Jazz Singer, Vocalist. Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon, in Tryon, North Carolina, being raised in a family of 8 children. At a young age she wanted to be a pianist so she began taking lessons, later being accepted to the Juilliard School of Music in New York. She supported her self by generating her wages while teaching piano lessons to others. Later she received a job at a nightclub in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but on one condition-that she sang as well as play the piano, and she agreed. During the 1950s she got a deal with the Bethlehem Record Label. In 1959 she released a version of George Gershwin's "I Love You Porgy" which brought her instant fame, as well as a Top 20 hit, and her only Top 40 of her career. In the early 1960s she recorded nine albums for the Candix Record Label, which featured Israeli Folk songs to movie themes. She also recorded 7 albums for the Philips Record Label, covering works by Jacques Brel and Billie Holiday. During the 1960s and 1970s she recorded for the RCA Record Label releasing 9 albums for them and the song, "Young Gifted, And Black." About this time she had Top 5 British hits with the releases, "Ain't Got No" and "To Love Somebody" a copy of the Bee Gees song. In the 1970s she fell on hard times with divorcing her husband, financial difficulties, and making several moves to Switzerland, Liberia, Barbadoa, Britain, and settling in France in 1973. In 1978 she left RCA and released "Baltimore" for the CTI Record Label. In 1987 she released another British hit, "My Baby Just Cares for Me" which appeared in several Chanel Perfume ads. In 1991 she released her autobiography, "I Put A Spell On You" and in 1993 she released "A Single Woman" and contributed songs for the 1993 film soundtrack to "Point Of No Return." On July 24, 1998, she was a special guest at Nelson Mandela's 80th birthdate party, and on October 7, 1999, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award. She continued performing up until her death in April 2003 even though she was in ill health. Simone's other songs include "Old Jim Crow," "Mississippi Goddam," "Pirate Johnny," "Ne Me Quitte Pas," "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," "Michelle," "See Line Woman," "House Of The Rising Son," "Peaches," and "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl." In 2018, Simone was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.