.
292
00:25:57,681 --> 00:26:01,852
But Andy and Nina married in 1961.
293
00:26:01,935 --> 00:26:05,439
He retired from the police force
and became her manager,
294
00:26:05,522 --> 00:26:06,523
and he did well for her.
295
00:26:06,607 --> 00:26:10,111
They bought a beautiful house
in Mount Vernon, New York.
296
00:26:10,194 --> 00:26:15,031
We had a 13-room house,
four acres of land, lot of trees.
297
00:26:47,731 --> 00:26:50,442
And Lisa was born
nine months later.
298
00:26:50,526 --> 00:26:56,532
The first three hours after Lisa was born
were the most peaceful in my life,
299
00:26:56,615 --> 00:26:59,285
and I was in love with the world.
300
00:26:59,368 --> 00:27:00,369
And Andrew was there.
301
00:27:00,452 --> 00:27:02,538
He was sitting right there, and he said--
302
00:27:02,621 --> 00:27:04,790
I said, "How's the baby?"
He says, "How's the mother?"
303
00:27:04,873 --> 00:27:07,000
And I loved him for that.
304
00:27:07,083 --> 00:27:08,752
I loved being a mother.
305
00:27:08,835 --> 00:27:10,671
I was a good mother.
306
00:27:10,754 --> 00:27:13,507
I was a goddamn good mother.
307
00:27:14,425 --> 00:27:16,552
I remember our house
in Mount Vernon
308
00:27:16,635 --> 00:27:17,844
like the back of my hand.
309
00:27:17,928 --> 00:27:19,137
It was like a fairy tale.
310
00:27:19,221 --> 00:27:21,890
I remember seeing
the paisley on the walls.
311
00:27:21,973 --> 00:27:24,935
The walls were kind of like a...
312
00:27:25,018 --> 00:27:27,396
They were hued in gold,
but it really wasn't gold.
313
00:27:27,479 --> 00:27:29,147
It was more like a muted gold
314
00:27:29,231 --> 00:27:30,774
but it felt like it was velvet.
315
00:27:30,857 --> 00:27:35,821
So I'd always run my hands, like,
over the walls, because it was textured.
316
00:27:35,904 --> 00:27:38,324
And my mom,
she had her cold storage
317
00:27:38,407 --> 00:27:42,578
where she kept
her fur coats and her costumes.
318
00:27:42,661 --> 00:27:44,288
So I was always in there.
319
00:27:44,871 --> 00:27:46,665
These were the good, sweet days.
320
00:27:46,748 --> 00:27:50,336
We were building and growing together.
321
00:27:57,926 --> 00:28:02,973
I had an overall plan
to develop and create her as an artist.
322
00:28:03,056 --> 00:28:06,977
I had set up an office
at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street.
323
00:28:07,060 --> 00:28:09,271
I had a publicist.
324
00:28:09,355 --> 00:28:14,276
I had a guy who was a record-promotion man
that I got from Atlantic Records.
325
00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:18,280
I had another fellow who did
the college radio station promotion,
326
00:28:18,364 --> 00:28:21,533
and a photographer.
327
00:28:21,617 --> 00:28:23,034
Dad was the original Puff Daddy.
328
00:28:23,118 --> 00:28:27,706
I mean, he really had a vision,
and he was a very astute businessman.
329
00:28:27,789 --> 00:28:30,959
And of course, she was burning
to get on to Carnegie Hall.
330
00:28:31,042 --> 00:28:35,171
She had trained as a classical pianist
with the one thought in mind
331
00:28:35,256 --> 00:28:39,343
of being the first
black female classical pianist
332
00:28:39,426 --> 00:28:41,220
to appear in Carnegie Hall.
333
00:28:41,303 --> 00:28:43,430
That was her prime objective.
334
00:28:45,516 --> 00:28:48,810
However, none of
the New York City promoters
335
00:28:48,894 --> 00:28:51,355
would undertake this project.
336
00:28:51,438 --> 00:28:55,484
So, I took my own money
to promote the appearance.
337
00:28:56,735 --> 00:29:01,573
She was ecstatic. I mean,
she was out of her mind with joy.
338
00:29:03,575 --> 00:29:05,827
You apparently wrote
a letter to your parents saying,
339
00:29:05,911 --> 00:29:08,204
"This is where you wanted me to play,
340
00:29:08,289 --> 00:29:10,624
- but I should have been playing Bach."
- "Playing Bach."
341
00:29:10,707 --> 00:29:12,293
So this was your glory occasion,
342
00:29:12,376 --> 00:29:13,877
but you were still disappointed?
343
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,129
Well, I loved the audience,
344
00:29:16,212 --> 00:29:20,133
but I wasn't playing classical music,
and I wanted to be,
345
00:29:20,216 --> 00:29:21,217
and so I wrote,
346
00:29:21,302 --> 00:29:26,181
"Yes, I'm in Carnegie Hall, finally,
but I'm not playing Bach."
347
00:30:23,238 --> 00:30:24,615
After Carnegie Hall,
348
00:30:24,698 --> 00:30:27,618
she was getting airplay
all over the country,
349
00:30:27,701 --> 00:30:30,371
magazine pictures and stories.
350
00:30:37,961 --> 00:30:41,965
She became highly successful
and recognized.
351
00:30:44,468 --> 00:30:47,053
- Oh! Thank you very much!
- Meeting in Japan.
352
00:30:47,137 --> 00:30:49,723
A young woman who's made
a very emphatic name for herself...
353
00:30:49,806 --> 00:30:51,933
An accomplished pianist
and distinctive...
354
00:30:52,017 --> 00:30:53,519
...who's now become
a rather famous artist.
355
00:30:53,602 --> 00:30:56,062
A remarkable blues-soul sound.
356
00:30:56,146 --> 00:30:58,106
For the first time
on British television,
357
00:30:58,189 --> 00:31:00,025
The High Priestess of Soul...
358
00:31:01,317 --> 00:31:03,236
-Nina Simone.
-Nina Simone.
359
00:31:03,319 --> 00:31:04,405
The great Nina Simone.
360
00:31:08,283 --> 00:31:10,285
Miss Simone brings to her music
361
00:31:10,369 --> 00:31:12,203
a kind of technique and discipline
362
00:31:12,287 --> 00:31:14,540
we generally associate
with classical music.
363
00:31:14,623 --> 00:31:17,208
She has introduced fugue and counterpoint
364
00:31:17,292 --> 00:31:20,837
into the freewheeling spontaneity
of the jazz world.
365
00:31:24,758 --> 00:31:26,301
Nina, do you think that
366
00:31:26,385 --> 00:31:28,929
now that you are successful
as a popular artist
367
00:31:29,012 --> 00:31:30,681
that you'd like to do any classical?
368
00:31:30,764 --> 00:31:34,225
Yes, but I don't have time
to think about it too much.
369
00:31:34,309 --> 00:31:38,730
But you have to realize that when
I'm most satisfied with my music,
370
00:31:38,814 --> 00:31:43,026
I call upon all of the things
that I have learned in classical music.
371
00:31:47,656 --> 00:31:51,034
She wanted everything
that money and success could buy.
372
00:31:51,117 --> 00:31:55,038
So I promised her that
she was going to be a rich black bitch.
373
00:31:55,121 --> 00:31:57,749
We had a blackboard
and he used to put on there,
374
00:31:57,833 --> 00:32:00,711
"I'll be a rich black bitch
by this such-and-such date,"
375
00:32:00,794 --> 00:32:03,505
and he said, "Then you could quit,"
and I always believed him,
376
00:32:03,589 --> 00:32:06,382
but I never could quit
because he worked me too hard.
377
00:32:46,923 --> 00:32:50,135
Andy said, "Nina, it's hard work.
378
00:32:50,218 --> 00:32:52,596
You wanna make the money,
you have to work."
379
00:32:52,679 --> 00:32:54,640
And she resented that.
380
00:32:54,723 --> 00:32:55,891
Then Lisa was born,
381
00:32:55,974 --> 00:32:59,853
and she resented being torn away,
having to go on the road.
382
00:33:04,858 --> 00:33:07,861
I didn't realize
what my mom did for a living.
383
00:33:07,944 --> 00:33:10,656
I just know that Mom
was always traveling.
384
00:33:10,739 --> 00:33:14,075
My mother often told me that
I had 13 nannies in seven years.
385
00:33:14,159 --> 00:33:16,369
So, while she was trying to maintain
386
00:33:16,452 --> 00:33:20,123
some sense of a schedule for me
and normalcy for me,
387
00:33:20,206 --> 00:33:21,708
she was out there doing
what she was doing.
388
00:33:21,792 --> 00:33:24,294
Can I have five more minutes?
It's very frustrating...
389
00:33:24,377 --> 00:33:27,548
When we were on the road,
there were times we had to be careful.
390
00:33:27,631 --> 00:33:30,634
She could get angry
and start arguments with people.
391
00:33:30,717 --> 00:33:31,927
Y'all pushing!
You're pushing!
392
00:33:32,010 --> 00:33:34,429
Don't put nothin' in it!
Let's do it again.
393
00:33:34,513 --> 00:33:37,348
If anyone were talking
in the audience, she would just sit,
394
00:33:37,432 --> 00:33:41,436
and at first, she would say, "Please..."
395
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,064
and she said,
"I'm not continuing."
396
00:33:44,147 --> 00:33:47,400
She'd get up, walk out,
and the gig was over.
397
00:33:47,483 --> 00:33:49,069
I just want them
to listen to the music
398
00:33:49,152 --> 00:33:51,029
like they did in the classical world.
399
00:33:51,112 --> 00:33:54,616
I thought they needed teaching.
If they couldn't listen, fuck it!
400
00:33:56,535 --> 00:33:58,203
She got into Carnegie Hall,
401
00:33:58,286 --> 00:34:04,543
and she got the big house in the country,
but she began questioning herself.
