Long Overdue
See Striking Photographs of Nina Simone, the Legendary Musician Who Was Finally Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
In 2015, at the premiere of the Netflix documentary What Happened, Miss Simone?, the film's director Liz Garbus told W, "Nina Simone is as relevant as ever." Now, as Simone has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 15 years after her death, that sentiment feels equally true. In honor of that long overdue recognition of the late musician's life and work, here is a look back at Simone's career through images by her regular collaborator, the photographer Sherry Rayn Barnett, who shot the singer several times, from the '70s through the '90s.
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Nina Simone at Village Gate in 1971. Photo by Sherry Rayn Barnett.
© SHERRY RYAN BARNETT
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Nina Simone at Fillmore East circa 1970. Photo by Sherry Rayn Barnett.
© sherry rayn barnett
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Nina Simone at Village Gate in 1971. Photo by Sherry Rayn Barnett.
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Nina Simone at Village Gate in 1971. Photo by Sherry Rayn Barnett.
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Nina Simone's "Let it Be Me" album cover shot in 1987. Photo by Sherry Rayn Barnett.
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Nina Simone in the early '90s. Photo by Sherry Rayn Barnett.