Nina Simone

Nina Simone is an American jazz pianist and singer Eunice Waymon who created the hit Feeling Good (1965). The song became a jazz standard and was covered over 100 times by various artists. Simone had classical piano training at Juilliard School and planned to become a concert pianist. She recorded over 40 albums between 1958-1993, including Pastel Blues (1965) and Baltimore (1978). Nina was a Civil Rights Movement activist and wrote protest songs Mississippi Goddam and To Be Young, Gifted and Black. She died in 2003 in France, where she emigrated in 1970. Her influence is felt in the work of Alicia Keys, John Legend and Adele.