 Simone was known for her temper and frequent outbursts . In 1985 , she fired a gun at a record company executive , whom she accused of stealing royalties . Simone said she " tried to kill him " but " missed " . In 1995 , she shot and wounded her neighbor 's son with an air gun after the boy 's laughter disturbed her concentration . According to a biographer , Simone took medication for a condition from the mid @-@ 1960s on . All this was only known to a small group of <unk> , and kept out of public view for many years , until the biography Break Down and Let It All Out written by Sylvia Hampton and David Nathan revealed this in 2004 , after her death . Singer @-@ songwriter <unk> Ian , a one @-@ time friend of Simone 's , related in her own autobiography , Society 's Child : My <unk> , two incidents to illustrate Simone 's <unk> : One incident in which she forced a shoe store <unk> , at <unk> , to take back a pair of sandals she 'd already worn ; and another in which Simone demanded a royalty payment from Ian herself as an exchange for having recorded one of Ian 's songs , and then ripped a pay telephone out of its wall when she was refused . 
