Bethlehem Records
Bethlehem Records was an American jazz independent record label, founded by Gus Wildi in 1953.
History
Bethlehem is remembered for its jazz releases from the 1950s. Producers included Creed Taylor and Teddy Charles. Bethlehem released the first albums recorded by singers Chris Connor in 1954, Nina Simone in 1958, and singer/actress Julie London. Julie London recorded four songs that were released on the EP Julie London, and they were later added to the compilation LP Bethlehem's Girlfriends in 1955, which also featured Chris Connor and Carmen McRae. Bethlehem recorded the debut album by Marilyn Moore and the album Somebody Loves Me by Jerri Winters, in addition to many many modern jazz musicians including Howard McGhee, Herbie Nichols, Pat Moran McCoy, and Oscar Pettiford.In 1958, Bethlehem began a distributing deal with King Records. In 1962, Bethlehem Records was sold and absorbed by King Records. After Syd Nathan's death in 1968, King was acquired by Starday Records and relaunched as Starday and King Records. It was purchased in 1970 by Lin Broadcasting and in 1972 by Tennessee Recording & Publishing, until acquired by Gusto Records in 1974. At that time, Bethlehem was purchased by the Cayre brothers' Salsoul Records, who initially intended to release its back catalog for inexpensive 8-track tapes in the 1970s. By 1993, the Bethlehem name was revived as Bethlehem Music Company, although Salsoul is often used as an imprint. The Verse Music Group obtained its licensing in 2010. In 2015 BMG acquired the catalog of Verse Music, including the Bethlehem label.
During 2013–2014, Verse and Naxos reissued the 1950s catalogue on LP, CD, and digital download. This included music by Art Blakey, Chris Connor, Paula Castle, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Nina Simone, Mel Tormé, and Zoot Sims.
Selected acquisitions
In 1956, Period Records sold its jazz LP catalog to Bethlehem. Production of all its jazz recordings were supervised by Leonard Feather. Several of the Period recordings had been previously released by Jazztone for mail-order club release.Discography
BCP 1000 Series
The BCP 1000 Series of 10 inch LP records commenced in September 1954 and ran until July 1955 when the label switched to 12 in LP releases.| Catalog | Artist | Album |
| BCP 1001 | Chris Connor Sings Lullabys of Birdland | |
| BCP 1002 | Chris Connor Sings Lullabys for Lovers | |
| BCP 1003 | Oscar Pettiford | |
| BCP 1004 | Great Scott | |
| BCP 1005 | Ruby Braff Swings | |
| BCP 1006 | Holiday with Hank | |
| BCP 1007 | Horn o' Plenty | |
| BCP 1008 | Aaron Sachs Sextet | |
| BCP 1009 | The Compositions of Bobby Scott: East Coast Jazz 1 | |
| BCP 1010 | East Coast Jazz/2 | |
| BCP 1011 | Peter the Great | |
| BCP 1012 | East Coast Jazz/3 | |
| BCP 1013 | I Only Have Eyes for Shu | |
| BCP 1014 | Jonah Jones | |
| BCP 1015 | Terry Pollard | |
| BCP 1016 | Sincerely, Conte | |
| BCP 1017 | Stan Levey Plays the Composition of Bill Holman, Bob Cooper and Jimmy Giuffre | |
| BCP 1018 | East Coast Jazz/4 | |
| BCP 1019 | Basically Duke | |
| BCP 1020 | East Coast Jazz/5 | |
| BCP 1021 | The Most Intimate | |