402
00:34:04,626 --> 00:34:08,755
She'd get into moods of depression
about the whole business,
403
00:34:08,839 --> 00:34:12,217
the personal relationship,
cursing and smashing things,
404
00:34:12,300 --> 00:34:15,596
and this worsened
as the time went by.
405
00:34:28,483 --> 00:34:33,529
{\an8}All I did was work, work, work.
406
00:34:33,614 --> 00:34:37,909
{\an8}I was always tired.
I was always tired.
407
00:34:37,993 --> 00:34:39,620
{\an8}I could never sleep.
408
00:34:39,703 --> 00:34:42,455
{\an8}You see, music always
goes through my head,
409
00:34:42,538 --> 00:34:45,834
{\an8}which means the more I played,
the less I could relax.
410
00:34:45,917 --> 00:34:48,336
I kept thinking Andy
would let me rest.
411
00:34:48,419 --> 00:34:50,046
He never did.
412
00:35:20,243 --> 00:35:23,747
She felt she was being
handled like a racehorse,
413
00:35:23,830 --> 00:35:26,541
and she was always
fighting, fighting, fighting it.
414
00:35:26,625 --> 00:35:30,003
Andy would say,
"Nina, we've got a career here.
415
00:35:30,086 --> 00:35:33,256
That's not going to continue
if you don't nurture it."
416
00:35:33,339 --> 00:35:37,093
So, she came to resent Andy...
417
00:35:37,177 --> 00:35:38,804
but she was afraid of Andy.
418
00:35:40,180 --> 00:35:44,017
Andrew protected me
against everybody but himself.
419
00:35:44,100 --> 00:35:46,853
He wrapped himself around me like a snake.
420
00:35:46,937 --> 00:35:50,440
I worked like a dog,
and I was scared of him...
421
00:35:50,523 --> 00:35:52,567
and Andrew beat me up.
422
00:35:52,651 --> 00:35:55,070
But I've never talked to you about this.
423
00:35:55,153 --> 00:35:58,364
But he beat me up.
I was deathly scared of Andrew.
424
00:36:12,628 --> 00:36:17,718
One time, early in the morning,
like 4:00, 5:00 in the morning, uh...
425
00:36:17,801 --> 00:36:23,056
the phone rings. It's Nina,
and she needed to hide out.
426
00:36:26,059 --> 00:36:30,396
I had gone
to a discotheque with Andrew...
427
00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:33,066
and a fan came up to me
and gave me a note,
428
00:36:33,149 --> 00:36:36,737
and he saw me take this note
and put it in my pocket.
429
00:36:40,281 --> 00:36:43,326
She thought nothing of it.
I mean, she related this to me.
430
00:36:43,409 --> 00:36:45,787
And Andy came back
and grabbed her arm
431
00:36:45,871 --> 00:36:49,750
and took her out from the place
and beat her up.
432
00:36:49,833 --> 00:36:54,004
And when I got out on the street,
he started raining blows on me.
433
00:36:54,087 --> 00:36:55,338
Bloody blows.
434
00:36:55,421 --> 00:36:57,966
He beat me all the way home,
435
00:36:58,049 --> 00:37:03,679
up the stairs, in the elevator,
in my room, put a gun to my head.
436
00:37:03,764 --> 00:37:06,057
Then he tied me up
and raped me.
437
00:37:10,061 --> 00:37:14,649
She came to my place and...
and she was beat up.
438
00:37:14,733 --> 00:37:17,527
And I, you know, put her to bed, and...
439
00:37:17,610 --> 00:37:22,198
and she, you know,
rested for a couple of days.
440
00:37:22,282 --> 00:37:24,492
He didn't find me for two weeks.
441
00:37:24,575 --> 00:37:26,577
My eyes, I couldn't see.
442
00:37:26,661 --> 00:37:29,247
And he said,
"Who beat you up like that?"
443
00:37:29,330 --> 00:37:30,331
And I said, "You did!"
444
00:37:30,415 --> 00:37:32,876
He said, "No, I didn't.
I've been looking for you for two weeks."
445
00:37:32,959 --> 00:37:35,586
I said, "You're insane!"
446
00:37:35,670 --> 00:37:39,215
He was brutal...
but I... I loved him
447
00:37:39,299 --> 00:37:42,718
and I guess I just believed
he wouldn't do it anymore.
448
00:37:53,479 --> 00:37:56,649
My mother always said,
till the day she died,
449
00:37:56,732 --> 00:37:59,945
Dad was the best manager
that she ever had.
450
00:38:00,028 --> 00:38:02,030
But on top of being charismatic,
451
00:38:02,113 --> 00:38:06,451
he could be a bully
and he could be very mean,
452
00:38:06,534 --> 00:38:10,789
and she was on
the receiving end of that...
453
00:38:10,872 --> 00:38:14,793
more times than, you know,
she should have been,
454
00:38:14,876 --> 00:38:16,211
which should have been never.
455
00:38:17,295 --> 00:38:19,798
Mom would allude to, you know,
456
00:38:19,881 --> 00:38:23,218
"He's rammed my head
into a concrete wall."
457
00:38:23,301 --> 00:38:25,428
She said that
he punched her in the stomach
458
00:38:25,511 --> 00:38:27,055
when she was pregnant with me.
459
00:38:43,154 --> 00:38:46,657
{\an8}As a child, I remember
sitting in the car between them
460
00:38:46,741 --> 00:38:48,869
and they were arguing about something,
461
00:38:48,952 --> 00:38:52,538
and I remember my father
reaching across me,
462
00:38:52,622 --> 00:38:55,000
so it was like this,
and backhanding her.
463
00:38:56,376 --> 00:39:00,839
We're going home in the car,
I'm driving, and I slapped her.
464
00:39:00,922 --> 00:39:05,260
Blood spurted...
right over this eyebrow.
465
00:39:05,343 --> 00:39:10,265
She had, like, a one-inch cut
from my ring, you know.
466
00:39:10,348 --> 00:39:11,641
We got her home
467
00:39:11,724 --> 00:39:16,354
and I clipped the skin together
and taped it...
468
00:39:16,437 --> 00:39:19,900
and a week later,
there wasn't even a scar.
469
00:39:22,235 --> 00:39:23,904
I think they were both nuts.
470
00:39:23,987 --> 00:39:26,364
She stayed with him.
471
00:39:26,447 --> 00:39:28,366
She had this love affair with fire.
472
00:39:31,327 --> 00:39:34,122
That's like inviting the bull
with the red cape,
473
00:39:34,205 --> 00:39:36,958
"Just come on into my kitchen
and let's see what we can do."
474
00:39:37,042 --> 00:39:39,002
That's what she did.
475
00:39:39,085 --> 00:39:41,379
- What do I want for her?
- Yes.
476
00:39:41,462 --> 00:39:44,007
Myself. What else?
477
00:39:44,090 --> 00:39:45,841
Career-wise.
478
00:39:47,343 --> 00:39:50,680
My father had
a strategic plan in terms of
479
00:39:50,763 --> 00:39:53,183
how Mom's career was going to go.
480
00:39:53,266 --> 00:39:56,561
He wanted her to be able
to win all the awards,
481
00:39:56,644 --> 00:40:00,190
and to become the huge star
that he knew that she could be...
482
00:40:01,942 --> 00:40:04,402
but she wanted something more.
483
00:40:04,485 --> 00:40:08,281
There was something missing in her,
some meaning.
484
00:40:13,703 --> 00:40:17,748
{\an8}They died in Birmingham,
the nation's most segregated big city.
485
00:40:17,832 --> 00:40:19,459
Dynamite exploded on Sunday morning,
486
00:40:19,542 --> 00:40:22,712
killed four little girls,
injured 20 other negroes.
487
00:40:22,795 --> 00:40:24,464
It was one of more than 40 bombings
488
00:40:24,547 --> 00:40:25,715
in that Birmingham area.
489
00:40:27,175 --> 00:40:33,264
Kids were murdered
in Birmingham on a Sunday
490
00:40:33,348 --> 00:40:36,184
and in Sunday schools
in a Christian nation,
491
00:40:36,267 --> 00:40:37,435
and nobody cares!
492
00:40:38,937 --> 00:40:43,816
When the kids got killed
in that church... that did it.
493
00:40:43,899 --> 00:40:46,361
First you get depressed,
and after that, you get mad.
494
00:40:47,278 --> 00:40:49,405
And when these kids got bombed,
495
00:40:49,489 --> 00:40:51,741
I just sat down and wrote this song.
496
00:40:51,824 --> 00:40:55,495
And it's a very...
moving, violent song,
497
00:40:55,578 --> 00:40:57,580
'cause that's how I feel
about the whole thing.
498
00:41:33,158 --> 00:41:34,367
"Mississippi Goddam."
499
00:41:34,450 --> 00:41:35,618
{\an8}Phew!
500
00:41:35,701 --> 00:41:37,412
{\an8}Hmm?
Got my attention.
501
00:41:37,495 --> 00:41:40,498
What she was doing was different.
502
00:41:40,581 --> 00:41:44,627
There's something
about a woman...
503
00:41:44,710 --> 00:41:48,881
if you look at all the suffering
that black folks went through...
504
00:41:48,964 --> 00:41:54,262
not one black man would dare say,
"Mississippi, goddam."
505
00:41:54,345 --> 00:42:00,101
And then to have someone with her stature
talking about your problem,
506
00:42:00,185 --> 00:42:02,353
you know how happy they had to be?
507
00:42:02,437 --> 00:42:05,315
We all wanted to say it.
She said it.
508
00:42:06,482 --> 00:42:08,193
"Mississippi, goddam!"
509
00:42:33,551 --> 00:42:35,845
For Mommy to write a song
called "Mississippi Goddam"
510
00:42:35,928 --> 00:42:37,097
was revolutionary.
511
00:42:37,180 --> 00:42:40,516
They didn't have cursing on the radio
or on television or anything.
512
00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:42,060
DJs refused to play it,
513
00:42:42,143 --> 00:42:47,357
and boxes of the 45s used to be sent back
from the radio stations cracked in two.
