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I'm sorry that I did not become the world's first black classic pianist. I think I would have been happier.

Nina Simone

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Nina Simone
Age: 75 †
Born: 1933
Born: February 21
Died: 2008
Died: April 21
Composer
Jazz Pianist
Recording Artist
Singer
Singer-Songwriter
Tryon
North Carolina
Eunice Kathleen Waymon
High Priestess of Soul
Thinking
Classic
World
Sorry
Black
Become
Firsts
First
Would
Pianist
Think
Happier

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To be young, gifted and black!
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When I was studying... there weren't any black concert pianists. My choices were intuitive, and I had the technique to do it. People have heard my music and heard the classic in it, so I have become known as a black classical pianist.
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I look forward to doing my own show, not someone else's. That's always been my dream.
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Everything that happened to me as a child involved music. It was part of everyday life, as automatic as breathing.
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I had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about... Now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important.
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I tell you what freedom is to me: no fear.
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This is the world you have made yourself, now you have to live in it.
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Jazz is not just music, it's a way of life, it's a way of being, a way of thinking.
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You don't have to live next to me / Just give me my equality.
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I do not believe in mixing of the races. You can quote me. I don't believe in it, and I never have. I've never changed. I've never changed my hair. I've never changed my color, I have always been proud of myself, and my fans are proud of me for remaining the way I've always been. I married a white man one time, but he was a creep
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I don't like to go to strange places.
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I was not reluctant to become a singer. Singing has been an activity I've done my whole life, without thought.
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It is difficult to retain your standards with the pressure of trying to make money, which always has its rules...It's hard to walk the tightrope of doing what you think is your best and making money at it.
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I believe the time will come when the whole definition of pop music will change. It will get to the point where a song will not be a good song until it has a high level of creativity in writing and performance. In other words, in order to be popular, songs will have to meet these high standards.
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I can't stand loud guitars that make me deaf.
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I don't like to go to strange places. I was in Italy for about five hours on my way to Africa.
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That's a very high goal to have, study eight hours a day to be a concert pianist.
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