![]() These early singles have often been overlooked in favor of her original, historically important compositions such as 1964’s “Mississippi Goddam” and 1970’s “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black,” both of which became rallying cries for the civil-rights movement. The singles she released during that period, many of them drawn from the Great American Songbook, have been collected on two anthologies out this month: Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Singles (via BMG Records) and Nina Simone: The Colpix Singles (via Stateside Records). Little Girl Blue kicked off a run of singles Simone made between 19 for both Bethlehem and another New York label, Colpix Records. Relatively unknown, Simone was a fresh face to find success by safely interpreting the standards of the day, albeit by using her uniquely husky voice and bluesy yet classically informed piano playing. Simone, on the other hand, had been signed as more of a pop-jazz artist the label, after all, was also the home of Mel Tormé. ![]() Among Bethlehem’s alumni were Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, and a promising young saxophonist from Miles Davis’s band named John Coltrane. Her debut album, Little Girl Blue, had just been released on Bethlehem Records, an up-and-coming jazz label. The legendary singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil-rights activist-who will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April-turned 25 in 1958. Sixty years ago, Nina Simone was not yet quite an icon. ![]()
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