Nina Simone (active 1954-2003)
Born to a preacher’s family in North Carolina, Nina Simone – the stage name of Eunice Kathleen Waymon – was originally known in the late-Fifties and early-Sixties for her jazzy mix of gospel, pop and blues. From 1964, however, Simone, with songs such as Mississippi Goddamm and To Be Young, Gifted and Black, became key to the civil rights movement in the USA. She had released over forty albums before her death in France in 2003.