Lisa Simone Research Papers

This film is a documentary about Nina Simone, who was a brilliant, revolutionary and controversial musician. The film starts out with one of her performances, she walks out and looks shocked or dismayed then proceeds to perform. Accordingly, the film goes on to an interview with her daughter named Lisa Simone Kelly. Throughout the film her daughter is interviewed and gives insight to what her mother was like. “When she was preforming she was brilliant and she was loved” (Lisa Simone Kelly). Nina was considered a Blues and Jazz singer, but though out this film she wanted nothing more than to be the first black classical pianist. She grew up in North Carolina and started playing the piano at age three or four. She started playing at church and a piano teacher decided to

This was the first time she had ever sung. It was also the time she changed her name to Nina Simone. She wanted her music to “Convey an emotional massage” (Nina Simone). There were several performances throughout the movie that seem like it was unreleased footage from that time. One was in Newport in 1960 she sang Little Liza Jane one of her folk tunes. She met her husband at a night club and was introduced to him by a friend. He decided to stop his career and manage her career and then nine months later they had their daughter. She called this time “the sweet days” (Nina Simone). The goal to achieve was to perform at Carnegie Hall, she made it there in 1963. Just not as a classical musician. She started having trouble with her moods of depression. “Must take sleeping pills to sleep and yellow pills to go on stage” (Nina Simone). Next, her husband became violent with her. “Andrew hit me last night (swollen eye) of course it was what I need after days of depression” (Nina Simon). On September 15, 1963 a church got bombed and children got killed, so she came out with the song Mississippi