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Apr 21, 5:02 PM (ET)
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
NEW YORK (AP) - Nina Simone, the jazz great whose raspy, forceful voice helped define the civil rights movement,
died Monday at her home in France, according to her U.S. booking agent. She was 70.
Though she remained a top concert draw in her later years, she was quite frail.
At a 2001 concert at Carnegie Hall, she had to be helped to the stage, and was later seen sitting backstage in
a wheelchair.
Eric Hanson, an agent with her U.S. booking agency Ted Kurland Associates, confirmed the death to The Associated
Press.
Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, N.C., she was a classically trained pianist whose songs ranged from blues
to spirituals to classical fare. But she gained fame in 1959 with her recording of "I Loves You, Porgy,"
from the musical "Porgy & Bess."
She later became a voice of the civil rights movement, with her song "Mississippi Goddam," and later,
"To Be Young, Gifted and Black."
Simone spent much of her recent time in France, and in a 1998 interview blamed racism in the United States for
her decision to live abroad, saying that as a black person she has "paid a heavy price for fighting the establishment."
She did not elaborate but said racial inequality in the United States was "worse than ever."
She left the United States in 1973 and lived in the Caribbean and Africa before settling in Europe.
Simone, who had a regal presence onstage, enjoyed perhaps her greatest success in the 1960s and 70s, with songs
like "I Want A Little Sugar in My Bowl," and "Peaches."
She recorded songs from as diverse as Bob Dylan to the Bee Gees and made them her own. Perhaps one of her more
popular covers was her version of Dylan's "House of the Rising Sun."
She was survived by a daughter, Lisa, according to her personal manager, Clifton Henderson.
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(4/28/03, 5 p.m. ET) -- Legendary jazz singer Nina Simone was laid to rest Friday (April 25), after an emotional
funeral held at a church in Southern France.
About 500 mourners attended services at Lady Of Assumption church in the town of Carry-le-Rouet to reflect on Simone's
uncompromising life and artistry.
The funeral began with a performance of French composer Jacques Brel's "Ne Me Quite Pas," a tune Simone
performed frequently.
Pop star Elton John sent an arrangement of yellow roses. And Simone's daughter Lisa, who bills herself simply as
Simone and is the current star of the Broadway musical Aida, performed a gospel tune.
Also on hand was South African singer Miriam Makeba, who praised Simone's outspoken support of civil rights around
the world. Makeba said, "She was a great artist, but she was also someone who fought for liberty."
Simone's body was cremated at a private service in Marseille, France. According to her wishes, her ashes will be
scattered across several African countries.
Memorial services for Simone are being planned for New York and Simone's home town of Tryon, North Carolina.
Simone died Monday (April 21) at her home in the South of France. She was 70. The singer had a diverse career as
a singer, songwriter, and lyrical interpreter who recorded jazz, blues, pop, and gospel. She left the United States
in 1973 and had lived in the Caribbean and Europe, settling in the South of France during the last part of her
life.
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