Six Facts About Nina Simone

1. Nina Simone is actually a stage name. She was born as Eunice Waymon on February 21, 1933, but was going by the name we've grown to love by the age of 21. She apparently wanted to go about a different name to prevent her mother from learning of her gigs.
2. She was one for education as she had two honorary degrees from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Malcolm X College.

3. Nina's long-lasting legacy can be seen in her hometown of Tyron, North Carolina. You can visit an 8-foot sculpture of her in Nina Simone Plaza playing a song on a keyboard that floats in midair.
4. Unfortunately, Nina never had a No. 1 smash. Her highest charting single (and her first hit), "I Loves You Porgy" peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. R&B charts in 1959.

5. Success saw Nina make homes in plenty of places, including New York City, Liberia, Barbados, England, Belgium, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

6. Activism has always been a strong passion as heard in her 1964 anthem, "Mississippi Goddam," which only took her 20 minutes to write and was the result of the country's racial war.