| BCP 1022 | Mariano | |
| BCP 1023 | Carmen McRae | |
| BCP 1024 | Sapphire | |
| BCP 1025 | Please, No More Shaggy Dog Stories! I'd Much Rather Listen to Herbie Harper | |
| BCP 1026 | Lou's Blue | |
| BCP 1027 | Down in the Depths on the 90th Floor | |
| BCP 1028 | Hence! Home, You Idle Creatures: Get You Home: and Lend an Ear to Max Bennett | |
| BCP 1029 | The Compositions of Bobby Scott: 2 | |
| BCP 1030 | The Songs of Bobby Troup | |
| BCP 1031 | The Australian Jazz Quartet | |
| BCP 1032 | Holiday in Braff | |
| BCP 1033 | , Bob Brookmeyer and Zoot Sims | Happy Minors |
| BCP 1034 | Ball at Bethlehem with Braff | |
| BCP 1035 | Dick Wetmore | |
| BCP 1036 | Castle | Lost Love |
| BCP 1039 | Joe DeRise Sings | |
| BCP 1040 | Wigville |
BCP 12-Inch "Deluxe" Series
The BCP "Deluxe" Series of 12 inch LP records commenced in 1955 and ran until 1960. Early releases consisted of reissues of 10 inch albums from the BCP 1000 Series.| Catalog | Artist | Album | Notes |
| BCP 1 | and Terry Pollard | Bobby Scott and Terry Pollard | Compilation of BCP-1004 and BCP-1015 |
| BCP 2 | and Red Mitchell | Jazz Mainstream | Compilation of BCP-1019 and BCP-1033 |
| BCP 3 | and Bob Hardaway | Jazz Practitioners | Compilation of BCP-1013 and BCP-1026 |
| BCP 4 | and Jonah Jones | Jazz Kaleidoscope | Compilation of BCP-1011 and BCP-1014 |
| BCP 5 | A Ruby Braff Omnibus | Compilation of BCP-1005 and BCP-1034 | |
| BCP 6 | and Vinnie Burke | Bass by Pettiford/Burke | Compilation of BCP-1003 and BCP-1010 |
| BCP 7 | and Aaron Sachs | We Brought Our Axes | Compilation of BCP-1006 and BCP-1008 |
| BCP 8 | The Compositions of Bobby Scott | Compilation of BCP-1009 and BCP-1029 | |
| BCP 9 | and Stan Levey | Westcoasting with Conte Candoli and Stan Levey | Compilation of BCP-1016 and BCP-1017 |
| BCP 10 | East Coast Jazz/5 | Reissue of BCP-1020 with additional material | |
| BCP 11 | Devil May Care | ||
| BCP 12 | Mellophone | ||
| BCP 13 | and Sue Ryan | Mr. and Mrs. Jazz | |
| BCP 14 | East Coast Jazz/6 | ||
| BCP 15 | Don Elliott Sings | ||
| BCP 16 | East Coast Jazz/8 | ||
| BCP 17 | Easy Living | ||
| BCP 18 | I'm Nuts About the Most...Sam That Is! | ||
| BCP 19 | A Great Mercer Songbook: Bobby Troup Sings Johnny Mercer | ||
| BCP 20 | This Is Chris | ||
| BCP 21 | , Cozy Cole and Charlie Shavers | Jazz at the Metropole Cafe | |
| BCP 22 | Smith/Glamann Quintet | Poinciana | |
| BCP 23 | I'm Wild Again | ||
| BCP 24 | Quartet | Flamingo | |
| BCP 25 | Charlie Mariano | ||
| BCP 26 | I Play Trombone | ||
| BCP 27 | Gershwin, Shavers and Strings | ||
| BCP 28 | 6 | ||
| BCP 29 | Newport News | ||
| BCP 30 | Toots Sweet | ||
| BCP 31 | Stu Williamson Plays | ||
| BCP 32 | Jazz Great | ||
| BCP 33 | Oscar Pettiford | ||
| BCP 34 | It's a Blue World | ||
| BCP 35 | The Distinctive Style of Bobby Troup | ||
| BCP 36 | Daddy Plays the Horn | ||
| BCP 37 | This Time the Drum's on Me | ||
| BCP 38 | Jam for Your Bread | ||
| BCP 39 | Shades of Sal Salvador | ||
| BCP 40 | and Sam Most | The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet | |
| BCP 41 | Ralph Sharon Trio | ||
| BCP 42 | The Return of Howard McGhee | ||
