On April 21, 2003, Eunice Kathleen Waymon aka Nina Simone, died aged 70. She was singer, songwriter, musician (piano), arranger, and civil rights activist. In her career, Simone has recorded more than forty albums. Many famous musicians have cited Simone as their influence, among the others: Aretha Franklin, Adele, David Bowie, Antony and the Johnsons, Dianne Reeves , Sade , Beyoncé, Janis Joplin , Nick Cave, Jeff Buckley, Van Morrison, Elkie Brooks, Lena Horne, Bono, Cat Stevens, Peter Gabriel, Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill, Elton John, Alicia Keys and Lana Del Rey. John Lennon cited Simone’s version of “I Put a Spell on You” as a inspiration for the Beatles’ song “Michelle”.
For her work, Simone received various awards including:
- In 2000, “Grammy Hall of Fame Award”for her interpretation of “I Love You, Porgy”
- Honorary degrees in music and humanities, from the “University of Massachusetts Amherst” and “Malcolm X College”
- Honorary degree by the “Curtis Institute of Music”
- In 2002, city of Nijmegen, in Netherlands, named a street the “Nina Simone straat”
- In 2009, Simone was inducted into the “North Carolina Music Hall of Fame”
- In 2010, her home town Tryon, in North Carolina, placed her statue in the “Trade Street”
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