514
00:43:11,005 --> 00:43:13,966
As the civil rights movement
really swung into high gear,
515
00:43:14,049 --> 00:43:16,302
she swung into high gear with it.
516
00:43:16,386 --> 00:43:21,766
In '65, we played at the Selma March
in Montgomery, Alabama.
517
00:43:21,849 --> 00:43:25,895
We have a legal and constitutional right
518
00:43:25,978 --> 00:43:29,440
to march from Selma to Montgomery!
519
00:43:29,524 --> 00:43:32,026
It was extremely dangerous.
520
00:43:32,110 --> 00:43:34,279
The federal Marshals were called in,
521
00:43:34,362 --> 00:43:38,032
and they were standing
on the tops of all the buildings downtown
522
00:43:38,116 --> 00:43:40,368
with guns.
523
00:43:40,451 --> 00:43:43,954
Seated in front of the stage
facing the audience
524
00:43:44,038 --> 00:43:45,498
was Martin Luther King,
525
00:43:45,581 --> 00:43:49,919
Ralph Bunche from the UN
and a lot of other worldwide dignitaries.
526
00:43:50,002 --> 00:43:54,382
You had Langston Hughes,
James Baldwin, Sidney Poitier,
527
00:43:54,465 --> 00:43:57,593
Bill Cosby, Leonard Bernstein,
Harry Belafonte,
528
00:43:57,677 --> 00:43:59,595
and we did "Mississippi Goddam."
529
00:44:30,168 --> 00:44:32,753
My mother said that
after she sang that song,
530
00:44:32,837 --> 00:44:36,674
she got so angry
that her voice broke...
531
00:44:36,757 --> 00:44:38,509
and from "Mississippi Goddam" on,
532
00:44:38,593 --> 00:44:43,013
it never, ever returned
to its former octave.
533
00:44:45,516 --> 00:44:49,937
But I think that Mom's anger
is what sustained her.
534
00:44:50,938 --> 00:44:55,901
The energy and the creativity
and the passion of those days
535
00:44:55,985 --> 00:44:57,653
is really what kept her going.
536
00:45:13,168 --> 00:45:14,837
{\an8}When she wrote
"Mississippi Goddam,"
537
00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:16,422
I thought it was something else.
538
00:45:16,506 --> 00:45:18,424
You know, I liked it.
539
00:45:18,508 --> 00:45:21,552
They put a 45 out on it,
and I knew it had a lot of impact.
540
00:45:22,262 --> 00:45:24,722
{\an8}But my complaint was that
541
00:45:24,805 --> 00:45:28,809
while I was always pushing
for the commercial side of the picture,
542
00:45:28,893 --> 00:45:33,147
she got sidetracked with
all of these civil rights activities.
543
00:45:34,399 --> 00:45:37,402
When the civil rights thing
came up, all of a sudden,
544
00:45:37,485 --> 00:45:43,157
I could let myself be heard
about what I'd been feeling all the time.
545
00:45:43,240 --> 00:45:46,577
When I was young,
I knew to stay alive.
546
00:45:46,661 --> 00:45:49,580
As a black family,
we had to work at it.
547
00:45:49,664 --> 00:45:51,874
We had to keep secrets.
548
00:45:51,957 --> 00:45:55,002
We never complained about being poor,
549
00:45:55,085 --> 00:45:58,423
or being taken advantage of
or not getting our share.
550
00:45:58,506 --> 00:46:00,925
We had to keep our mouths shut
551
00:46:01,008 --> 00:46:04,219
as I walked across
that railroad track every Saturday.
552
00:46:04,304 --> 00:46:07,139
So I knew to break the silence
553
00:46:07,222 --> 00:46:11,686
meant a confrontation
with the white people of that town.
554
00:46:14,564 --> 00:46:16,399
And though I didn't know I knew it,
555
00:46:16,482 --> 00:46:20,027
if the black man rises up and says,
"I'm just not gonna do that anymore..."
556
00:46:23,864 --> 00:46:26,241
...he stands to get murdered.
557
00:46:30,079 --> 00:46:33,999
But no one mentioned that,
which is, indeed, quite strange.
558
00:46:52,309 --> 00:46:55,980
It touched me first time
when I gave a recital at this library.
559
00:46:56,063 --> 00:46:58,315
Everybody was seated
560
00:46:58,399 --> 00:47:00,943
and they told me
my parents had to sit in the back,
561
00:47:01,026 --> 00:47:02,027
and I said,
562
00:47:02,111 --> 00:47:04,697
"If they have to sit in the back,
I won't perform."
563
00:47:04,780 --> 00:47:06,156
They fixed it that time
564
00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:08,743
and they brought them to the front
and they let them sit down,
565
00:47:08,826 --> 00:47:13,956
but it was my first feeling
of being discriminated against,
566
00:47:14,039 --> 00:47:17,460
and I recoiled in horror
at such a thing.
567
00:48:27,029 --> 00:48:32,367
I choose to reflect the times
and the situations in which I find myself.
568
00:48:32,452 --> 00:48:34,870
That, to me, is my duty...
569
00:48:34,954 --> 00:48:37,665
and at this crucial time in our lives,
570
00:48:37,748 --> 00:48:42,252
when everything is so desperate,
when every day is a matter of survival,
571
00:48:42,336 --> 00:48:44,589
I don't think you can help
but be involved.
572
00:48:44,672 --> 00:48:46,381
Young people, black and white, know this,
573
00:48:46,466 --> 00:48:49,093
and so that's why
they're so involved in politics.
574
00:48:49,176 --> 00:48:51,095
We will shape and mold this country
575
00:48:51,178 --> 00:48:54,223
or it will not be molded and shaped
at all anymore.
576
00:48:54,306 --> 00:48:55,725
So I don't think you have a choice--
577
00:48:55,808 --> 00:48:59,228
How can you be an artist
and not reflect the times?
578
00:49:41,854 --> 00:49:43,939
I've always thought that
I was shaking people up,
579
00:49:44,023 --> 00:49:46,441
but now I want to go at it more
580
00:49:46,526 --> 00:49:50,404
and I want to go at it more deliberately
and I want to go at it coldly.
581
00:49:50,487 --> 00:49:53,490
I want...
I want to shake people up so bad
582
00:49:53,574 --> 00:49:57,662
that when they leave a nightclub
where I've performed,
583
00:49:57,745 --> 00:49:59,789
I just want them to be to pieces.
584
00:49:59,872 --> 00:50:02,166
All right!
585
00:51:05,646 --> 00:51:07,898
I want to go in that den
586
00:51:07,982 --> 00:51:12,527
of those elegant people
with their old ideas, smugness,
587
00:51:12,612 --> 00:51:14,404
and just drive them insane.
588
00:51:14,488 --> 00:51:15,990
Rise up!
589
00:51:34,549 --> 00:51:36,927
It's all right if you dance slow!
590
00:51:44,268 --> 00:51:47,688
But it was very exhilarating
to be part of that movement at the time
591
00:51:47,772 --> 00:51:49,481
because I was needed.
592
00:51:49,564 --> 00:51:55,320
Now I could sing to help my people,
and that became the mainstay of my life.
593
00:51:55,404 --> 00:52:00,743
Not classical piano, not classical music,
not even popular music,
594
00:52:00,826 --> 00:52:03,328
but civil rights music.
595
00:52:03,412 --> 00:52:08,375
I got to know Martin Luther King,
Malcolm X, Andrew Young,
596
00:52:08,458 --> 00:52:12,046
and artists, actors,
actresses, poets, writers,
597
00:52:12,129 --> 00:52:16,508
people like myself who felt compelled
to make the stand that I have.
598
00:52:16,591 --> 00:52:20,304
It was very important
for her to connect with
599
00:52:20,387 --> 00:52:23,265
the writers and playwrights
of that moment
600
00:52:23,348 --> 00:52:25,059
because those people had
601
00:52:25,142 --> 00:52:28,312
the intellectual background
of the movement
602
00:52:28,395 --> 00:52:29,855
and she didn't have that.
603
00:52:29,939 --> 00:52:31,941
She had music,
the musical background.
604
00:52:32,607 --> 00:52:34,234
For instance, Langston Hughes,
605
00:52:34,318 --> 00:52:36,904
he wrote the lyrics
for "Backlash Blues" for her.
606
00:52:36,987 --> 00:52:41,200
Lorraine Hansberry, Nina took her play,
Young, Gifted, and Black,
607
00:52:41,283 --> 00:52:42,743
and made a song out of it.
608
00:52:42,827 --> 00:52:43,828
It's regarded as
609
00:52:43,911 --> 00:52:46,413
one of the most important songs
in the civil rights movement.
610
00:52:47,414 --> 00:52:50,584
{\an8}I know that there are only
300 black students here
611
00:52:50,667 --> 00:52:53,921
{\an8}in this college of 18,000.
612
00:52:54,004 --> 00:52:57,424
So this song is dedicated only to you.
613
00:53:15,234 --> 00:53:17,527
Lorraine Hansberry was my best friend,
614
00:53:17,611 --> 00:53:21,490
and she wrote plays, Raisin in the Sun
and Young, Gifted, and Black.
615
00:53:21,573 --> 00:53:24,994
She taught me a lot about
Karl Marx, Lenin, philosophy.
616
00:53:25,077 --> 00:53:27,287
The basic fabric of our society
617
00:53:27,371 --> 00:53:29,749
that has negroes
in the situation that they are in
618
00:53:29,832 --> 00:53:32,793
is the thing which must
be changed, you know.
619
00:53:39,008 --> 00:53:41,844
Those times were pretty amazing.
620
00:53:41,927 --> 00:53:45,305
I look back now and I'm just like,
"Wow! Who's who of Black America!"
621
00:53:45,389 --> 00:53:47,182
Lorraine Hansberry
was my godmother.
622
00:53:47,266 --> 00:53:51,395
Malcolm X's wife,
Betty Shabazz, was my auntie.