| BCP 43 | Songs from the Heart | ||
| BCP 44 | The Jazz City Workshop | Herbie Harper, Larry Bunker, Marty Paich, Curtis Counce, Frankie Capp and Jack Costanzo | |
| BCP 45 | Why Do I Love You | ||
| BCP 46 | Orchestra | Four Horns and a Lush Life | |
| BCP 47 | Songs of a Woman in Love | ||
| BCP 48 | Max Bennett | ||
| BCP 49 | Charlie Mariano Plays | ||
| BCP 50 | Max Bennett Plays | ||
| BCP 51 | Joe DeRise | ||
| BCP 52 | Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dek-Tette | ||
| BCP 53 | with Russ Garcia "Wigville" Band | That Old Black Magic | |
| BCP 54 | Claude Williamson | ||
| BCP 55 | Stu Williamson | ||
| BCP 56 | Chris | ||
| BCP 57 | The View from Jazzbo's Head | ||
| BCP 58 | Herbie Mann Plays | Reissue of BCP-1018 with additional material | |
| BCP 59 | Frivolous Sal | ||
| BCP 60 | Historically Speaking | ||
| BCP 61 | Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries | ||
| BCP 62 | Relaxin' with Frances Faye | ||
| BCP 63 | Love and the Weather | ||
| BCP 64 | Take the "A" Train | ||
| BCP 65 | The Jazz Experiments of Charlie Mingus | Compilation of Period Records SPL 1107 and SPL 1111 | |
| BCP 66 | The Happy Jazz of Osie Johnson | ||
| BCP 67 | and Maxine Sullivan | The Complete Charlie Shavers with Maxine Sullivan | |
| BCP 68 | Bijou | ||
| BCP 69 | 'Round Midnight | ||
| BCP 70 | Sounds by Socolow | ||
| BCP 71 | Grand Stan | ||
| BCP 72 | Say It Isn't So | ||
| BCP 73 | Moody | ||
| BCP 74 | A Tribute to the Greats | ||
| BCP 75 | Sam Most Plays Bird, Bud, Monk and Miles | ||
| BCP 76 | Somebody Loves Me | ||
| BCP 77 | A Swinging Introduction to Jimmy Knepper | ||
| BCP 78 | The Amazing Mr. Sam Most | ||
| BCP 79 | Jazz for Young Moderns | ||
| BCP 80 | / Russ Garcia / Herbie Harper | Jazz City Presents Bethlehem Jazz Session | |
| BCP 81 | Love, Gloom, Cash, Love | ||
| BCP 82 | Various Artists | Bethlehem's Best Volume One | |
| BCP 83 | Various Artists | Bethlehem's Best Volume Two | |
| BCP 84 | Various Artists | Bethlehem's Best Volume Three | |
| BCP 85 | Various Artists | Nothing Cheesy About This Jazz | |
| BCP 86 | Various Artists | We Cut This Album for Bread | |
| BCP 87 | Various Artists | Double Barrel Jazz | |
| BCP 88 | Various Artists | Jazz Music for People Who Don't Care About Money | |
| BCP 89 | Various Artists | We've Built a Jazz Album for You | |
| BCP 90 | Various Artists | A Handful of Cool Jazz | |
| BCP 91 | Various Artists | A Lot of Yarn But a Well Knitted Jazz Album | |
| BCP 92 | Various Artists | No Sour Grapes...Just Pure Jazz |
6000 series
The 5000 series of 12 inch LP records commenced in 1957 but only released six albums.6000 series
The 6000 series of 12 inch LP records commenced in 1956 and ran until 1964.| Catalog | Artist | Album |
| BCP 6001 | and J. J. Johnson | K + J.J. |
| BCP 6002 | The Australian Jazz Quartet/Quintet | |
| BCP 6003 | The Australian Jazz Quartet | |
| BCP 6004 | Chris Connor Sings Lullabys of Birdland | |
| BCP 6005 | Duke Ellington Presents... | |
| BCP 6006 | / Carmen McRae / Julie London | Bethlehem's Girl Friends |
| BCP 6007 | The Pat Moran Quartet | |
| BCP 6008 | Musically Yours | |
