What Happened, Miss Simone?
A Biography
Published on 3. March 2016
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-78211-871-8 (ISBN)
Description
Inspired by the Oscar-nominated Netflix documentary, this is the story of the real Miss Simone.
What Happened, Miss Simone? tells the story of incandescent soul singer and Black Power icon Nina Simone, one of the most influential, provocative, and least-understood artists of our time. Drawn from a trove of rare archival footage, audio recordings and interviews (including Simone's remarkable private diaries), this nuanced examination of Nina Simone's life highlights her musical inventiveness and unwavering quest for equality, while laying bare the personal demons that plagued her from the time of her Jim Crow childhood in North Carolina to her self-imposed exile in Liberia and Paris.
Harnessing the singular voice of Miss Simone herself and incorporating candid reflections from those who knew her best, including her only daughter, music journalist Alan Light brings us face to face with a legend, examining the very public persona and very private struggles of one of our greatest artists.
What Happened, Miss Simone? tells the story of incandescent soul singer and Black Power icon Nina Simone, one of the most influential, provocative, and least-understood artists of our time. Drawn from a trove of rare archival footage, audio recordings and interviews (including Simone's remarkable private diaries), this nuanced examination of Nina Simone's life highlights her musical inventiveness and unwavering quest for equality, while laying bare the personal demons that plagued her from the time of her Jim Crow childhood in North Carolina to her self-imposed exile in Liberia and Paris.
Harnessing the singular voice of Miss Simone herself and incorporating candid reflections from those who knew her best, including her only daughter, music journalist Alan Light brings us face to face with a legend, examining the very public persona and very private struggles of one of our greatest artists.
Reviews / Votes
Her willingness to speak her mind shines out of every page * * The Times * * She is loved or feared, adored or disliked, but few who have met her music or glimpsed her soul react with moderation -- Maya Angelou Explores the huge impact [Nina Simone] made for civil rights through her music, as well as her activism * * Observer * * Traces a path through the sad and bewildering tangle that was Simone's life * * Telegraph * * Arrestive telling of the high priestess of soul's life story...What makes this portrait so compelling are the extras; think of the book as a director's cut * * MOJO * * Nina Simone was an overwhelming artist, piano player, and singer - the kind of artist that I loved and admired -- Bob Dylan Electrifying . . . Captures how unique and real she was on every page -- Alicia Keys Absorbing * * Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday * * A gripping (if often grim) portrait of a woman and her legend * * Louis Wise, Sunday Times * * Decent, respectful, conscientiously crafted and even-handed * * Uncut * *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Product notice
With dust jacket
Illustrations
16pp b&w inset
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
597 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78211-871-8 (9781782118718)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
A veteran music journalist, Alan Light is the author of The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah" and Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain. Light was previously the editor-in-chief of Vibe and Spin and a senior writer for Rolling Stone. He is also a frequent contributor to the New York Times.