623
00:53:51,478 --> 00:53:53,939
They lived right next door
in Mount Vernon.
624
00:53:54,023 --> 00:53:55,941
There are six daughters
and I was like the seventh.
625
00:53:56,025 --> 00:53:58,443
So I was always riding my bike over there.
626
00:53:58,527 --> 00:54:01,571
{\an8}Lisa and I were the same age, and...
627
00:54:01,655 --> 00:54:04,116
{\an8}I think we may have
called one another twins.
628
00:54:04,199 --> 00:54:06,827
It was just a great, great time.
629
00:54:06,911 --> 00:54:09,204
There was music,
there were discussions.
630
00:54:09,288 --> 00:54:13,793
Whether it was at our house
or Lisa's house, Nina Simone's home,
631
00:54:13,876 --> 00:54:16,921
it was definitely party with a purpose.
632
00:54:17,546 --> 00:54:19,965
We happened to be a fly on the wall
633
00:54:20,049 --> 00:54:27,014
{\an8}with some of the genius
poets and poetesses of the time, the era.
634
00:54:27,097 --> 00:54:29,892
And to sit in that room and listen...
635
00:54:29,975 --> 00:54:33,728
These were brilliant,
well-read, well-traveled,
636
00:54:33,813 --> 00:54:38,275
charming, alluring, charismatic people
637
00:54:38,358 --> 00:54:41,403
who were moved
to make a difference in the world.
638
00:54:42,029 --> 00:54:45,615
I'm born of the
Young, Gifted, and Black affirmation.
639
00:54:45,699 --> 00:54:49,244
For me, and those of us
in that environment,
640
00:54:49,328 --> 00:54:52,497
it was daring to proclaim it...
641
00:54:52,581 --> 00:54:56,543
and then share it joyously
when she sang it.
642
00:55:01,340 --> 00:55:05,594
People would stand up
and engage in their African-ness
643
00:55:05,677 --> 00:55:07,762
without apology...
644
00:55:07,847 --> 00:55:11,433
and it's a contemporary,
hip song of the era.
645
00:55:11,516 --> 00:55:14,394
It means you get to hum it in public.
646
00:55:19,524 --> 00:55:22,987
She became a legend
in the activists' movement,
647
00:55:23,070 --> 00:55:26,656
and through meetings
and discussions that I overheard,
648
00:55:26,740 --> 00:55:30,202
she was convinced that
certain things must be done
649
00:55:30,285 --> 00:55:33,580
in order to...
push the revolution.
650
00:55:33,663 --> 00:55:36,416
I told them that's not the answer,
651
00:55:36,500 --> 00:55:41,713
and then it began to manifest in
her attitude towards me and the business.
652
00:55:41,796 --> 00:55:43,465
She'd fly off.
653
00:55:43,548 --> 00:55:45,050
I remember a few nights,
you know,
654
00:55:45,134 --> 00:55:47,677
you go to bed happy
and holding one another.
655
00:55:47,761 --> 00:55:48,762
I wake up,
656
00:55:48,845 --> 00:55:51,640
and she'd be sitting up in bed
with her arms folded,
657
00:55:51,723 --> 00:55:53,642
looking at me,
thinking about killing me.
658
00:55:54,309 --> 00:55:59,564
And this is how it went.
The political work became very heavy.
659
00:56:00,900 --> 00:56:02,943
To me, we are the most
beautiful creatures
660
00:56:03,027 --> 00:56:05,237
in the whole world, black people.
661
00:56:05,320 --> 00:56:09,783
So my job is
to make them more curious
662
00:56:09,866 --> 00:56:12,161
about where they came from
663
00:56:12,244 --> 00:56:16,873
and their own identity
and pride in that identity.
664
00:56:16,957 --> 00:56:18,250
That's why my songs...
665
00:56:18,333 --> 00:56:20,920
I try to make them
as powerful as possible,
666
00:56:21,003 --> 00:56:24,381
mostly just to make them
curious about themselves.
667
00:56:24,464 --> 00:56:26,050
We don't know anything
about ourselves.
668
00:56:26,133 --> 00:56:27,134
We don't even have
669
00:56:27,217 --> 00:56:30,012
the pride and the dignity
of African people,
670
00:56:30,095 --> 00:56:32,973
but we can't even talk about
where we came from.
671
00:56:33,057 --> 00:56:34,683
We don't know.
672
00:56:34,766 --> 00:56:36,893
It's like a lost race.
673
00:57:56,806 --> 00:58:02,604
I really mean to provoke this feeling of,
like, "Who am I? Where'd I come from?"
674
00:58:02,687 --> 00:58:05,274
You know, "Do I really like me?"
and, "Why do I like me?"
675
00:58:05,357 --> 00:58:08,360
And, like, you know,
"If I am black and beautiful,
676
00:58:08,443 --> 00:58:11,821
I really am and I know it,
and I don't care who cares or says what."
677
00:59:04,624 --> 00:59:06,668
This is what compels me
678
00:59:06,751 --> 00:59:10,464
to push black people
to identify with black culture.
679
00:59:10,547 --> 00:59:15,969
Giving out to them that black-ness,
that black power.
680
00:59:25,770 --> 00:59:27,731
Nina was a real rebel.
681
00:59:27,814 --> 00:59:29,233
She didn't really fit
682
00:59:29,316 --> 00:59:33,112
in the revolutionary black female role
that was offered her.
683
00:59:33,862 --> 00:59:37,116
She could avoid
pretentious phoniness
684
00:59:37,199 --> 00:59:39,618
and get more depth out of a song
685
00:59:39,701 --> 00:59:42,412
than people are used to hearing
out of those songs.
686
00:59:45,790 --> 00:59:49,711
She was a kind of patron saint
of the rebellion.
687
01:00:00,514 --> 01:00:03,433
Nina started to get more aggressive.
688
01:00:03,517 --> 01:00:07,020
I remember one time as she
walked right up to Dr. King and said,
689
01:00:07,687 --> 01:00:10,399
"I'm not non-violent!"
690
01:00:10,482 --> 01:00:14,611
And he said, "That's okay, sister.
You don't have to be."
691
01:00:14,694 --> 01:00:18,323
I was never non-violent. Never.
692
01:00:18,407 --> 01:00:22,244
I thought we should get our rights
by any means necessary.
693
01:00:22,327 --> 01:00:24,746
And then she met Stokely Carmichael.
694
01:00:24,829 --> 01:00:27,666
Miss Simone says
something very significant
695
01:00:27,749 --> 01:00:29,918
in her song "Mississippi Goddam."
696
01:00:30,001 --> 01:00:34,923
She says, "This country..."
She says, "This country is built on lies."
697
01:00:35,006 --> 01:00:37,592
{\an8}You're gonna sit in front
of your television set
698
01:00:37,676 --> 01:00:39,553
{\an8}and listen to LBJ tell you that,
699
01:00:39,636 --> 01:00:43,390
{\an8}"Violence never accomplishes anything,
my fellow Americans."
700
01:00:43,473 --> 01:00:47,144
And the honky drafting you out of school
to go fight in Vietnam.
701
01:00:47,227 --> 01:00:49,563
If you don't want any trouble,
702
01:00:49,646 --> 01:00:52,816
keep your filthy white hands
off our beautiful black skin.
703
01:00:52,899 --> 01:00:54,568
Keep them off!
704
01:00:55,068 --> 01:00:59,323
I am just one of the people
who is sick of the social order,
705
01:00:59,406 --> 01:01:02,867
sick of the establishment,
sick to my soul of it all.
706
01:01:02,951 --> 01:01:06,955
To me, America's society
is nothing but a cancer,
707
01:01:07,038 --> 01:01:10,584
and it must be exposed
before it can be cured.
708
01:01:10,667 --> 01:01:12,001
I am not the doctor to cure it.
709
01:01:12,085 --> 01:01:15,755
All I can do is expose the sickness.
710
01:01:17,674 --> 01:01:20,344
Are you ready, black people?
711
01:01:20,427 --> 01:01:21,803
Yeah!
712
01:01:23,012 --> 01:01:24,389
Are you ready, black people?
713
01:01:24,473 --> 01:01:25,682
Yeah!
714
01:01:27,184 --> 01:01:30,103
- Are you really ready?
- Yeah!
715
01:01:30,645 --> 01:01:32,939
She wanted to align herself
716
01:01:33,022 --> 01:01:37,026
with the extreme terrorist militants
who were influencing her.
717
01:01:37,110 --> 01:01:39,654
And after all of these meetings
with all these people,
718
01:01:39,738 --> 01:01:40,739
she would come to me and,
719
01:01:40,822 --> 01:01:44,368
"Let's get the guns.
Let's poison the reservoir."
720
01:01:44,451 --> 01:01:47,246
All sorts of violent terrorist acts.
721
01:01:47,329 --> 01:01:52,501
Are you ready to call the wrath
of black gods... black magic...
722
01:01:52,584 --> 01:01:53,585
Yeah!
723
01:01:53,668 --> 01:01:55,086
...to do your bidding?
724
01:01:55,169 --> 01:01:57,046
Black people are never
going to get their rights
725
01:01:57,130 --> 01:01:59,508
unless they have
their own separate state.
726
01:01:59,591 --> 01:02:02,969
And if we'd have armed revolution,
there'd be a lot of blood.
727
01:02:03,052 --> 01:02:05,054
I think we'd have that separate state.
728
01:02:05,138 --> 01:02:09,058
Are you ready to smash white things?
729
01:02:09,142 --> 01:02:11,811
Yeah!
730
01:02:11,895 --> 01:02:13,855
To burn buildings, are you ready?
731
01:02:13,938 --> 01:02:15,982
Yeah!
732
01:02:16,065 --> 01:02:18,067
At a certain point,
Nina started to play
733
01:02:18,151 --> 01:02:21,029
only political songs and nothing else,
734
01:02:21,112 --> 01:02:22,739
and that started to hurt her career.
