How can you be an artist and not reflect the times?
NINA SIMONEHow can you be an artist and not reflect the times?
NINA SIMONEIt’s time to take a look at my failures and stop calling them successes. Now I can start working at something that can use me best.
NINA SIMONEI’m just human, I have faults like anyone.
NINA SIMONEYou can’t help it. An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.
NINA SIMONESince I was three I’ve been playing the piano. I’ve been onstage.
NINA SIMONEMusic is the center of my life.
NINA SIMONEIt was always Marx, Lenin, and revolution – real girl’s talk.
NINA SIMONEFrom the beginning, it has been a no-no for a black man to touch a white woman.
NINA SIMONEWhat kept me sane was knowing that things would change, and it was a question of keeping myself together until they did.
NINA SIMONEThere’s no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were.
NINA SIMONEI was always a politician from the day the civil rights people chose me as their protest singer.
NINA SIMONEIt doesn’t matter to me what is going on today because my music encompasses every kind of mood that exists in human beings. That’s my stick.
NINA SIMONEOnce 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 SIMONEI was not reluctant to become a singer. Singing has been an activity I’ve done my whole life, without thought.
NINA SIMONEWhen a child is gifted, people try to help that child.
NINA SIMONEIt’s logical that people from bad times will reflect their feelings in their communication. Music is part of the communication. If you lived it, you can do it.
NINA SIMONE