Simone, daughter of Nina Simone, keeps her legacy alive

Jet, May 26, 2008 by Clarence Waldron

Simone has embraced the legacy of her mother, the late Nina Simone, and has become a star in her own right.

She pays tribute to her famous mom, who died five years ago (JET May 12, 2003), on her debut CD, Simone on Simone and is performing the tunes on a national tour that is getting rave reviews.

"I thought my first recording project would be the songs I had written 10 years ago," explains Simone. "If you told me three or four years ago that I would be sitting here with a CD comprised of my mother's songs, I would have said, 'it wouldn't happen.' But I couldn't be happier."

She recognizes that many people wonder "if I sound like my mother." She does not sound like Nina Simone, but has created her own distinctive sound, she says. "No one can sound like Nina Simone. This is my tribute to my mother, a chance for me to do the songs I love the most the way I hear them."

A Broadway performer, Simone, 45, has starred as Aida in the musical Aida, and in Rent. Her Broadway training and her "DNA," as she describes it, serve her well on the CD and in concert. Her phrasing recalls that of Melba Moore and her commanding stage presence is reminiscent of Nancy Wilson.

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Among the tunes on the CD are Nina Simone standards Keeper of the Flame, I Hold No Grudge and Don't You Pay Them No Mind from the late singer's High Priestess of Soul album. Simone also reworks her mother's I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free, Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair and Love Me Or Leave Me.

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"My mother's passing has played a huge role in the acceptance of my heritage, my legacy. I have embraced my legacy in the way I never even imagined."

She is working hard to keep the name and music of Nina Simone alive. "I am keeping my mother's name out there in a positive light, which she deserves because she sacrificed a lot and she stood for a lot. She deserves to be recognized and honored for that."

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As executor of her mother's estate, she's calling all of the shots when it comes to the name, image, licensing and the music of Nina Simone. "The buck stops with me," she says. "I know that she would want me to be in control of her legacy."

Nina Simone became a major force in American music with her 1958 hit recording of I Loves You Porgy. She went on to win an international following during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement with such hits as Mississippi Goddam, Why (The King of Love Is Dead), a tribute to slain civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and the inspiring Black pride anthem To Be Young, Gifted And Black.

Simone says she is proud of her mother and how she fought and survived racism in America. "Her life was complicated. Go back to the '30s, '40s and '50s in North Carolina. Imagine big beautiful luscious lips, dark chocolate beautiful skin and an amazing gift surrounded by lynching, segregation and all of that. Do you lie down in a fetal position and just give up? Or do you do your best to make it through and become the best that you can?"

She continues, "I admire her tenacity, her strength and what she was able to overcome in spite of all that. I love her and admire her fearlessness."

By Clarence Waldron

JET MAGAZINE