Bethlehem Records

Bethlehem Records on vinyl: fifties jazz vocals and bop

In short: Bethlehem was one of the small, fine jazz labels of the fifties. Founded in New York in 1953, it recorded singers like Chris Connor and Mel Tormé, bop and cool jazz from the East and West Coast – and Nina Simone’s first album. The Vinyl Room currently has 86 Bethlehem records, most of them from the fifties.

From our stock

Bethlehem first pressings

Jazz vocals

Bop & cool jazz

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→ Cool jazz · Bebop · Jazz on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing

What makes Bethlehem special?

In the fifties Bethlehem stood next to the big jazz labels and still had a sound of its own. Singer Chris Connor recorded her first albums here, and Mel Tormé sang for Bethlehem too – in our stock “At The Crescendo”. Bethlehem also released Dexter Gordon’s “Daddy Plays the Horn”, recordings by Charles Mingus and Herbie Nichols, and “Little Girl Blue”, Nina Simone’s first album.

Typical of the label are series with musicians from both American coasts – in our stock, for example, Urbie Green from the “East Coast Jazz” series and “West Coasting” with Conte Candoli and Stan Levey. Add trombone jazz by Kai Winding and J.J. Johnson, big bands and the lovely “Bethlehem’s Best” samplers. Many fifties covers were designed by Burt Goldblatt and are little works of art.

Fifties original or later edition?

Our stock has both: many records from the fifties and later editions from the seventies. Where we can identify a first pressing for sure, it is marked with the copy. How to check it yourself – label, catalogue number, runout, cover – is shown in our guide “How to spot a first pressing”.

FAQ

When was Bethlehem Records founded? In New York in 1953.

Did Nina Simone record for Bethlehem? Yes, her first album “Little Girl Blue” came out on Bethlehem.

Which singers are on Bethlehem? Among others Chris Connor, Mel Tormé, Betty Roché, Frances Faye and Bobby Troup.

What music do you have on Bethlehem? Jazz: vocals, bop, cool jazz, big band and swing – 86 records in all.