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Nina Simone (/ˈ n iː n ə s ɪ ˈ m oʊ n/; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Simone employed a broad range of musical styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop.

Born in North Carolina, the sixth child of a preacher, Waymon aspired to be a concert pianist.[1] With the help of a few supporters in her hometown of Tryon, North Carolina, she enrolled in the Juilliard School of Music in New York.[2]

Waymon then applied for a scholarship to study at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she was denied despite a well-received audition.[3] Waymon became fully convinced this rejection had been entirely due to racial discrimination. Years later, two days before her death, the Curtis Institute of Music bestowed on her an honorary degree.[3]

To make a living, Eunice Waymon changed her name to Nina Simone. The change related to her need to disguise herself from family members, having chosen to play the devils music[3] or cocktail piano at a nightclub in Atlantic City. She was told in the nightclub that she would have to sing to her own accompaniment, and this effectively launched her career as a jazz vocalist.[4]

Simone recorded more than 40 albums, mostly between 1958, when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue, and 1974. She had a hit in the United States in 1958 with I Loves You, Porgy.[1]

Simones musical style fused gospel and pop with classical music, in particular Johann Sebastian Bach,[5] and accompanied expressive, jazz-like singing in her contralto voice.[6] [7]

1933–1954: Early life [ edit ]

Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in North Carolina and raised in Tryon, North Carolina. The sixth of eight children in a poor family, she began playing piano at the age of three; the first song she learned was God Be With You, Till We Meet Again. Demonstrating a talent with the instrument,