735
01:02:22,822 --> 01:02:25,242
That became a problem to book her,
736
01:02:25,325 --> 01:02:27,035
because promoters
were a little bit afraid that
737
01:02:27,118 --> 01:02:31,498
it might only be the political message
that you were getting.
738
01:02:31,581 --> 01:02:34,418
Are you ready to kill if necessary?
739
01:02:34,501 --> 01:02:36,253
Yeah!
740
01:02:36,336 --> 01:02:38,004
Is your mind ready?
741
01:02:38,087 --> 01:02:39,088
Yeah!
742
01:02:39,172 --> 01:02:41,508
- Is your body ready?
- Yeah!
743
01:02:41,591 --> 01:02:45,094
If I'd had my way,
I'd have been a killer.
744
01:02:45,178 --> 01:02:47,931
I would have had guns,
and I would have gone to the South
745
01:02:48,014 --> 01:02:51,476
and gave them violence for violence,
shotgun for shotgun,
746
01:02:51,560 --> 01:02:53,102
but my husband told me...
747
01:02:53,186 --> 01:02:55,647
I didn't know anything about guns,
and he refused to teach me,
748
01:02:55,730 --> 01:02:58,275
and the only thing I had was music,
so I obeyed him.
749
01:02:58,358 --> 01:03:01,736
But if I'd had my way,
I wouldn't be sitting here today.
750
01:03:01,820 --> 01:03:03,780
I'd be probably dead.
751
01:03:03,863 --> 01:03:06,240
Are you really, really, really ready?
752
01:03:06,325 --> 01:03:07,867
Yeah!
753
01:03:07,951 --> 01:03:10,412
She's putting down the white people...
754
01:03:10,495 --> 01:03:13,665
I mean,
you know, like a barking dog,
755
01:03:13,748 --> 01:03:16,585
but she still wanted
all the good things.
756
01:03:16,668 --> 01:03:23,216
Whenever she'd see, like, Aretha Franklin
and Gladys Knight and all of these people
757
01:03:23,300 --> 01:03:28,763
on the prime television shows,
she, of course, was very upset because
758
01:03:28,847 --> 01:03:33,267
she wasn't able to get on to these shows
because of her reputation.
759
01:03:33,352 --> 01:03:38,398
It got so that there wasn't that much work
and the expenses were high.
760
01:03:38,482 --> 01:03:41,860
It was cutting the legs out
from all the work that I had done.
761
01:03:41,943 --> 01:03:43,653
See you later.
762
01:03:43,737 --> 01:03:45,405
I'll see you later.
763
01:03:45,489 --> 01:03:46,490
I remember my dad
764
01:03:46,573 --> 01:03:49,493
complaining about the fact that
she never stopped speaking out,
765
01:03:49,576 --> 01:03:51,620
but that's who she was.
766
01:03:51,703 --> 01:03:52,912
It was okay when you were onstage.
767
01:03:52,996 --> 01:03:54,373
It's okay 'cause you let it all hang out,
768
01:03:54,456 --> 01:03:56,666
and then when the show ends
and the lights go out,
769
01:03:56,750 --> 01:03:58,668
"Okay, let's put the monkey
back in the cage,
770
01:03:58,752 --> 01:04:01,546
and eat your banana and,
you know, just behave yourself."
771
01:04:02,213 --> 01:04:05,174
It was like she was
penalized and punished
772
01:04:05,258 --> 01:04:07,719
for being herself.
773
01:04:07,802 --> 01:04:13,141
That's a very painful, lonely place to be.
774
01:04:14,308 --> 01:04:15,685
Good evening.
775
01:04:15,769 --> 01:04:19,898
Tonight my guest in the studio with me
needs almost no introduction.
776
01:04:19,981 --> 01:04:21,483
She is Miss Nina Simone.
777
01:04:21,566 --> 01:04:24,903
Nina, when it comes to the artists today,
we find that more of the artists
778
01:04:24,986 --> 01:04:29,449
are attempting to alert America
to the need for change.
779
01:04:29,533 --> 01:04:31,075
Is this really the artist's role?
780
01:04:31,701 --> 01:04:36,790
Well, I think it's something
that, um, I have chosen to do
781
01:04:36,873 --> 01:04:40,502
and I have felt
compelled to do it.
782
01:04:40,585 --> 01:04:42,796
So it is my role...
783
01:04:42,879 --> 01:04:46,466
but sometimes, I wish it wasn't.
784
01:04:46,550 --> 01:04:48,468
I think that the artists
785
01:04:48,552 --> 01:04:52,096
who don't get involved
in preaching messages
786
01:04:52,180 --> 01:04:54,433
probably are happier,
787
01:04:54,516 --> 01:04:59,604
but you see, I have to live with Nina,
and that is very difficult.
788
01:05:43,231 --> 01:05:46,234
I think 19 people
depend on me for their livelihood.
789
01:05:46,317 --> 01:05:47,652
That's a hell of a lot of people.
790
01:05:47,736 --> 01:05:50,905
I know that if I say, "Well, look,
I'm too tired to work tonight,"
791
01:05:50,989 --> 01:05:52,741
I'm gonna get it from both ends.
792
01:05:52,824 --> 01:05:56,786
Nobody's going to understand
or care that I'm too tired.
793
01:05:56,870 --> 01:05:58,747
I'm very aware of that.
794
01:05:58,830 --> 01:06:01,541
Now, I would like some freedom,
somewhere...
795
01:06:01,625 --> 01:06:03,167
where I didn't feel those pressures.
796
01:06:32,363 --> 01:06:35,659
{\an8}By the late '60s,
I realized that Nina was fighting
797
01:06:35,742 --> 01:06:39,120
demons that could appear
at any moment and you wouldn't know it.
798
01:06:39,203 --> 01:06:42,248
She could get violent,
she could get really physical,
799
01:06:42,331 --> 01:06:45,209
and the change in her
would be dramatic...
800
01:06:45,293 --> 01:06:47,504
boom, like a switch.
801
01:06:47,587 --> 01:06:51,424
And I... I, after a while,
realized that I was...
802
01:06:51,508 --> 01:06:55,386
I wasn't with my sister,
I was with "that one..."
803
01:06:55,469 --> 01:06:59,140
and that one was... menacing.
804
01:07:14,739 --> 01:07:18,785
{\an8}She was very concerned,
in her sane moments,
805
01:07:18,868 --> 01:07:23,122
{\an8}about these fits of depression and anger.
806
01:07:23,206 --> 01:07:25,959
We even went
to Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital,
807
01:07:26,042 --> 01:07:28,795
I think, signed her in
for four or five days.
808
01:07:28,878 --> 01:07:34,050
They conducted every test
known to... medicine at the time
809
01:07:34,133 --> 01:07:37,637
{\an8}and they were unable to find anything.
810
01:08:14,633 --> 01:08:18,928
And her downward spiral,
it just got worse and worse.
811
01:08:19,929 --> 01:08:22,556
We did a tour with Bill Cosby,
812
01:08:22,641 --> 01:08:26,185
and the last night,
she became erratic.
813
01:08:26,269 --> 01:08:28,938
She had a can of shoe polish.
814
01:08:29,022 --> 01:08:31,357
She was putting it in her hair.
815
01:08:31,440 --> 01:08:34,360
And she began talking gibberish,
816
01:08:34,443 --> 01:08:38,197
and she was totally out of it, incoherent.
817
01:08:38,281 --> 01:08:41,284
It appeared she was having
a nervous breakdown.
818
01:08:41,367 --> 01:08:43,494
And when it came time to go on,
819
01:08:43,577 --> 01:08:49,500
I had to escort her
by holding her arm onto the stage
820
01:08:49,583 --> 01:08:52,086
and sat her down at the piano,
821
01:08:52,170 --> 01:08:55,757
and I immediately stood in the wings
on the opposite side
822
01:08:55,840 --> 01:08:58,134
where we could see one another.
823
01:08:58,217 --> 01:09:02,513
She's watching me pantomime
and she performed.
824
01:09:03,932 --> 01:09:07,518
Basically, she had no control
over her emotions,
825
01:09:07,601 --> 01:09:11,898
and underneath it all,
sex dominated her.
826
01:09:11,981 --> 01:09:14,651
There were times, once or twice a week,
827
01:09:14,734 --> 01:09:20,824
when there was a sex attack
when she goes into a maniacal rage.
828
01:09:20,907 --> 01:09:25,036
There had to be sex.
I mean, this is driving her.
829
01:09:25,119 --> 01:09:29,457
My attitude towards sex
was that we should have it all the time.
830
01:09:29,540 --> 01:09:31,417
How did Andy act towards you?
831
01:09:31,500 --> 01:09:35,546
I just wanted him to move me
sexually, and he never was able to.
832
01:09:35,629 --> 01:09:36,630
Right.
833
01:09:36,715 --> 01:09:39,843
He didn't know how to touch me
and he never had enough time.
834
01:09:39,926 --> 01:09:44,305
He'd come to see me late at night
and be there two hours and leave.
835
01:09:45,306 --> 01:09:49,560
I knew that she was
dating other people.
836
01:09:49,643 --> 01:09:54,983
We agreed that we could both
have our own outside partners...
837
01:09:55,066 --> 01:10:00,363
but we would work together for the sake
of the business and the child.
838
01:10:02,615 --> 01:10:08,705
I can't sit here and speak about
Aunt Nina and Uncle Andy's marriage.
839
01:10:08,788 --> 01:10:10,498
What I can say is that
840
01:10:10,581 --> 01:10:15,169
participation and activism
during the '60s...
841
01:10:16,170 --> 01:10:20,466
rendered chaos in any individual's lives.
842
01:10:21,425 --> 01:10:25,638
People sacrificed sanity,
well-being, life.
843
01:10:26,555 --> 01:10:29,017
Nina Simone was a free spirit
844
01:10:29,100 --> 01:10:33,021
in an era that didn't really
appreciate a woman's genius.
