The rise and fall of Nina Simone

By David Bennun

Most great artists have their legacy defined as much by their influence as by their output. Of those who do not, none is greater than Nina Simone. Her genius does not ring down the years in major work by successors. When fans speak of “the incomparable Nina Simone”, it is not simply a turn of phrase. Simone was sui generis, inimitable—although plenty have tried. They might as well have attempted to bottle lightning.

“What Happened, Miss Simone?”, a new documentary directed by Liz Garbus and released on Netflix, sheds some light on why this is so. It is well known that Simone was a classically trained pianist who turned to popular black music styles to earn a living. It is understood that this combination—relatively commonplace today, but rare in 1950s America—lies behind her sound. But these bare facts are inadequate to explain her uniqueness. It is in the detail, in Simone’s own words and the accounts of those who knew her, that we discover, as the title promises, what really happened.