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Simone makes triumphant entry into R&R Hall of Fame
The late Tryon native Nina Simone richly deserved her April 14 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at its 33rd annual ceremony in Cleveland.
The jazzy and soulful Simone, who died in 2003, was a first-time nominee and was inducted into a class that included Bon Jovi, the Cars, Dire Straits and the Moody Blues, “but Simone herself, knew she belonged to a class of her own,” as Vanity Fair magazine stated so aptly in a Dec. 13, 2017 story.
“The singer, pianist, and activist, who rose to fame for her version of George Gershwin’s ‘I Loves You, Porgy,’ may not necessarily have loved the designation,” Vanity Fair’s Erika Harwood wrote, in pointing out the irony of Simone’s induction. “She once said she rejected her music being labeled as jazz, saying, ‘Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music.’”
Simone’s unapologetic rage and accusatory voice named names and took no prisoners in the African-American struggle for equality in the early 1960s. Her triumphant voice sang what it meant to be young, gifted and black in a sometimes unjust and troubled world.
“Nina could sing anything, period,” Mary J. Blige told Rolling Stone, when the magazine named Nina Simone one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Often considered a jazz singer (particularly because of her masterful piano playing), she was classically trained, yet her nickname was “The High Priestess of Soul.”
We salute Simone, who, despite being born into poverty, made the most of herself and left a rich legacy, both as a human being in her quest for civil rights ... and as a stellar singer-pianist.
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