Nina Simone

Eunice Kathleen Waymon, known as Nina Simone, was a classically trained pianist and vocalist whose music defied categorization, encompassing jazz, blues, folk, gospel, classical, and pop with a fierce artistic vision and political commitment. She aspired to be a classical concert pianist but was denied admission to the Curtis Institute of Music in what she believed was a racially motivated decision, an experience that shaped her lifelong activism. Her recordings 'I Loves You, Porgy,' 'My Baby Just Cares for Me,' 'Feeling Good,' 'Sinnerman,' and the searing civil rights anthem 'Mississippi Goddam' established her as one of the most important and uncompromising artists of her generation. Her connection to the blues was fundamental, she grew up hearing it in North Carolina and her piano style drew heavily from the barrelhouse tradition.