Her triumphant voice sang what it meant to be young, gifted, and black in a sometimes unjust and troubled world. Her astonishing, unclassifiable range has made it especially difficult to assess Simone’s legacy – 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.” If anything, she claimed that she was a folk singer, and her dazzling repertoire – Israeli folk tunes, compositions by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, songs by the Bee Gees and Leonard Cohen and George Harrison, traditional ballads, spirituals, children’s songs – remains unparalleled. More at rockhall.com...
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Rock & Roll Hall of Fame | Library & Archives 2809 Woodland Avenue | Cleveland, OH 44115 | 216.515.1956 | rockhall.com/library |