845
01:10:33,104 --> 01:10:37,483
So what does that do
to a household and a family?
846
01:10:37,566 --> 01:10:38,943
Not because of income,
847
01:10:39,027 --> 01:10:43,072
but because of your soul
not being able to do what you need to do.
848
01:10:55,001 --> 01:10:57,253
Direct from our newsroom in Washington,
849
01:10:57,336 --> 01:11:01,715
this is the
CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.
850
01:11:01,800 --> 01:11:04,427
Good evening.
Dr. Martin Luther King,
851
01:11:04,510 --> 01:11:07,555
the apostle of non-violence
in the civil rights movement,
852
01:11:07,638 --> 01:11:10,224
has been shot to death
in Memphis, Tennessee.
853
01:11:10,308 --> 01:11:12,435
Jesus!
854
01:11:12,518 --> 01:11:13,978
Jesus.
855
01:11:14,062 --> 01:11:17,857
There was shock
in the nation's negro communities.
856
01:11:17,941 --> 01:11:19,859
Men, women and children
poured into the streets.
857
01:11:19,943 --> 01:11:22,987
They appeared dazed.
Many were crying.
858
01:11:23,822 --> 01:11:27,450
I think White America
made its biggest mistake
859
01:11:27,533 --> 01:11:30,536
when she killed Dr. King last night.
860
01:11:30,619 --> 01:11:34,082
{\an8}He was the one man in our race
861
01:11:34,165 --> 01:11:36,042
{\an8}who was trying to teach our people
862
01:11:36,125 --> 01:11:40,504
{\an8}to have love, compassion, and mercy
for what white people had done.
863
01:11:40,588 --> 01:11:44,092
When White America
killed Dr. King last night,
864
01:11:44,175 --> 01:11:47,303
she killed all reasonable hope.
865
01:11:50,264 --> 01:11:53,517
We want to do a tune written...
866
01:11:54,853 --> 01:11:57,646
{\an8}for today...
867
01:11:57,730 --> 01:12:02,318
{\an8}for this hour
for Dr. Martin Luther King.
868
01:12:02,401 --> 01:12:06,155
We had yesterday to learn it, and...
869
01:12:07,365 --> 01:12:08,574
so we'll see.
870
01:12:44,193 --> 01:12:49,991
Last year, Lorraine Hansberry
left us, and she was a dear friend,
871
01:12:50,074 --> 01:12:52,201
and then Langston Hughes left us.
872
01:12:52,285 --> 01:12:53,327
Who can go on?
873
01:12:53,411 --> 01:12:56,705
Do you realize
how many we have lost?
874
01:12:57,874 --> 01:13:01,210
Then it really gets down
to reality, doesn't it?
875
01:13:02,753 --> 01:13:04,672
Not a performance.
876
01:13:06,257 --> 01:13:09,510
Not microphones and all that crap,
877
01:13:09,593 --> 01:13:12,013
but really something else.
878
01:13:13,306 --> 01:13:15,849
We can't afford any more losses.
879
01:13:15,934 --> 01:13:20,104
Oh, no. Oh, my God.
880
01:13:20,188 --> 01:13:23,357
They're shooting us down, one by one.
881
01:13:23,441 --> 01:13:25,734
Don't forget that...
882
01:13:25,818 --> 01:13:27,486
'cause they are...
883
01:13:29,197 --> 01:13:31,824
killing us one by one.
884
01:14:23,209 --> 01:14:26,004
I knew that we were lost.
885
01:14:26,087 --> 01:14:31,009
I felt chased all the time,
no matter what I did or how sad I got.
886
01:14:31,092 --> 01:14:35,638
I felt that there was just
no life for me in the country.
887
01:14:35,721 --> 01:14:39,100
I knew I had to quit
or I had to leave Andy
888
01:14:39,183 --> 01:14:41,144
or do something.
889
01:14:41,227 --> 01:14:45,023
So I took my ring off,
put it on the table...
890
01:14:45,106 --> 01:14:47,233
and I left the country.
891
01:15:17,221 --> 01:15:20,808
{\an8}According to my godsister
Attallah Shabazz...
892
01:15:20,891 --> 01:15:24,937
{\an8}I was staying with them,
and Mom had gone away,
893
01:15:25,021 --> 01:15:27,856
and the phone would ring
and whenever it would ring,
894
01:15:27,940 --> 01:15:30,901
I would go running, saying,
"Is that my mommy on the phone?"
895
01:15:31,735 --> 01:15:34,280
And then I remember going back
to the house in Mount Vernon
896
01:15:34,363 --> 01:15:36,365
and Dad just wasn't there.
897
01:15:36,449 --> 01:15:37,950
He wasn't there.
898
01:15:38,034 --> 01:15:41,287
And nobody told me anything, you know?
899
01:15:41,370 --> 01:15:44,540
And, um, so...
900
01:15:46,459 --> 01:15:50,088
One day you're at home
and the staff is there
901
01:15:50,171 --> 01:15:51,464
and your dad's there
and the dog's there
902
01:15:51,547 --> 01:15:54,050
and everything that's familiar
to you is there,
903
01:15:54,133 --> 01:15:56,469
and then you come back,
I don't know, weeks later
904
01:15:56,552 --> 01:15:59,722
and... nothing's there,
nobody's there.
905
01:16:18,157 --> 01:16:21,744
I decided that I wanted
to go to Africa to live
906
01:16:21,827 --> 01:16:24,163
and never come back to America.
907
01:16:24,247 --> 01:16:28,626
I got a divorce from Andy
and I went to Liberia...
908
01:16:28,709 --> 01:16:30,503
and I moved there to stay.
909
01:16:32,755 --> 01:16:38,177
When I got to Africa,
I am happy, I'm beyond happy.
910
01:16:38,261 --> 01:16:42,723
Liberia is a place that was founded
by the American slaves,
911
01:16:42,806 --> 01:16:46,769
and it only makes sense
that I should feel at home there.
912
01:16:48,396 --> 01:16:50,314
I wore... Bikinis and boots is all I wore.
913
01:16:50,398 --> 01:16:51,399
Yeah.
914
01:16:51,482 --> 01:16:54,527
Well, there was no loneliness.
There was no boredom.
915
01:16:54,610 --> 01:16:56,904
The days flew into nights,
916
01:16:56,987 --> 01:16:59,782
and you just couldn't
keep up with the times
917
01:16:59,865 --> 01:17:02,993
'cause there was so much to do.
It was always fun.
918
01:17:05,371 --> 01:17:07,748
I also am keenly aware
919
01:17:07,831 --> 01:17:13,337
that I've entered a world
that I dreamed of all my life
920
01:17:13,421 --> 01:17:16,507
and that it is a perfect world.
921
01:17:16,590 --> 01:17:18,884
And I remember thinking
of the United States
922
01:17:18,967 --> 01:17:23,181
as something that
I had had in a dream
923
01:17:23,264 --> 01:17:25,516
sometime in my life,
924
01:17:25,599 --> 01:17:29,978
but is now gone,
like it never existed!
925
01:17:30,062 --> 01:17:33,232
It was a dream that I had had
926
01:17:33,316 --> 01:17:34,983
and I had worked myself out of it
927
01:17:35,067 --> 01:17:39,112
'cause I had toiled so long
in that place, in that prison...
928
01:17:40,113 --> 01:17:43,367
and now I'm home, now I'm free,
929
01:17:43,451 --> 01:17:45,494
and there is no going back.
930
01:17:45,578 --> 01:17:48,581
There, it was vast and open,
931
01:17:48,664 --> 01:17:51,041
and everything was natural.
932
01:17:51,124 --> 01:17:52,125
Everything!
933
01:17:52,210 --> 01:17:56,755
I have seen lightning in Africa
not flash, but hover,
934
01:17:56,839 --> 01:18:02,010
and what it does is it electrifies you
into complete speechlessness.
935
01:18:02,094 --> 01:18:06,349
I have seen it!
I have seen God.
936
01:18:13,231 --> 01:18:17,067
In my seventh grade year,
Mom moved me to Liberia,
937
01:18:17,150 --> 01:18:19,111
but she was always traveling,
938
01:18:19,195 --> 01:18:21,864
and I never knew half the time
if I wasn't going,
939
01:18:21,947 --> 01:18:24,533
that she was leaving
or when she was coming back.
940
01:18:24,617 --> 01:18:29,455
So I lived with a family for a year
and I went to school there,
941
01:18:29,538 --> 01:18:30,581
and I lived with them
942
01:18:30,664 --> 01:18:34,543
until Mom came and decided
to buy a house on the beach,
943
01:18:34,627 --> 01:18:37,796
and I went from living with them
to living with her,
944
01:18:37,880 --> 01:18:40,048
and she just...
945
01:18:42,885 --> 01:18:45,221
I could never do anything right.
946
01:18:46,805 --> 01:18:51,894
She went from being my comfort
to the monster in my life.
947
01:18:51,977 --> 01:18:54,980
Now she was the person
that was doing the beating,
948
01:18:55,063 --> 01:18:57,691
and she was beating me.
949
01:18:58,359 --> 01:19:02,195
One time, we were in public somewhere,
I did something, and she just...
950
01:19:02,280 --> 01:19:05,783
she went off on me
in front of everybody,
951
01:19:05,866 --> 01:19:07,660
and I didn't show any emotion
952
01:19:07,743 --> 01:19:10,704
because when Mom...
when Mom would see you cry,
953
01:19:10,788 --> 01:19:12,039
she knew she could
push your buttons.
954
01:19:12,122 --> 01:19:13,374
That's what she wanted,
955
01:19:13,457 --> 01:19:15,751
and I would not
give her that satisfaction.
956
01:19:15,834 --> 01:19:19,422
When she would hit me,
I would look her dead in her face...
957
01:19:20,798 --> 01:19:25,261
and she'd be like,
"You better cry. You better cry."
958
01:19:25,344 --> 01:19:26,970
I wouldn't do it.
