Nancy Wilson has died aged 81.
The legendary jazz and soul singer’s manager and publicist Deva Hall Levy has confirmed she has sadly passed away at her home in Pioneertown, California, but did not reveal the cause of her death.
She covered a number of genres, including R&B and gospel, and was known for hits such as ‘Guess Who I Saw Today’ and the ‘(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am’.
But the star preferred to be known as a "song stylist", rather than simply a "jazz singer".
Speaking in 2010, she said: "The music that I sing today was the pop music of the 1960s.
"I just never considered myself a jazz singer.
"I do not do runs and you know. I take a lyric and make it mine. I consider myself an interpreter of the lyric."
Nancy also performed Broadway show tunes in her five-decade career, in which she released more than 70 albums.
She picked up three Grammy Awards along the way, including one for her 1964 album ‘How Glad I Am’, but retired from touring in 2011.
Speaking in 1993, she said: "I have a gift for telling stories, making them seem larger than life.
"I love the vignette, the plays within the song."
Nancy inspired the likes of Nnenna Freelon, Patti LaBelle and Anita Baker.
Nnenna once said about her: "She has such a classy sound, but she’s never afraid to be a woman, or to tell it like it is."
As well as her music talents, Nancy was also a civil rights activist and marched at the famous 1965 Selma protest in Alabama, and she was inducted into the International Civil Rights: Walk of Fame in 2005.
She also hosted her own show, NBC’s ‘Nancy Wilson Show’, in 1967, becoming one of the few African-Americans of the time to do so.
Nancy Wilson dead at 81
