What Happened, Miss Simone? A Biography

Author(s): Alan Light

Music Biography

'From her raging, handwritten letters to late-night phone calls with David Bowie, this biography gets up close and personal with the tempestuous Nina Simone' Observer Drawing on glimpses into previously unseen diaries, rare interviews and childhood journals, and with the aid of her daughter, What Happened, Miss Simone? tells the story of the classically trained pianist who became a soul legend, a committed civil rights activist and one of the most influential, provocative and least understood artists of our time. This is the story of the real Miss Simone.


Product Information

[Simone's] willingness to speak her mind shines out of every page * The Times * Electrifying ... I learned so much about a woman I admire, the woman whose fiery piano and voice is a powerful reminder of what artists are meant to do! What Happened, Miss Simone? captures how unique and real she was on every page -- Alicia Keys She is loved or feared, adored or disliked, but few who have met her music or glimpsed her soul react with moderation -- Maya Angelou Absorbing * Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday * For good and for ill, Nina Simone stood alone * Guardian * A gripping (if often grim) portrait of a woman and her legend * Louis Wise, Sunday Times * Pitch-perfect * Elle * Nina Simone was an overwhelming artist -- Bob Dylan

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.

General Fields

  • : 9781782118749
  • : Canongate Books
  • : 0.239
  • : December 2016
  • : 198mm X 129mm
  • : March 2017
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Alan Light
  • : Paperback
  • : Main
  • : English
  • : 782.42164092
  • : 320
  • : 16pp b&w inset