Dr.Nina Simone

Dr. Nina Somone was born in Tryon as the sixth of sven children in a poor family. She prodigy played piano at the age of four. With the help of her music teacher, who set up the the fund for her so she could continue her genered and musical education. To support her family financially, she started working as an accompanist and she was trained to become a classical pianist, stepped into show business. When four black children were killed in the bombing of a church in Birmingham in 1963, Nina wrote Mississippi Goddam, a bitter and furious accusation of the situation of her people in the USA.
There is more about her, and this is the website that if you are interesting - http://www.ninasimone.com/nina.html