SIMONE, NINA (born Eunice Kathleen Waymon, 21 February 1933–21 April 2003), singer, songwriter, pianist, and Civil Rights activist whose multifaceted musical career left an indelible mark on the twentieth-century cultural landscape both in the US and abroad.
Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina, she began her musical education at the age of three, displaying a prodigal talent at the piano. At age seventeen she spent a summer in New York City at the Juilliard School preparing for her audition for the prestigious Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, but her application was turned down. Simone would always claim that she had been denied entry because of her race.
In the meantime she performed in bars and clubs in Atlantic City to make ends meet. During these performances Simone honed her unique style, blending elements of jazz, blues, gospel, and classical music. She began to sing in addition to playing piano, and her velvety contralto, imbued with profound emotional resonance, captivated audiences and earned her a loyal following. In 1958 she released her debut album, Little Girl Blue, which featured her iconic rendition of “I Loves You, Porgy.”
Simone’s rise to fame coincided with the stirrings of the Civil Rights movement in the United States. Inspired by figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X she began incorporating themes of racial injustice and social inequality into her music. Songs like “Mississippi Goddam,” “To Be Young, Gifted and Black,” and her chilling rendition of “Strange Fruit,” Billie Holiday’s portrait of a lynching, became anthems for the movement, capturing the anger and frustration of African Americans fighting for equality.
Simone’s activism extended beyond her music. She participated in marches and protests, including the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march, using her platform to speak out against racism and discrimination. Her outspokenness often led to controversy, but she remained unwavering in her commitment to justice.
Simone struggled with personal demons throughout her life, battling depression and self-doubt exacerbated by the pressures of fame and the challenges of being a Black woman in a predominantly White and male industry. Her relationships were also tumultuous, and she endured many hardships in her personal and professional life.
Simone retreated from the public eye in her later years, living quietly in France and Switzerland. She died in 2003, at the age of seventy, in her home in Carry-le-Rouet, France, just outside of Marseille.
Though she had just one Top 20 hit during her lifetime—“I Loves You, Porgy”—Simone’s reputation and influence have only grown in the years since her death. Numerous rappers, including Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Timbaland, have sampled her songs, and she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.