Nina Simone
1933-2003 · American (Tryon, North Carolina/France) · Jazz / Soul / Civil Rights
Known for: Singer, pianist, and civil rights activist whose music fused classical technique with political fury
Simone was a classically trained pianist rejected from Curtis Institute (she believed because of race) who became a jazz-soul-blues-classical hybrid. Mississippi Goddam was written in fury after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
She was volatile, bipolar (undiagnosed for decades), and uncompromising. She left America bitter at racism and lived in Liberia, Barbados, and France.
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