Nina Simone, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Nina Simone

American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist

Date of Birth: 21-Feb-1933

Place of Birth: Tryon, North Carolina, United States

Date of Death: 21-Apr-2003

Profession: composer, singer, pianist, singer-songwriter, jazz musician

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

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About Nina Simone

  • Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, musician, arranger, and civil rights activist.
  • Her music spanned a broad range of musical styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop. The sixth of eight children born to a poor family in Tryon, North Carolina, Simone initially aspired to be a concert pianist.
  • With the help of a few supporters in her hometown, she enrolled in the Juilliard School of Music in New York City.
  • She then applied for a scholarship to study at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she was denied admission despite a well-received audition, which she attributed to racial discrimination.
  • In 2003, just days before her death, the Institute awarded her an honorary degree.To make a living, Simone started playing piano at a nightclub in Atlantic City.
  • She changed her name to "Nina Simone" to disguise herself from family members, having chosen to play "the devil's music" or so-called "cocktail piano".
  • She was told in the nightclub that she would have to sing to her own accompaniment, which effectively launched her career as a jazz vocalist.
  • She went on to record more than 40 albums between 1958 and 1974, making her debut with Little Girl Blue.
  • She had a hit single in the United States in 1958 with "I Loves You, Porgy".
  • Her musical style fused gospel and pop with classical music, in particular Johann Sebastian Bach, and accompanied expressive, jazz-like singing in her contralto voice.

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