Nina Simone

Nina Simone (Eunice Kathleen Waymon, 1933–2003) was an American singer, pianist, and civil rights activist whose practice defied genre, drawing on classical piano technique, jazz, blues, gospel, and the Black American folk tradition. Trained at Juilliard and intended for a classical concert career, she turned to jazz after being denied admission to the Curtis Institute. Her recordings — including I Put a Spell on You (1965), Wild Is the Wind (1966), and the protest songs Mississippi Goddam and Four Women — are among the most politically charged in American popular music. She lived in exile from the United States for much of her later life.