10 Quotes & Sayings By Nina Simone

Nina Simone was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil-rights activist. As a vocalist, her music fused jazz with soul and gospel. Simone's "coloring outside the lines" style brought her widespread critical acclaim and success throughout the 1960s and 1970s. She recorded over thirty albums, both as a solo artist and with various bands, for record labels such as Philips/Polygram and Atlantic Records Read more

Simone was also a pioneer of rock music's more liberal use of female vocals in the absence of male singers, as opposed to more traditional R&B acts such as Martha and the Vandellas and The Supremes, who had already had some success with the approach on their own records.

1
You can't help it. An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times. Nina Simone
2
Once I understood Bach's music, I wanted to be a concert pianist. Bach made me dedicate my life to music, and it was that teacher who introduced me to his world. Nina Simone
3
Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music. Nina Simone
4
I would like a man now who is rich, and who can give me a boat - a sailboat. I want to own it and let him pay for it. My first love is the sea and water, not music. Music is second. Nina Simone
5
I had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about... Now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important. Nina Simone
6
I don't like rap music at all. I don't think it's music. It's just a beat and rapping. Nina Simone
7
The worst thing about that kind of prejudice... is that while you feel hurt and angry and all the rest of it, it feeds you self-doubt. You start thinking, perhaps I am not good enough. Nina Simone
8
You feel the shame, humiliation, and anger at being just another victim of prejudice, and at the same time, there's the nagging worry that maybe... you're just no good. Nina Simone
9
Greed has driven the world crazy. And I think I'm lucky that I have a place over here that I can call home. Nina Simone