| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
Little Girl Blue (also known as Jazz As Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club) is the debut album by Nina Simone. It was released by Bethlehem Records in February 1959.[3][4][5]
At this time, Simone was in her mid-20s and still aspiring to be a classical concert pianist. She immediately sold the rights for the album to Bethlehem for $3,000 (US$26,585 in 2019 dollars[6]). This deal eventually cost her royalty profits of more than a million dollars.[7] Simone was dissatisfied by the lack of effort the record company took in promoting her, and she subsequently formed a long business relationship with Colpix Records. The album Nina Simone and Her Friends was released after she had left Bethlehem, without her consent, and comprised songs that were left over from the Little Girl Blue recording session. The session was the only one ever recorded for Bethlehem.[8]
The album was reissued by Bethlehem in 1992 on CD (Bethlehem 30042), with three additional tracks from the same session: "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands", "For All We Know" and "African Mailman".[9] This format was released again in 2002, as Jazz as Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club by Charly / Snapper Music (SNAP 216 CD), remastered and with the addition of "My Baby Just Cares for Me (Extended Version)".[10]
Track listing
- "Mood Indigo" – (Duke Ellington, Barney Bigard, Irving Mills)
- "Don't Smoke in Bed" – (Willard Robison)
- "He Needs Me" – (Arthur Hamilton)
- "Little Girl Blue" – (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)
- "Love Me or Leave Me" – (Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn)
- "My Baby Just Cares for Me" – (Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn)
- "Good Bait" (instrumental) – (Count Basie, Tadd Dameron)
- "Plain Gold Ring" – (George Stone (aka Earl Burroughs))
- "You'll Never Walk Alone" (instrumental) – (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II)
- "I Loves You, Porgy" – (DuBose Heyward, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)
- "Central Park Blues" (instrumental) – (Nina Simone)
Personnel
- Nina Simone – vocals, piano, arrangements
- Jimmy Bond – double bass
- Albert "Tootie" Heath – drums
- Joseph Muranyi – liner notes
References
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ "February Album Releases" (PDF). The Cash Box. The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc., NY. 14 February 1959. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ Callahan, Mike; Edwards, David. "The Bethlehem Records Story". Both Sides Now Publications. Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (2009). Goldmine Record Album Price Guide (6th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 2123. ISBN 9781440229169.
- ^ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- ^ Simone. I Put a Spell on You. p. 60.
- ^ "Bethlehem Discography", BCP-6028/SBCP-6028
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Nina Simone: Jazz As Played In An Exclusive Side Street Club", Charly. Accessed 9 June 2016.