Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone

28. The Final Curtain ~ 2000–2003

28. The Final Curtain ~ 2000–2003 ~ I continue to believe in God, and when I put myself to sleep at night, I sing a song called “Jesus Paid It All.” I chant it. “Jesus paid it all. To him I owe. Sin has left the crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.” I sing that over and over and over again until I fall asleep. nina simone, c. 2000 B y the middle of 2000, Nina had changed her life around again. She moved to Carry-le-Rouet, a seaside town west of Marseilles and near Sausset-les-Pins. “You love the water,” Clifton told her. “Why not live like a star?” Not only was Carry much prettier than the nondescript Bouc-Bel-Air, the new house was much nicer, too. The one in Bouc was more like a cabin, while the spacious new house came with a small pool and a terrace off Nina’s upstairs suite that allowed her to see the ocean. Her improved financial situation helped make the move possible. The decision to sign Nina’s home in Carry-le-Rouet, France (Carolle Waymon) Javier Collados and Juanita Bougere, Nina’s assistants, c. 2001 (Carolle Waymon) an agreement with the Artists Rights Enforcement Corporation and then, even more important, to hire Steven Ames Brown, the San Francisco lawyer, was paying off. Money came in now with regularity , though the amount each year varied with Nina’s record sales and use of her music in other ways. By the mid-nineties, Nina could count on at least $100,000 annually from this source of income. By 1999 she received more than $200,000, and during the year of the move more than $1,000,000 came in. Moving wasn’t the only change. Nina had also fired Raymond Gonzalez, the ever-loyal booking agent, after a new disagreement. She asked his associate, Juan Yriart, to take over his duties. She designated Clifton as her manager, a gesture Juan saw as Nina’s way of saying thank you for caring for her over the previous four years. She also had let Javier join the band when she performed, which irritated Leo and Al. But Nina had confidence in Javier’s ability because he worked with her all the time, especially when they were getting ready for a tour. Javier’s first instrument was the guitar, but to avoid further aggravating Al, he usually played the keyboard. 364 · p r i n c e s s n o i r e Nina with Clifton Henderson, c. 2001 (Javier Collados) This new regime spoke again to the qualities in Nina that inspired great loyalty in spite of the furies that could make her so difficult. But resentments, even jealousies, remained among those who had been close associates in recent years, now replaced by Clifton, Javier, Juan, and a young woman Nina had met in Los Angeles, Juanita Bougere. A hair stylist by trade, Juanita became a personal assistant, accompanying Nina for a time before returning to L.A. to pursue other work. Far from being angry at a middle-of-the-night call, Juanita took it as high praise when she answered the phone at three a.m. one day and heard Nina’s voice on the other end from France. “I threw a chair at the bitch,” she said, referring to a young Frenchwoman who had replaced Juanita. “Baby, I want you to come back home.” Juanita agreed to return and was welcomed with a higher salary. The old regime was convinced that the new was incompetent or worse. Al griped that Clifton was giving Nina her medication too close to a performance, which left her without energy onstage. As he remembered it, he got the routine changed. He also complained that Clifton had usurped too much authority and that he and the others were closing Nina off, even from people like him. Hannibal felt that, too. “He blocked the connection with Nina. He would not let me speak to her,” Hannibal said, though Clifton, at Nina’s behest, had called to see if he could come to Carry to help her when she was having problems with her voice. Hannibal said he would charge $1,000 for four days and would need a hotel room. However, he told Clifton that if Nina was still smoking, there was nothing he could do. The trip...