Nina Simone

Nina Simone was an American composer, pianist, singer, and songwriter whose work ranged from classical piano to jazz and pop. Born in Tryon, North Carolina, she trained as a concert pianist and was denied admission to the Curtis Institute of Music. While playing piano in an Atlantic City nightclub, she was asked to sing as well, which began her jazz vocal career. After taking the stage name Nina Simone, her debut album Little Girl Blue arrived in 1959, and its single I Loves You, Porgy reached the Billboard top 20 that same year. She recorded more than 40 albums by 1974, and her 1958 recording My Baby Just Cares for Me became a major European hit in 1987 after a Chanel commercial. She published an autobiography, I Put a Spell on You, in 1991. The documentary What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015) received an Academy Award nomination, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted her in 2018.