959
01:19:28,514 --> 01:19:30,724
Times got really bad,
960
01:19:30,808 --> 01:19:34,812
to the point where
I thought about committing suicide.
961
01:19:34,895 --> 01:19:37,648
So, when I was 14,
I flew to New York,
962
01:19:37,731 --> 01:19:41,277
and I wound up living with my dad
and I never went back.
963
01:19:44,655 --> 01:19:47,283
After we broke up,
a lot of things happened.
964
01:19:47,366 --> 01:19:50,828
She didn't file taxes.
She didn't take care of business.
965
01:19:50,911 --> 01:19:52,621
She lost the house in Mount Vernon.
966
01:19:52,705 --> 01:19:54,998
Everything went crazy.
967
01:19:55,958 --> 01:20:00,838
She lived a nomadic life,
having no manager, having no husband...
968
01:20:00,921 --> 01:20:05,551
but she always said living in Africa
was the happiest time in her life.
969
01:20:05,634 --> 01:20:09,888
She could just be there, enjoy herself.
She didn't have to sing at all.
970
01:20:09,972 --> 01:20:13,517
She wasn't playing piano
and she wasn't performing.
971
01:20:13,601 --> 01:20:17,020
She said she hated the piano.
She hated it.
972
01:20:17,104 --> 01:20:20,358
Think about it. She's playing since
she was four years old.
973
01:20:21,274 --> 01:20:22,360
On the other hand,
974
01:20:22,443 --> 01:20:26,364
she was very well aware
that in Africa, no money came in.
975
01:20:26,447 --> 01:20:28,407
So she had to pick up her career again.
976
01:20:29,867 --> 01:20:33,078
She didn't want to return
to what she called,
977
01:20:33,161 --> 01:20:35,331
"The United Snakes of America."
978
01:20:35,414 --> 01:20:40,210
So she moved to Switzerland,
which was the complete opposite of Africa,
979
01:20:40,293 --> 01:20:43,422
and the first thing she did
was the Montreux concert.
980
01:21:08,989 --> 01:21:10,366
You on yet?
981
01:21:12,242 --> 01:21:15,037
Do you hear all those noises?
982
01:21:15,120 --> 01:21:17,080
You didn't forget me, huh?
983
01:21:17,164 --> 01:21:20,876
That's-- That's what's so wild,
you didn't forget me.
984
01:21:23,336 --> 01:21:25,255
I didn't expect you to,
985
01:21:27,090 --> 01:21:29,301
but I'm tired.
986
01:21:31,344 --> 01:21:33,180
You don't know what I mean.
987
01:21:35,433 --> 01:21:38,351
And there are many people
in show business who said,
988
01:21:38,436 --> 01:21:40,896
"Oh, she-- You know,
she used to be a star.
989
01:21:40,979 --> 01:21:43,106
She's gone all the way to the bottom,"
990
01:21:43,190 --> 01:21:47,110
and all kinds of crap
which means nothing to me at all.
991
01:21:48,195 --> 01:21:52,658
I hope that you will see me
or see the spirit
992
01:21:52,741 --> 01:21:57,329
in another sphere, on another plane
very soon now.
993
01:21:57,413 --> 01:22:00,541
And again, I don't wanna let you down
and I get this feeling.
994
01:22:00,624 --> 01:22:04,920
So I think the only way
to tell you who I am these days...
995
01:22:05,003 --> 01:22:09,550
is to sing a song by Janis Ian.
996
01:22:26,484 --> 01:22:28,819
Hey, girl, sit down!
997
01:22:28,902 --> 01:22:30,195
Sit down!
998
01:22:35,868 --> 01:22:37,160
Sit down!
999
01:25:38,842 --> 01:25:41,219
In Switzerland,
there I had no money.
1000
01:25:41,303 --> 01:25:43,263
I never got anything from Andy.
1001
01:25:43,346 --> 01:25:46,684
He just cut himself off from me
and I was left high and dry.
1002
01:25:46,767 --> 01:25:51,897
So I left Switzerland and I went to Paris,
thinking that I could resume my career.
1003
01:25:51,980 --> 01:25:53,606
I did it alone
1004
01:25:53,691 --> 01:25:57,235
and I landed in the wrong place.
1005
01:25:57,319 --> 01:26:01,949
I was working every night
in a small cafe for about $300 a night.
1006
01:26:11,583 --> 01:26:14,127
No, we just do "Vous Etes Seuls."
1007
01:26:14,211 --> 01:26:15,378
It goes like this!
1008
01:26:20,968 --> 01:26:24,346
I was desperate
and no one believed that I was there.
1009
01:26:24,429 --> 01:26:28,016
I was too big to be there.
No one came to see me.
1010
01:26:28,100 --> 01:26:30,811
And I had fallen from grace.
1011
01:26:31,854 --> 01:26:38,026
{\an8}I'm sorry that I didn't become
the world's first black classic pianist.
1012
01:26:38,110 --> 01:26:40,696
{\an8}I think I would have been happier.
1013
01:26:40,779 --> 01:26:43,907
{\an8}I'm not very happy now.
1014
01:26:43,991 --> 01:26:47,285
I wouldn't change being part
of the civil rights movement.
1015
01:26:47,369 --> 01:26:48,787
I wouldn't change that.
1016
01:26:48,871 --> 01:26:51,832
But some of the songs that I sang
have hurt my career.
1017
01:26:51,915 --> 01:26:57,337
All of the controversial songs
the industry decided to punish me for...
1018
01:26:57,420 --> 01:27:00,298
and they put a boycott
on all of my records,
1019
01:27:00,382 --> 01:27:02,760
and it's, uh...
1020
01:27:04,219 --> 01:27:07,055
hard for me to incorporate
those songs anymore
1021
01:27:07,139 --> 01:27:08,849
because they are
not relevant to the times.
1022
01:27:08,932 --> 01:27:12,811
In terms of the civil rights movement,
how far have we come?
1023
01:27:12,895 --> 01:27:14,354
There aren't any civil rights!
1024
01:27:15,522 --> 01:27:16,689
What do you mean?
1025
01:27:16,774 --> 01:27:20,485
There is no reason to sing those songs.
Nothing is happening.
1026
01:27:20,568 --> 01:27:23,488
There's no civil rights movement.
Everybody's gone.
1027
01:27:24,990 --> 01:27:29,953
I met Nina in 1967
and I've been her friend all her life.
1028
01:27:30,037 --> 01:27:33,415
She called me in 1982
and she was here in Paris,
1029
01:27:33,498 --> 01:27:36,835
{\an8}living in a very small apartment,
hardly with any money.
1030
01:27:36,919 --> 01:27:41,256
{\an8}She did concerts of four hours long
at Trois Mailletz, that nightclub,
1031
01:27:41,339 --> 01:27:43,675
and she got
a few hundred dollars a night.
1032
01:27:44,384 --> 01:27:46,386
And that was the worst period.
1033
01:27:46,469 --> 01:27:50,808
I visited her in that little apartment
and it was so dirty,
1034
01:27:50,891 --> 01:27:55,103
so I cleaned it all up and,
"Nina, you can't live like this,"
1035
01:27:55,187 --> 01:27:57,272
but at that moment,
she was still uncontrollable.
1036
01:27:58,190 --> 01:28:00,483
This thing in the Grand Hotel
in Paris happened.
1037
01:28:00,567 --> 01:28:02,861
Somebody looked her
in the eyes a bit too long,
1038
01:28:02,945 --> 01:28:09,117
and she was already a bit nervous
and she kind of... made a movement
1039
01:28:09,201 --> 01:28:11,244
and I thought, "She's going to hit him."
1040
01:28:11,328 --> 01:28:12,788
Immediately, my arms around her,
1041
01:28:12,871 --> 01:28:17,167
and I dragged her out in a taxi
and I said to the taxi driver, "Drive!"
1042
01:28:18,501 --> 01:28:23,465
When I saw her in Paris, she was like
a street urchin dressed in rags.
1043
01:28:23,548 --> 01:28:28,303
I couldn't believe what was happening
and I was really, really sad.
1044
01:28:28,971 --> 01:28:31,932
Gerrit and I, we knew
something was very wrong,
1045
01:28:32,015 --> 01:28:34,351
and we were trying to figure out,
1046
01:28:34,434 --> 01:28:37,062
and like, "What is it?
What is it, really?"
1047
01:28:38,856 --> 01:28:43,235
So Gerrit found her a condo
in Nijmegen in Holland,
1048
01:28:43,318 --> 01:28:48,031
and Gerrit had a friend, a doctor,
that he brought to Nina's place,
1049
01:28:48,115 --> 01:28:51,034
and the doctor examined her
and asked her questions,
1050
01:28:51,118 --> 01:28:54,121
and he prescribed a medication
1051
01:28:54,204 --> 01:28:57,749
which was kind of new... new spectrum,
called Trilafon.
1052
01:28:58,791 --> 01:29:02,712
It wasn't till I was in my 20s
and I went to visit her in Nijmegen,
1053
01:29:02,795 --> 01:29:06,799
that's when I learned the term
"manic-depressive" and "bipolar"
1054
01:29:06,884 --> 01:29:07,885
and I remember asking,
1055
01:29:07,968 --> 01:29:09,761
"Well, what is that?
What do you mean by that?"
1056
01:29:09,845 --> 01:29:11,554
And her mood swings
1057
01:29:11,638 --> 01:29:14,224
and a lot of the things
I dealt with earlier in life
1058
01:29:14,307 --> 01:29:15,851
when, you know,
one minute she'd be happy
1059
01:29:15,934 --> 01:29:18,520
and then the next minute...
1060
01:29:18,603 --> 01:29:22,732
I'd be dealing with someone
that wasn't in the room five minutes ago.
1061
01:29:22,815 --> 01:29:25,652
It started to make sense.
1062
01:29:25,735 --> 01:29:28,696
She got so deep
in the shit in the end
1063
01:29:28,780 --> 01:29:32,784
that she realized
it's either dying or give in.
