A staunch civil rights activist, singer, musician, pianist and author was born on February 21, 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina. He was a musical icon who inspired so many in a time of struggle. She made the world respect her and see her as a strong black woman, and they loved her for it. A legend has died and forever the voice of the voiceless, Nina Simone. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At an early age Nina, also known as Eunice Kathleen Waymon, had a gift and talent that was seen by her parents and well respected and acted upon in helping to develop it. She began playing the piano at the age of three and was later appointed music director at her parents' church. He soon began studying classical music and developed a lifelong love and appreciation for Johann Sebastian Bach, Chopin, Brahms, Beethoven and Schubert. She graduated as valedictorian of her high school class, and the community, which recognized her gift and talent, raised money for a scholarship for Nina to study at Juilliard in New York City before applying to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music of Philadelphia. The school denied her admission crushing her hopes and dreams of becoming an African American pianist but built Nina Simone's voice. Nina believed that her admission to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia was denied because of the color of her skin which played a big move in her career as the civil rights movement took hold. In the mid-1960s, Simone became known as the voice of the civil rights movement. He wrote “Mississippi Goddam” in response to the 1963 assassination of Medgar Evers and the Birmingham church bombing that killed four young African-American girls. She also wrote “Four Women,” which tells the complex stories of a quartet of African-American female figures, and “Young, Gifted and Black,” borrowing the title of a play by Hansberry, which became a popular anthem. After the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, Simone's bassist Greg Taylor wrote "Why (The King of Love Is Dead)". Please note: this is just an example. Get a customized document from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In Nina's final years, reports indicated that Nina Simone was battling breast cancer. He died at the age of 70 on April 21, 2003, at his home in Carry-le-Rouet, France. When Nina died, she left behind a timeless treasure of musical magic that spans more than four decades from her first hit, the 1959 Top 10 classic "I Loves You Porgy," to "A Single Woman," the title gleaned from her one and only Elektra 1993. album. Two documentaries about the musician's life were released in 2015: The Amazing Nina Simone, directed by Jeff L. Lieberman and supported by Re-Emerging Films, and What Happened, Miss Simone?, by Netflix. What happened, Miss Simone? it later received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature. Simone has left an indelible mark on the world of music, art and activism. She sang to share her faith and her work still resonates with great emotion and strength. Simone has inspired numerous artists, including Aretha Franklin and Lauryn Hill. His deep, distinctive voice continues to be a popular choice for television and film soundtracks. Works CitedLight, A. (2013). Nina Simone: The biography. Aurum Press.Simone, N. (2015). I Cast a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone. Da Capo Press.McCann, B. (2016). Nina Simone: her art and her life. Rowman & Littlefield.Sullivan, S.,.