Recording Academy to honor high priestess of soul Nina Simone

Nearly 14 years after Nina Simone’s death, the jazz great and civil-rights activist will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at the Recording Academy’s 2017 Special Merit Awards.

“This year’s Special Merit Awards recipients comprise a prestigious group of diverse and influential creators who have crafted or contributed to some of the most distinctive recordings in music history,” Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement Monday.

Born in 1933 in North Carolina, Simone began playing piano in church at a young age. The prodigy originally aspired to become a concert pianist, but found her calling using both her musical and vocal talents to write songs. From her first hit in 1959, “I Loves You, Porgy,” Simone’s career spanned four decades.

Simone, whose rich and impassioned voice caught the world’s attention, also used her talents to protest racial inequality. Her song “Mississippi Goddam” was an anthem played during civil-rights protests in the 1960s, and “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black” has been covered by Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway and recently Solange Knowles.

In recent years, Simone’s music and activism have reemerged in popular culture. The Oscar-nominated documentary “What Happened, Miss Simone?” and feature film “Nina” delved into her turbulent life story.

Other 2017 lifetime honorees include gospel great Shirley Caesar, jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, experimental rockers the Velvet Underground, funk icon Sly Stone, country superstar Charley Pride, and seminal country singer Jimmie Rodgers.

“These exceptionally inspiring figures are being honored as legendary performers, creative architects, and technical visionaries,” Portnow said in the same statement. “Their outstanding accomplishments and passion for their respective crafts have created a timeless legacy.”

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