Nina Simone
Awards & Honours
5
Awards Won
8
Honours
3
Rankings
4
Covers
2
Records
Nina Simone's achievements are remarkable not just for their number but for their historic weight. She was the first artist to turn a civil rights protest song into a Billboard hit with Mississippi Goddam, a track written in under an hour that became an enduring anthem. Her catalog of more than 40 albums spans just 16 years of active recording, a prolific output matched by few. She earned four Grammy nominations during her lifetime and two posthumous Grammy Hall of Fame inductions, a rare honor that places her recordings among the most culturally significant in American music. Her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, 15 years after her death, cemented her status as a foundational figure in American music. Rolling Stone ranked her the 21st greatest singer of all time in 2023, and her song Sinnerman has been licensed for more films and TV shows than almost any other track from her era.
Awards
Honours & Distinctions
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction
Inducted in the Performer category by Mary J. Blige.
Grammy Hall of Fame Induction
For her recording of 'I Loves You, Porgy'.
Grammy Hall of Fame Induction
For her recording of 'Mississippi Goddam'.
National Recording Registry
'Mississippi Goddam' selected for preservation.
National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Induction
Inducted for her contributions to R&B and soul.
Honorary Degree
Awarded just days before her death.
Honorary Degree in Music
Recognized her musical achievements.
Honorary Degree in Humanities
For her activism and humanitarian work.
Rankings & Lists
200 Greatest Singers of All Time
100 Greatest Singers of All Time
100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll
Magazine Covers
Jet
1965-03-01
Nina Simone: High Priestess of Soul
Ebony
1968-01-01
Nina Simone: The Angry Voice of Black America
Rolling Stone
1969-10-01
Nina Simone: The Activist
Time
1969-08-01
The Voice of the Movement
Records & Feats
First protest song to become a Billboard hit
Mississippi Goddam was the first song explicitly about civil rights to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
Most licensed song from the civil rights era
Sinnerman has been used in over 50 films and TV shows, more than any other song from the 1960s protest movement.