People

IN TRIBUTE TO JAZZ LEGEND NINA SIMONE

Nina Simone, the Carolina girl who rose to become an international voice for tolerance and freedom, has died in the south of France. Her gut-wrenching interpretation of "I Loves You, Porgy" from "Porgy and Bess," is considered to be one of the most poignant soul songs of all time. She did the classic session of the Gershwin work in 1959. Meanwhile, published reports indicate her daughter has left the cast of "Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida" on Broadway to go to France to help lead the funeral service. The elder Simone became a living example of the push for civil rights in the 1950s and '60s; through her music she inspired a generation. A trained pianist, she discovered it was her unique voice that was her real asset. Nina Simone, one of the great modern-day interpreters of vocal jazz, was 70. She died of natural causes.

CHICKS BACK AT TOP OF HEAP

In the wake of a popularity downturn because of Natalie Maines' anti-Bush remarks, the Dixie Chicks are back at No. 1 again. The latest Billboard chart figures show the trio's third major album, "Home," is sitting atop the country heap. In the past weeks the group has seen its music all but disappear from some country stations and album sales slide. The controversy was sparked by Maines' comment she was ashamed President Bush was from her home state of Texas. Now, with the war winding down and the short attention spans of many, the Chicks are scoring well again with their latest effort.

STONE PRO-CASTRO MOVIE YANKED

A pro-Castro documentary made by controversial filmmaker Oliver Stone has been pulled from a major film festival. Officials of the Tribeca Film Festival tell the new York Post "Comandante" will not be shown this year as had been originally hyped. The decision to drop the showing was made after HBO, which controls the presentation rights, decided to not air film on cable and then told Tribeca to can the showing. HBO has another Cuba-related documentary it will show instead. This one reportedly looks at Cuba through the eyes of a dissident rather than through the eyes of Castro. Meanwhile, there are questions as to whether Stone will be "uninvited" from a 35th reunion of Yale students. It seems President Bush also was a member of that class.

MELANIE NOT RALLY JEALOUS OF ANTONIO

Actress Melanie Griffith is having to cope with a common problem in the theater, seeing your husband cavort with beautiful women. In fact Antonio Banderas is onstage with nine of them in the Broadway play of the same name --"Nine." But gossip columnist Liz Smith suggests Griffith lives with the situation, secure in the knowledge "it's only acting." Melanie consistently has told reporters she is 100 percent certain in that assessment, even though her husband's fellow thespians are world-class beauties. If Griffith needs to make an additional statement about their commitment, she need only wear a strapless gown. She has a huge ANTONIO tattoo on her upper right arm.

NORAH JONES' PRE-FAME MUSIC FOUND

A new compilation of songs by mega-star Norah Jones, taped before anyone knew who she was, will soon be released. The songs were recorded in 2000 when she was working with the Peter Malick Group. There will be five songs on the so-called "Extended Play" recording. According to billboard.com, the project should hit store shelves in early June. It will be on Koch Records. When she was rising up the ladder she signed with the legendary Blue Note jazz label. Her work with that label garnered her five Grammys at the recent awards. Her latest CD has sold over 5.3 million copies in just this country in recent months.

DEATH TAKES SONGWRITER FELICE BRYANT

A co-writer of more than 800 songs, some major hits, Felice Bryant has died at her rural Tennessee home. Country.com says Bryant's usual songwriting partner was her husband. The pair turned out to be one of the most prolific tunesmiths in country history. A native of Milwaukee, born just before the Great Depression, Bryant and her husband moved to Nashville in 1950 at the urging of a country music producer. Some of the hits they penned include "Baltimore" for Sonny James, "Got a Hole in My Pocket" for Ricky Van Shelton, "Out Behind the Barn" for Little Jimmy Dickens, "Hey Joe" for Carl Smith and Chet Atkins' signature song "Country Gentleman." Felice Bryant died of cancer at age 77.

UPI DAILY SURVEY QUESTION NO. 572

Here's today's question: "When you were of pre-school age, how many grandparents were there in your life?" Put UPI-GRAND in the subject line and send to [email protected] via the Internet.

RESULTS OF QUESTION NO. 567 (WISE)

Last week we asked: "What is your favorite 'rule of thumb' or wise saying?" From our usual random dip into the e-mail in box we found that several simply told us following the book of their faith was the best way to go. Several, including HowardD reminded us about the Golden Rule. Digger reports one rather frank saying was big where he grew up: "Don't squat with your spurs on." OUCH! Hawk says he tries to live by the old saying: "Truth is what comes back to you from the stories you tell others." KarenC reminded us: "If you can't think of anything nice to say about someone, keep quiet." TOMORROW: Keep it clean. GBA