Nina Simone was right about The Beatles being “very lucky”
“They are not exceptionally talented” could have been the most fatal words Nina Simone ever said, especially when they related to The Beatles.
It’s easy to dismiss apparent criticism like this as utter preposterousness and not give it a second thought – but then again, this was not some random waif and stray taken off the street. This was Simone, one of the most powerful musicians and forces to ever live, joining the junctures of sound and vision with such power that she was impossible to ignore.
Because of this, you frankly had no choice but to listen to what she had to say, no matter whether you personally agreed with it or not. You could be shaking with rage, but still have to sit there and take in the fact that she was openly calling the greatest band of all time a bit of a sham. There was nothing you could do, and she knew it.
So, after all that, what did she actually have to say? “The Beatles are lucky, very lucky. But what has happened to them has nothing to do with them, in a sense. They came along at the right time. Attention was focused on them. They’ve had the chance to grow in almost any direction they wanted. Very lucky. They are not exceptionally talented,” she espoused in a 1968 interview.
Of course, some will be quick to point out that Simone was no stranger to The Beatles, especially since she most famously covered ‘Here Comes the Sun’ in 1971. But all of that came later – back in the heart of 1968, there were more pressing matters at hand, and she clearly didn’t think the Fabs were helping.
This was obviously a statement that could ruffle more than a few feathers, but as much as people may be reluctant to hear it, Simone did have some semblance of a point. After all, at the very same time as they were indulging in romantic pretensions and plenty of psychedelics, she was in the midst of something far more real and life-altering: the civil rights movement.
In that regard, it was easy to see why Simone was more than a little dismissive about her rock and roll competition across the ocean, when in the world she was living in and fighting for, things were a lot more stark and serious than where you could get your next hit of LSD. As far as that went, she was actually bang on the money.
The Beatles were a band who came along and rose to fame at the same time as so many others, with the predominant shared characteristic between them all being that they were male and white. By comparison, a Black woman would not have the same opportunity to change musical directions in whichever way the wind took her, and she seemed acutely aware of that.
Simone’s comments about the band were difficult to wrestle with on the surface, but deep down, despite every fan’s guttural instinct, you have to admit: she wasn’t entirely wrong in her assessment. Ultimately, the conditions in the ‘60s were just right so that any number of bands could have taken up the position of The Beatles phenomenon.
The spotlight just so happened to shine on those four lads from Liverpool. The discussion in terms of their talent is an entirely different thing, but the point is that of all the bands in the world, with all the various walks of life and circumstances that got them there, The Beatles were more conveniently set up than most. It’s a confession that many would take to the grave, but it’s ultimately true.
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