1064
01:29:32,868 --> 01:29:35,620
And she gave in
because we said, "Nina...
1065
01:29:35,703 --> 01:29:39,917
we'll get you a house,
we'll get you your musicians,
1066
01:29:40,000 --> 01:29:42,961
we'll make the things
all right around you,
1067
01:29:43,045 --> 01:29:45,463
we'll book your concerts...
1068
01:29:45,547 --> 01:29:48,175
but you have to do as we say.
1069
01:29:49,176 --> 01:29:51,929
You have to take your medicine.
You have to work.
1070
01:29:52,012 --> 01:29:55,807
God has given you the possibility
to be able to do what you do, so do it!
1071
01:29:55,890 --> 01:29:59,144
The only thing we want to hear
is either 'yes' or 'no.'"
1072
01:29:59,227 --> 01:30:02,855
And she said,
with tears in her eyes, "Yes."
1073
01:30:03,856 --> 01:30:04,983
When I saw her,
1074
01:30:05,067 --> 01:30:08,903
I was very concerned because
she had a... a nervous tic.
1075
01:30:08,987 --> 01:30:11,949
You know,
she'd be talking or sitting and this--
1076
01:30:12,032 --> 01:30:13,951
Her mouth would always be twitching,
1077
01:30:14,034 --> 01:30:17,412
and when she would walk,
it was more of a shuffle.
1078
01:30:17,495 --> 01:30:19,747
And I'm like,
"What's going on here?"
1079
01:30:19,831 --> 01:30:22,042
You know, "Why--
1080
01:30:22,125 --> 01:30:24,336
What's going on?
What am I missing?"
1081
01:30:24,419 --> 01:30:26,171
And they had her on medication.
1082
01:30:27,214 --> 01:30:30,425
She started taking the Trilafon
and the doctor said,
1083
01:30:30,508 --> 01:30:34,429
"Through the years, it's going
to have an effect on her motor skills.
1084
01:30:34,512 --> 01:30:39,977
Her voice is going to start to slur
and her piano abilities will decline.
1085
01:30:40,060 --> 01:30:41,436
You can deal with that
1086
01:30:41,519 --> 01:30:47,234
or you can deal with her probably
damaging herself or someone else."
1087
01:30:48,610 --> 01:30:51,071
But the Trilafon really helped.
1088
01:30:51,154 --> 01:30:52,947
I mean, there were times in Holland,
1089
01:30:53,031 --> 01:30:56,159
sitting on her terrace
in these lounge chairs
1090
01:30:56,243 --> 01:30:57,619
and just holding hands...
1091
01:30:57,702 --> 01:31:00,788
I mean, she was like--
She was my sister.
1092
01:31:00,872 --> 01:31:05,460
...and not talking at all for hours,
just enjoying the day.
1093
01:31:07,629 --> 01:31:10,965
And I suppose that medication
enabled her to perform
1094
01:31:11,049 --> 01:31:14,344
and fulfill the business dealings
that were taking place
1095
01:31:14,427 --> 01:31:16,971
so that her career
could get back on track,
1096
01:31:17,055 --> 01:31:19,016
but there were times
when I questioned that,
1097
01:31:19,099 --> 01:31:20,267
you know,
"But what about her heart?"
1098
01:31:20,350 --> 01:31:24,437
Because at the end of the day,
you guys got wives and husbands and lives,
1099
01:31:24,521 --> 01:31:26,189
but she's alone.
1100
01:31:28,191 --> 01:31:31,403
My personal life is a shambles.
1101
01:31:31,486 --> 01:31:36,574
I've had a few love affairs
and I would love to be married,
1102
01:31:36,658 --> 01:31:41,079
but everything has had
to be sacrificed for the music.
1103
01:31:53,050 --> 01:31:56,303
We had to do, first in Holland,
eight concerts,
1104
01:31:56,386 --> 01:31:59,181
and the word spread
that Nina's doing the job well.
1105
01:31:59,264 --> 01:32:02,767
Then she was on the road again
and it was... poof.
1106
01:32:02,850 --> 01:32:04,102
The business was going.
1107
01:32:06,271 --> 01:32:07,314
She came onstage
1108
01:32:07,397 --> 01:32:11,068
and you had this overwhelming,
emotional feeling
1109
01:32:11,151 --> 01:32:15,197
coming from the audience
just because she was there.
1110
01:32:16,698 --> 01:32:19,701
Now listen to me.
1111
01:32:19,784 --> 01:32:21,203
I love you very much.
1112
01:32:21,286 --> 01:32:24,914
I think you know that
and I know that you love me.
1113
01:32:24,997 --> 01:32:26,416
I know that.
1114
01:32:29,252 --> 01:32:30,337
And we never knew too well
1115
01:32:30,420 --> 01:32:32,880
what was going to happen
and how the mood would be.
1116
01:32:33,548 --> 01:32:37,135
So this place is very hot
and it's very crowded
1117
01:32:37,219 --> 01:32:38,928
and it's very ugly.
1118
01:32:42,557 --> 01:32:45,185
But she opened
her heart and soul
1119
01:32:45,268 --> 01:32:46,603
at that moment.
1120
01:32:46,686 --> 01:32:49,814
That's this special kind of connection
she had with an audience.
1121
01:32:50,648 --> 01:32:53,526
This song is popular
all over France.
1122
01:32:54,277 --> 01:32:56,321
{\an8}It's from our first album...
1123
01:32:56,404 --> 01:32:59,199
{\an8}the very first album
we made in this world,
1124
01:32:59,282 --> 01:33:02,034
{\an8}which is at least 25 years old.
1125
01:33:02,119 --> 01:33:04,246
I only wish I was as wise...
1126
01:33:04,329 --> 01:33:07,915
could have been as wise then
as I have become now.
1127
01:33:09,292 --> 01:33:10,627
I have suffered.
1128
01:33:11,711 --> 01:33:15,382
But there's a Bösendorfer here,
so we'll see what happens.
1129
01:33:15,465 --> 01:33:17,217
"My Baby Just Cares For Me."
1130
01:33:24,141 --> 01:33:26,476
She was helped by
"My Baby Just Cares For Me,"
1131
01:33:26,559 --> 01:33:30,563
that song that became a hit
because of the Chanel advertisement.
1132
01:33:30,647 --> 01:33:33,691
And when "My Baby
Just Cares For Me" came along, I said,
1133
01:33:33,775 --> 01:33:37,237
"I have to take this opportunity now
to go all over the world
1134
01:33:37,320 --> 01:33:39,489
because this is my last chance."
1135
01:33:39,572 --> 01:33:43,576
And so I worked very hard
to take advantage of my second coming
1136
01:33:43,660 --> 01:33:46,538
because it was my last time
as far as I was concerned.
1137
01:34:24,909 --> 01:34:28,455
And she was happiest doing music.
I think that was her salvation.
1138
01:34:28,538 --> 01:34:30,957
That's the one thing that
she didn't have to think about.
1139
01:34:31,040 --> 01:34:34,211
When she sat at the piano,
her fingers could fly.
1140
01:34:39,882 --> 01:34:41,133
She was an anomaly.
1141
01:34:41,218 --> 01:34:43,470
She was a genius.
She was brilliant,
1142
01:34:43,553 --> 01:34:48,850
and that brilliance shone through
no matter what she was going through.
1143
01:34:48,933 --> 01:34:52,645
Even into her old age,
she was brilliant.
1144
01:34:59,402 --> 01:35:02,239
She was genius.
She could do whatever she liked.
1145
01:35:02,322 --> 01:35:04,657
And when she didn't
have her medicine,
1146
01:35:04,741 --> 01:35:08,119
she, musically,
could get even further out.
1147
01:35:16,378 --> 01:35:18,588
In one of those little concerts,
and it's recorded,
1148
01:35:18,671 --> 01:35:22,259
she starts playing one song
and she sings another.
1149
01:35:22,342 --> 01:35:25,011
And this recording,
I made Miles Davis...
1150
01:35:25,094 --> 01:35:28,473
while we were on tour, we were
on the same jazz tour as Miles Davis,
1151
01:35:28,556 --> 01:35:30,057
and I made him listen to it,
1152
01:35:30,141 --> 01:35:33,436
and he said, "Gerrit...
let me listen to it again!
1153
01:35:33,520 --> 01:35:35,688
How is she doing this?"
1154
01:35:35,772 --> 01:35:37,189
He couldn't understand.
1155
01:35:43,905 --> 01:35:48,242
As I got older, I started
to look at her and I thought to myself,
1156
01:35:48,326 --> 01:35:51,329
"Wow, she's from another time!"
1157
01:35:51,413 --> 01:35:55,917
But she was not at odds with the times.
The times was at odds with her.
1158
01:35:56,584 --> 01:36:03,425
I think when a person moves
to their own kind of clock, spirit, flow,
1159
01:36:04,384 --> 01:36:08,721
if we were living in an environment
that allowed us to be exactly who we are,
1160
01:36:08,805 --> 01:36:10,890
you're always in congress with yourself.
1161
01:36:10,973 --> 01:36:12,600
The challenge is,
1162
01:36:12,684 --> 01:36:15,853
"How do we fit in in the world
that we're around, but we--
1163
01:36:15,937 --> 01:36:18,815
Are we allowed to be
exactly who we are?
1164
01:36:18,898 --> 01:36:23,653
Was Nina Simone allowed
to be exactly who she was?"
1165
01:36:24,862 --> 01:36:27,865
As fragile as she was strong,
1166
01:36:27,949 --> 01:36:31,619
as vulnerable as she was dynamic,
1167
01:36:31,703 --> 01:36:34,456
she was African royalty.
1168
01:36:34,539 --> 01:36:38,292
How does royalty
stomp around in the mud
1169
01:36:38,376 --> 01:36:40,503
and still walk with grace?
1170
01:36:41,295 --> 01:36:45,925
Most people are afraid
to be as honest as she lived.
1171
01:37:00,314 --> 01:37:01,941
Good night!