| BCP 6009 | Squeeze Me | |
| BCP 6010 | The Voice of Audrey Morris | |
| BCP 6011 | Something Else by Johnny Richards | |
| BCP 6012 | The Australian Jazz Quintet at the Varsity Drag | |
| BCP 6013 | Mel Tormé Sings Fred Astaire | |
| BCP 6014 | ||
| BCP 6015 | The Australian Jazz Quintet Plus One | |
| BCP 6016 | Mel Tormé's California Suite | |
| BCP 6017 | Frances Faye Sings Folk Songs | |
| BCP 6018 | While at Birdland | |
| BCP 6019 | East Coasting | |
| BCP 6020 | Mel Tormé at the Crescendo | |
| BCP 6021 | and Paul Quinichette | The Chase Is On |
| BCP 6022 | Selections of Rogers and Hammerstein | |
| BCP 6023 | 's Jazz Messengers | Hard Drive |
| BCP 6024 | Various Artists | Winner's Circle |
| BCP 6025 | World on a String | |
| BCP 6026 | A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry | |
| BCP 6027 | Art Blakey Big Band | |
| BCP 6028 | Little Girl Blue | |
| BCP 6029 | The Australian Jazz Quintet in Free Style | |
| BCP 6030 | Modern Jazz Performance of Kurt Weill's Three Penny Opera | |
| BCP 6031 | Songs for Any Taste | |
| BCP 6032 | and His Sextet | Salute to Hamp |
| BCP 6033 | The Forward Sound | |
| BCP 6034 | Various Artists | Smart, Luscious, Beautiful: Sounds of the Trumpet |
| BCP 6035 | Various Artists | Fifteen Star Saxophones |
| BCP 6036 | Various Artists | Trombone Band Stand |
| BCP 6037 | Various Artists | Big Band Contrast |
| BCP 6038 | Various Artists | Bluesville |
| BCP 6039 | and Marty Paich | Jazz Music for the Birds and the Hep Cats |
| BCP 6040 | , Frances Faye and Others | Porgy and Bess: A Jazz Version of Highlights from the Opera |
| BCP 6041 | / Carmen McRae / Chris Connor | Nina Simone and Her Friends |
| BCP 6042 | and Jack Teagarden | Meet in Dixieland |
| BCP 6043 | The Best of Braff | |
| BCP 6044 | Group | On Campus! Ivy League Jazz Concert |
| BCP 6045 | Left Alone | |
| BCP 6046 | Charlie Persip and the Jazz Statesmen | |
| BCP 6047 | Leroy Parkins and Yazoo River Jazz Band | |
| BCP 6048 | The Book Cooks | |
| BCP 6049 | and Hal Overton | Dual Piano Jazz |
| BCP 6050 | and the Storyville Sextet | Metronome Presents Jazz at the Modern |
| BCP 6051 | Down Home | |
| BCP 6052 | The Soft Land of Make Believe | |
| BCP 6053 | The Many Angles of John Letman | |
| BCP 6054 | Hornful of Soul | |
| BCP 6055 | Dusty Blue | |
| BCP 6056 | and Donald Byrd | Motor City Scene |
| BCP 6057 | A Treasury of Spicy Sea Songs | |
| BCP 6058 | Betty Blake Sings In a Tender Mood | |
| BCP 6059 | Tenor Sax | |
| BCP 6061 | Booker Little and Friend | |
| BCP 6062 | and His Orchestra | Watt's Cooking |
| BCP 6063 | Humph Plays Standards | |
| BCP 6064 | Third Dimension | |
| BCP 6065 | Various Artists | Golden Jazz Instrumentals |
| BCP 6066 | John Coltrane in the Winners Circle | |
| BCP 6067 | The Epitome of Jazz | |
| BCP 6068 | Various Artists | Jazz Vocals Award Album |
| BCP 6069 | with Shirley Scott at the Organ | The Best of Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis |
| BCP 6070 | Jazz for Beach-Niks | |
| BCP 6071 | Various Artists | Blues 'N' Folk |
| BCP 6072 | The New World of Milt Buckner | |
| BCP 6073 | Jazz for Surf-Niks |