“To be young, gifted and black, oh what a lovely precious dream,” legendary musician and activist Nina Simone once sang.

She was “The High Priestess of Soul”: an icon of American music—but one whose style was not defined by any one genre. While she trained and studied in classical piano, Simone became a vocalist almost by accident after auditioning to sing in a bar for the extra income.

Starting in 1959, Simone produced more than 40 original albums. Her gift for deep and honest emotion permeated all of these works in a way that continues to resonate strongly with listeners.

“I was playing popular songs in a classical style with a classical piano technique influenced by cocktail jazz. On top of that I included spirituals and children’s song in my performances, and those sorts of songs were automatically identified with the folk movement,” Simone wrote in her 1991 autobiography “I Put a Spell on You.”

“So, saying what sort of music I played gave the critics problems because there was something from everything in there, but it also meant I was appreciated across the board—by jazz, folk, pop and blues fans as well as admirers of classical music.”

In the early 1960s, deeply affected by several incidences of racially-charged violence against black Americans and civil rights activists, civil rights became a theme ever-present in Simone’s mind as she produced music from several different record labels.

From “I Love You Porgy” to “See-Line Woman,” “I Want a Little Sugar In My Bowl,” and “Ne Me Quitte Pas,” the power, strength, and melancholy of Simone’s music can only be appreciated by listening to it.

Sources:

• https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.biography.com/.amp/people/nina-simone-9484532
• http://www.ninasimone.com/bio/
• https://www.npr.org/sections/ablogsupreme/2015/06/24/416824244/the-high-priestess-of-soul-nina-simone-in-five-songs