“Simone, whose music you either know or should at least pretend to know for fear of being mocked as an uncultured rube, was born in segregated North Carolina and, by a stroke of luck, received classical piano training from the age of four. She aspired to a career playing “serious music”, but discrimination kept her from pursuing that dream. She began to sing in bars and nightclubs (and changed her name from Eunice Waymon), and once she did, it was a fairly quick road to success. Her deep baritone was soulful and bluesy, but her cadences mixed jazz with her classically inspired piano playing. Her interpretations of standards (like Gershwin’s I Loves You Porgy, below) were truly groundbreaking.” Continue reading on The Guardian.