In 1949, a 16-year-old Eunice Waymon—later known as Nina Simone—played the piano at her Asheville, North Carolina high school during a poetry lecture by Langston Hughes.
The Bottom Line
- The Origin: Langston Hughes first encountered a 16-year-old Eunice Waymon at her Asheville high school in 1949, prompting a poem titled “To Be Somebody” dedicated to her potential.
- Industry Elevation: Hughes utilized his immense cultural influence to secure Simone a slot at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival and penned a definitive Chicago Defender spotlight separating her style from Billie Holiday.
- Creative Collaboration: The pair partnered on original songs and anthems like “See-Line Woman” and “Backlash Blues,” bridging the Harlem Renaissance and the emerging Black Power movement.
From an Asheville High School Auditorium to a Lifelong New York Alliance
The seeds of this cultural bridge were planted in North Carolina when Hughes delivered a reading at the future star’s high school. As the conversation detailed, Hughes immediately recognized the teenager as a major talent destined for the upper echelons of Black performance art. When Simone relocated permanently to New York City a decade later in 1959, the two developed a routine of visiting each other’s homes.
According to scholar and author Jason Miller, their relationship remained strictly professional, untouched by romance. Instead, it operated as a high-level artistic exchange. Hughes frequently brought his considerable fame to bear on Simone’s rising profile, steering industry gatekeepers toward her club residencies in Greenwich Village and her performances at the Village Gate.
Shaping the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival and Defying Billie Holiday Comparisons
In 1960, Hughes leveraged his standing to land Simone a pivotal performance slot at the Newport Jazz Festival. There, she performed tracks like “Trouble in Mind” and “Little Liza Jane,” before slipping away with Hughes to the Rebel Festival—an anti-festival organized by jazz icons Charles Mingus and Max Roach where Simone performed alongside Little Richard.
That same year, Hughes published a rare single-artist column in The Chicago Defender titled “Spotlight on Nina Simone.” At a time when cultural stature rivaled modern media empires, Hughes’ endorsement carried immense weight. Crucially, the review dismantled lazy industry comparisons to Billie Holiday, who had passed away in 1959. By emphasizing Simone’s virtuosic piano playing—an instrument Holiday did not command—Hughes established Simone as an entirely distinct artistic force. Quotes from the review later adorned Carnegie Hall posters and served as liner notes on Simone’s 1964 album, Broadway-Blues-Ballads.
Uncovering Forgotten Folk Songs and Fueling the Black Power Movement
Beyond advocacy, Hughes actively fed Simone’s repertoire. Although best known for his poetry, Hughes considered himself a songwriter and provided Simone with more than a dozen original lyrics. In 1964, he directed her toward an obscure folk song uncovered by his personal assistant, George Bass. Simone debuted that track, “See-Line Woman,” at a March 21, 1964, Carnegie Hall concert attended by the poet.
WFAE and author Jason Miller note that this collaboration eventually yielded vital civil rights anthems, including the searing “Backlash Blues,” which targeted systemic racism and white resistance. Their intersecting circles further amplified the era’s political lexicon, ultimately helping influence Stokely Carmichael’s popularization of the phrase “Black Power” in 1966 alongside contemporaries like James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry.
| Year | Milestone | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Initial High School Meeting | Hughes hears 16-year-old Eunice Waymon play piano in Asheville, N.C., inspiring his poem “To Be Somebody.” |
| 1960 | Newport Jazz Festival & Chicago Defender Spotlight | Hughes elevates her national profile, helps book festival appearances, and explicitly separates her vocal style from Billie Holiday. |
| 1964 | Carnegie Hall Debut of “See-Line Woman” | Hughes and assistant George Bass unearth and supply original folk lyrics for Simone’s landmark live concert. |
| 1966 | Cultural and Political Impact | Their creative alliance intersects with the civil rights movement, inspiring tracks like “Backlash Blues” and shaping the discourse around “Black Power.” |
Miller’s book captures a foundational chapter of American arts history that has long lived in the shadows of mid-century music lore, reminding contemporary audiences that the High Priestess of Soul had a literary titan standing firmly in her corner.
