Nina Simone | Breakdown | 3

Legacy

Wondery

History, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

3.9 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 20 March 2024

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Amidst marital and financial problems, Nina escapes the US for an eclectic life abroad - finding love in Barbados, happiness in Liberia, and a better education for her daughter in Switzerland. But mental health struggles soon come to the fore and before soon Nina Simone will reach a new low.

You can listen to the songs mentioned in this series here: https://music.amazon.co.uk/playlists/B0CVXPPT7G or search 'Nina Simone: The Legacy Playlist' in the Amazon Music app.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Legacy and the third episode of our series on Nina Simone.
0:10.9	When we left you at the end of episode two,
0:13.6	Nina has been shocked by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis.
0:18.3	Her tribute to him, Why, The King of Love is Dead, is a hit all around the
0:22.6	world. But her husband and manager, Andy Stroud, is concerned that her association with civil
0:27.8	rights is harming her career prospects. He wants her to prioritise more commercial material,
0:32.9	rather than, in his words, every song being a protest song. During the mid to late 60s, Nina's behaviour is starting to become erratic.
0:41.2	Although she's been consulting with psychiatrists since early adulthood,
0:45.0	nothing serious is diagnosed.
0:47.1	But Stroud fears she's having a nervous breakdown.
0:50.3	In 1967, Nina heads out on tour with the then hugely popular comedian Bill Cosby.
0:57.0	Warning signs are starting to show.
1:04.0	February, 1967, Nina is backstage in her dressing room, staring into the mirror blankly.
1:11.6	She's halfway through the tour and already she's worn out.
1:14.6	Nina rubs her face to waken herself and unscrews a pot of dark face paint.
1:20.6	Applying the makeup with a sponge, she dabs at her cheeks, her brow.
1:25.6	The repetitive action soothes her as she zones out, just a little.
1:30.3	Nina hasn't been sleeping.
1:31.9	The whole tour has been a struggle.
1:34.0	She keeps losing track.
1:35.6	Strange, intrusive visions and snippets of conversations float uninvited through her mind.
1:41.5	Nina, Nina, are you okay?
	...

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