or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
32 used & new from £4.04
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone (Paperback)

by Nina Simone (Author), Stephen Cleary (Author) "Around 1855 in North Carolina a shoot-out place between some white settlers and the last band of hostile Indians left hiding out in the mountains..." (more)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
Price: £7.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.50 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 17? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
25 new from £4.17 7 used from £4.04
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 11 used & new from £3.85
Paperback (Reprinted edition) 7 used & new from £5.79

Frequently Bought Together

I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone + The Very Best of Nina Simone + The Very Best Of Nina Simone Vol 2
Price For All Three: £17.45

Show availability and delivery details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Nina Simone: Break down and Let it All out

Nina Simone: Break down and Let it All out

by Lisa Kelly
3.5 out of 5 stars (4) 
Nina Simone: The Biography

Nina Simone: The Biography

by David Brun-Lambert
3.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £13.84
The Very Best of Nina Simone

The Very Best of Nina Simone

~ Nina Simone
4.8 out of 5 stars (21)  £4.98
The Very Best Of Nina Simone Vol 2

The Very Best Of Nina Simone Vol 2

~ Nina Simone
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £4.98
Nina Simone - Live At Montreux 1976 [DVD]

Nina Simone - Live At Montreux 1976 [DVD]

DVD ~ Nina Simone
5.0 out of 5 stars (3)  £8.98
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Da Capo Press Inc; New edition edition (14 Aug 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0306813270
  • ISBN-13: 978-0306813276
  • Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 14.8 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 223,090 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #73 in  Books > Biography > Film, Television & Music > Music > Blues
    #98 in  Books > Biography > Film, Television & Music > Music > Jazz

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description

The mesmerizing autobiography of one of the most revered soul, jazz, and blues divas of our time-the late Nina Simone. A gorgeous, inimitable singer and songwriter, Nina Simone (1933-2003) changed the face of both music and race relations in America. She struck a chord with bluesy jazz ballads like "Put a Little Sugar in My Bowl" and powerful protest songs such as "Mississippi Goddam" and "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black," the anthem of the American Civil Rights movement. Coinciding with the re-release of her famous Philips Recordings, here are the reflections of the "High Priestess of Soul" on her own life.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Around 1855 in North Carolina a shoot-out place between some white settlers and the last band of hostile Indians left hiding out in the mountains. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(3)
(3)
(2)
(2)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone
83% buy the item featured on this page:
I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone 4.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£7.49
Nina Simone: The Biography
7% buy
Nina Simone: The Biography 3.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£13.84
Nina Simone: Break down and Let it All out
4% buy
Nina Simone: Break down and Let it All out 3.5 out of 5 stars (4)
Lady Sings the Blues (Harlem Moon Classics)
3% buy
Lady Sings the Blues (Harlem Moon Classics) 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£7.50
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A unique insight into a turbulent life, 27 Aug 2008
This review is from: I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone (Paperback)
Perhaps one of the most angry books one will ever read: The incredible account of how one Eunice Kathleen Waymon, born to a Black family in South Caroline, a piano playing child prodigy tried to become a professional classical pianist. As a student she began to play in night-clubs to fund her studies and changed her name to Nina Simone so that her mother wouldn`t find out. One night the manager told her to start singing as well or get fired. Nina started using her voice, got an increasing following, cut her own version of `I loves You Porgy' and began to gain an audience with the New York Beatniks, along with Bill Cosby, John Coltrane, and Bob Dylan. She married got divorced, re-married, her career was on the rise.

But Nina was not going to go to be assimilated easily. Her sense of duty towards Black Americans gave her an edge in an era where the Civil Rights Movement was beginning to have an impact, and the fact that she began to meet some of America's top Back Intellectuals such as Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Stokey Carmichael meant Nina couldn't remain neutral. In 1963 some white supremacists burned a church, killing four young Black girls. When the news broke Nina's husband and manager Andy found her in the garage looking for materials to assemble a zip gun. She was persuaded out of going to the Southern states to seek revenge, but to write `Mississippi Goddam', a show tune with an absolutely furious message.

Though friends with Martin Luther King junior, as the 1960's wore on, Nina didn't accept non-violence and was more accepting of Black Power. By 1968 Nina portrays the USA as being on the verge of civil war, and she remembers the activists who lost their lives in the struggle and begins to castigate the leadership of the movement for what she sees as its failures to carry on the fight.

Then the book seems becomes a procession of resentments. Nina leaves the United States in 1974 disgust at the political situation and abandons her marriage. Spells in Barbados, Liberia ( with unsuccessful love affairs), Switzerland , Paris follow, but by 1978 her career is in disarray. Her ex husband and manager had not being sorting out taxes, her personal affairs and business concerns were in a sheer mess. A supposed promoter takes Nina to London to get her career going. It turns out he is a swindler, and leaves her beaten unconscious in a hotel room with unpaid bills. Nina takes an overdose. Not surprisingly the Music Industry is savagely indicted throughout the biography.

After this point `I Put A Spell On You' seems to rush forward. Nina relocates to France, starts recording and touring. There are enough fans to re-kindle interest in her work . And by 1985 , `My Baby Just Cares For Me' an obscure LP track that Nina had first recorded in 1957 , used for commercial brings Nina back into the public eye. She has survived, though is never reconciled to the USA.

Now and then one longs for some more humour, such as the account of Nina, after a few gins, making a pass at Louis Farrakhan.

The book is short, 176 pages, and came out in 1991- Nina was to live for another twelve years -so is incomplete. The lack of dates in the text makes it hard to follow at times. But overall this autobiography gives an unique insight to one of the most versatile and interesting figures in modern popular music.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars Apparently a really good read ?, 2 Nov 2009
By C. Cheslett "Ramsgate Renovator" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Got this for my partner and it was well worth the money as it kept them quiet for hours. ;-)
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject






















i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.