Nina Simone

Pictures

Nina_Simone_1969

Listen to, buy or share

Buy

Buy on Amazon Amazon Expand purchase options
  • Digital download
  • Amazon Amazon
  • 7digital 7digital
  • iTunes iTunes
  • Physical media
  • Amazon Amazon Search
  • eBay eBay Search
  • 27,272,804
    scrobbles
  • 1,383,047
    listeners

Tags

Everyone’s tags

More tags

Biography

Tryon, North Carolina, USA (1954 – 2003)

Eunice Kathleen Waymon (21 February 1933 – 21 April 2003), better known by her stage name Nina Simone, was an American , pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with music. Simone aspired to become a classical pianist while working in a broad range of styles including , , , , , , , and .

Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on 21st February 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, USA, one of eight children. Like a number of other black singers in the U.S., she was inspired as a child by Marian Anderson, and began singing at her local church, also showing great talent as a pianist. Her public debut, a piano recital, was made at the age of ten. Her parents, who had taken seats in the front row, were forced to move to the back of the hall to make way for white audience members. This incident contributed to her later involvement in the civil rights movement.

Simone’s mother, Mary Kate Waymon (who lived into her late nineties) was a strict Methodist minister; her father, John Divine Waymon, was a handyman and sometime barber who suffered bouts of ill-health. Mrs Waymon worked as a maid, and her employer, hearing of Nina’s talent, provided funds for piano lessons for the little girl. Subsequently, a local fund was set up to assist in Eunice’s continued education.
Read more… Edit bio

Videos

Top Albums

Listening Trend

1,383,047listeners all time
27,272,804scrobbles all time
#294 in last week’s chart
Recent listeners trend:

Start scrobbling and track your listening history

Last.fm users scrobble the music they play in iTunes, Spotify, Rdio and over 200 other music players.

Create a Last.fm profile

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up.

Listening Now

Top Listeners

Email Newsletter

Universal Music Group Get exclusive tour, release & promotion updates on Nina Simone from Universal Music.