Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon, the concert pianist, singer, civil rights activist and international icon would go on to change culture itself with her peerless talent, fiery charisma, and unflinching ...

Before Brittany Howard turned 30, the dynamic singer and guitarist already had multiple musical lives on her résumé: leading the Grammy-winning Alabama Shakes, her punk-blues side project Thunderbitch ...

John Lennon was listening to a Nina Simone song before co-writing The Beatles’ “Michelle.” John said The Beatles’ “Michelle” would have been different if it was written solely by Paul McCartney.

This story is part of American Anthem, a yearlong series on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action. Find more at NPR.org/Anthem. By the early 1960s ...

Nina Simone fans have a reason for feeling good: A previously unreleased recording of the legendary artist’s set at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1966 is being released. Verve Records and UMe on ...

How do you bring gravitas to the supporting female role in a biopic largely about men? Dominique Fishback offers a masterclass in such a gesture in writer-director Shaka King’s “Judas and the Black ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. In March 1969, Nina Simone headlined L’Olympia in Paris. Over a decade into her recording career, Simone had ...

Nina Simone, the powerhouse diva who performed scorching civil rights protest songs, was fierce yet flawed, at once powerfully self-possessed and yet torn by her insecurities. As portrayed in ...