Featured In
ALBUMYou've Got to Learn (Live)Nina Simone
Albums by Nina Simone
ALBUMNina Simone For Lovers (Deluxe Edition)Nina Simone
ALBUMMood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem SinglesNina Simone
ALBUMA Single Woman (Expanded Version)Nina Simone
ALBUMNina's BackNina Simone
ALBUMFodder on My WingsNina Simone
ALBUMBaltimoreNina Simone
ALBUMNina Simone and Piano! (Remastered)Nina Simone
ALBUMTo Love Somebody (Expanded Edition)Nina Simone
ALBUM'Nuff SaidNina Simone
ALBUMSilk & SoulNina Simone
Nina Simone's Popular Music Videos
Sinnerman (Sofi Tukker Remix)
Nina Simone & Sofi Tukker
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free
Nina Simone
Someone to Watch Over Me (Live)
Nina Simone
Sinnerman (Felix Da Housecat's Heavenly House Mix)
Nina Simone & Felix da Housecat
My Baby Just Cares for Me (Live)
Nina Simone
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (Zeds Dead Remix)
Nina Simone
I Put A Spell On You
Nina Simone
Color Is A Beautiful Thing
Nina Simone
Love Me Or Leave Me (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, September 11, 1960)
Nina Simone
I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free) [Live]
Nina Simone
Artist Playlists
Nina Simone Essentials
This soul-jazz great sang of love, life, and tragedy like no one else.
Nina Simone: Flipped
Soak in the soulful originals next to their proud descendants.
Inspired by Nina Simone
Her fearless intensity and passion influences singers across genre lines.
Nina Simone: Deep Cuts
The revered singer/pianist also made daring reinterpretations.
Artist Biography
Nina Simone was one of the most distinctive, elusive, and brilliant musicians in jazz history, but she came to the genre reluctantly. Born in Tryon, North Carolina as Eunice Waymon in 1933, she had her heart set on being a classical pianist. In 1954, economic circumstances persuaded her to take a gig at an Atlantic City club, and she changed her name so her mother wouldn't discover she was playing "the devil's music." Simone forged a singular hybrid she would mine over the rest of her career, zeroing in on the essence of an ever-expanding repertoire of jazz, folk, blues, soul, pop, rock, classical, and gospel music. She toggled nonchalantly but authoritatively between genres, personalizing lyrics, melodies, and allusions in a kind of proto-remix style that revealed an unbounded musicality. A series of albums for Colpix, Philips, and RCA established her as a major star with an uncompromising vision. In the '60s, she recorded a series of politically charged songs—including "Mississippi Goddam," a fiery response to the murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers—that elevated her appeal beyond the jazz market. In the '70s, she spent an increasing amount of time performing internationally—upbraiding audiences that weren't suitably engaged—while cutting fewer recordings. Simone was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder that explained increasingly erratic behavior, but the "High Priestess of Soul" continued to perform until her death in France in 2003.
Hometown
Tryon, NC, United States
Genre
Jazz