Nina Simone

Nina Simone, born Eunice Kathleen Waymon, was an American composer, concert pianist, singer, songwriter and civil rights activist who lived from 1933 to 2003 and became known as the High Priestess of Soul for her commanding stage presence. Her piano technique drew on the classical and baroque training of her youth, especially Bach, while her contralto voice ranged across classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and pop; her debut album Little Girl Blue in 1958 produced her first major hit, I Loves You, Porgy. Active in civil rights causes through the 1950s and 1960s, she relocated to France after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968 and continued performing internationally, recording more than forty albums in her career.