Richard Williams

Nina Simone was the first of the soul divas, and the most spectacular. Before Aretha Franklin, before Diana Ross, she established herself as a performer whose talent was matched only by her refusal to accept compromise. A classically trained prodigy, she brought her gift to bear on the whole sweep of African-American music, and much more besides, pushing ahead into an engagement with the blues, gospel, folk songs, and even rock 'n' roll.But just as she was becoming acclaimed by a more mainstream audience -- the Animals, for instance, covered her legendary version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" -- the course of her career veered away from the safe, conventional paths into the burgeoning black-consciousness movement. Her long involvement with the movement included a friendship with the black-power leader Stokely Carmichael and time spent living in Africa.She remains a performer of compelling and often disturbing magnetism whose range is unsurpassed. Richard Williams explores the life and work of this enigmatic and brilliant woman in a book that exemplifies what great writing on music has the potential to be.

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