“Nina Simone. I used to cross paths with her in New York City in the Village Gate nightclub. She was an artist I definitely looked up to. She recorded some of my songs that she learned directly from me, sitting in a dressing room. She was an overwhelming artist, piano player and singer. Very strong woman, very outspoken and dynamite to see perform. That she was recording my songs validated everything that I was about. Nina was the kind of artist that I loved and admired.” – Bob Dylan, 2015 MusiCares acceptance speech
The legendary Nina Simone was born on this day in 1933.
https://www.instagram.com/bobdylancenter/p/C3njUvcSR0D
Nina Simone meets Bob Dylan for the first time. 1989 Photo: Christina Svane.
Photograoher Svane adds, “I love the way he´s pointing at me as I take the picture. Sorry it´s so fuzzy. I couldn´t focus my ancient Nikon fast enough!”
This photo comes from Svane’s Substack where she writes about travelling with Bob Dylan. It accompanies the first instalment, in which she recounts meeting Dylan backstage and helping him with some physical therapy when he felt sick before his concert:
‘”This will feel great, just hanging from my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Give me your weight, trust me, I´m strong. This is what I do.” I bent down to get my shoulder positioned around his waist, and he leaned forward and let me pick him up. Yikes, he was heavier than I expected, but I got centered under him and swung him gently from side to side, giving him a good long hang. He loved it. When I set him slowly back on his feet, he said, “If you could do that for me before every show, that would be fantastic. I feel so much better. But I still don´t feel like playing tonight. I just don´t have the energy.”’
https://www.instagram.com/defdylan/p/C3T2f2iIqwo
Nina Simone – Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues (1969) [Bob Dylan Cover]
Nina Simone – I Shall Be Released
The Times They Are A-Changin’
