- Born
- 1933, Tryon, North Carolina, United States
- First work
- 1959: Little Girl Blue
- Peak
- 1964 to 1970 (estimated)
- Last work
- 1993: A Single Woman
- Died
- 21 April 2003, Carry-le-Rouet, France; aged 70; illness
Nina Simone
Music: singer, pianist, songwriter, composer, United States
Nina Simone was a singular American singer, pianist, and activist who forged an unmatched fusion of classical technique, jazz, blues, folk, and gospel. Originally trained as a classical concert pianist, racial discrimination rerouted her path towards nightclub performances and an extraordinary recording career beginning in the late 1950s. Revered as the High Priestess of Soul, she used her rich contralto and virtuosic piano arrangements to express intense emotional vulnerability and uncompromising civil rights advocacy. Increasingly disillusioned with American society, she spent her later decades living in Europe and Africa, performing worldwide before dying peacefully at her home in Carry-le-Rouet, France, in 2003.
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Signature works
- Little Girl Blue album1959
- Mississippi Goddam song1964
- I Put a Spell on You album1965
- Wild Is the Wind album1966
- Four Women song1966
- To Be Young, Gifted and Black song1969
- Baltimore album1978
Honours
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, 2018
- Grammy Hall of Fame, 2000
Groups: Philips Records, RCA Victor.