Nina Simone Video Showcase

Eunice Kathleen Waymon, better known by her stage name Nina Simone (February 21, 1933 - April 21, 2003), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger and civil rights activist.

Although she disliked being categorized, Simone is generally classified as a jazz musician. She preferred the term "Black Classical Music" herself.

Simone originally aspired to become a classical pianist, but her work covers an eclectic variety of musical styles besides her classical basis, such as jazz, soul, folk, R&B, cabaret, gospel, and pop music. Her vocal style (with a rich alto vocal range) is characterized by intense passion, breathiness, and tremolo. Sometimes known as the High Priestess of Soul, she paid great attention to the musical expression of emotions.

Within one album or concert she could fluctuate between exuberant happiness or tragic melancholy. These fluctuations also characterized her own personality and personal life, worsened by a bipolar disorder with which she was diagnosed in the mid-sixties, but was kept secret until 2004. Simone recorded over 40 live and studio albums, the biggest body of her work being released between 1958 (when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue) and 1974.

Songs she is best known for include "My Baby Just Cares for Me", "I Put a Spell On You", "I Loves You Porgy", "Feeling Good", "Sinnerman", "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", "Strange Fruit", and "Ain't got no-I got life".

Her music and message made a strong and lasting impact on African-American culture, illustrated by the numerous contemporary artists citing her as an important influence (among them Alicia Keys, Jeff Buckley, and Lauryn Hill), as well as the extensive use of her music on soundtracks and in remixes.

Source: Wikipedia - Nina Simone

Photo author: espontaneo from flickr.com