NINA SIMONE - SIMONE DRAWS CIVIL RIGHTS TRIBUTES

The world of jazz has paid tribute to singer NINA SIMONE - and the legendary singer has been hailed for her role in the civil rights movement.

Simone - who won critical acclaim and international fame with hits like MY BABY JUST CARES FOR ME and I PUT A SPELL ON YOU - died at her home in France yesterday (21APR03), aged 70.

Music promoter GEORGE WEIN says, "That's what separated Nina from the other singers. Nina took civil rights and the movement, the fight to another level, and made it part of her persona.

"As an entertainer, she had the world in her hands, but she never knew how to grab it. She was a black woman who never could relate to the position of what it was to be black in America. She couldn't understand it. She was an unhappy person."