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 (the dual releases Chris Connor Sings Lullabys for Lovers and Chris Connor Sings Lullabys of Birdland) in 1954, Nina Simone (Little Girl Blue) 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 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.Callahan, M. & Edwards, D., The Bethlehem Records Story, accessed May 14, 2015 After Syd Nathan died 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, which 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 was often used as an imprint. The Verse Music Group obtained its licensing in 2010. In 2015 BMG Rights Management 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 (10 disks) to Bethlehem. Production of all its jazz recordings was supervised by Leonard Feather. Several of the Period recordings had been previously released by Jazztone for mail-order club release."Beth'hem Buys Period's Jazz LP Catalog," Billboard, October 20, 1956, p. 18
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.Edwards, D. & Callahan, M., Bethlehem Discography, Part 1: BCP-1000 10-inch LP Series (1954-1955), accessed May 13, 2015 Catalog Artist AlbumBCP 1001Chris Connor Sings Lullabys of BirdlandBCP 1002Chris Connor Sings Lullabys for LoversBCP 1003Oscar PettifordBCP 1004Great ScottBCP 1005Ruby Braff SwingsBCP 1006Holiday with HankBCP 1007Horn o' PlentyBCP 1008Aaron Sachs SextetBCP 1009The Compositions of Bobby Scott: East Coast Jazz 1BCP 1010East Coast Jazz/2BCP 1011Peter the GreatBCP 1012East Coast Jazz/3BCP 1013I Only Have Eyes for ShuBCP 1014Jonah JonesBCP 1015Terry PollardBCP 1016Sincerely, ConteBCP 1017Stan Levey Plays the Composition of Bill Holman, Bob Cooper and Jimmy GiuffreBCP 1018East Coast Jazz/4BCP 1019Basically DukeBCP 1020East Coast Jazz/5BCP 1021The Most IntimateBCP 1022MarianoBCP 1023Carmen McRaeBCP 1024SapphireBCP 1025Please, No More Shaggy Dog Stories! I'd Much Rather Listen to Herbie HarperBCP 1026Lou's BlueBCP 1027Down in the Depths on the 90th FloorBCP 1028Hence! Home, You Idle Creatures: Get You Home: and Lend an Ear to Max BennettBCP 1029The Compositions of Bobby Scott: 2BCP 1030The Songs of Bobby TroupBCP 1031The Australian Jazz QuartetBCP 1032Holiday in BraffBCP 1033, Bob Brookmeyer and Zoot SimsHappy MinorsBCP 1034Ball at Bethlehem with BraffBCP 1035Dick WetmoreBCP 1036Lost LoveBCP 1039Joe DeRise SingsBCP 1040Wigville
BCP 12-Inch "Deluxe" Series The BCP "Deluxe" Series of 12 inch LP records commenced in 1955 and ran until 1960.Edwards, D. & Callahan, M., Bethlehem Discography, Part 2: BCP-1 12-inch LP Series (1955-1960), accessed May 13, 2015 Early releases consisted of reissues of 10 inch albums from the BCP 1000 Series.
In the move to create the BCP 6000 series in the fall of 1956, Bethlehem removed three original recordings from the deluxe series and replaced them with later recordings. These are noted in the table with both releases shown.Edwards, D. & Callahan, M., Bethlehem Discography, BCP-1 12-inch LP Series (1955-1960), accessed January 20, 2024 Catalog Artist Album NotesBCP 1 and Terry PollardBobby Scott and Terry PollardCompilation of BCP-1004 and BCP-1015 (not released)BCP 2 and Red MitchellJazz MainstreamCompilation of BCP-1019 and BCP-1033BCP 3 and Bob HardawayJazz PractitionersCompilation of BCP-1013 and BCP-1026BCP 4 and Jonah JonesJazz KaleidoscopeCompilation of BCP-1011 and BCP-1014BCP 5A Ruby Braff OmnibusCompilation of BCP-1005 and BCP-1034BCP 6 and Vinnie BurkeBass by Pettiford/BurkeCompilation of BCP-1003 and BCP-1010BCP 7 and Aaron SachsWe Brought Our AxesCompilation of BCP-1006 and BCP-1008BCP 8The Compositions of Bobby ScottCompilation of BCP-1009 and BCP-1029BCP 9 and Stan LeveyWestcoasting with Conte Candoli and Stan LeveyCompilation of BCP-1016 and BCP-1017BCP 10East Coast Jazz/5Reissue of BCP-1020 with additional materialBCP 11Devil May CareBCP 12MellophoneBCP 13 and J. J. JohnsonK + J.J. / East Coast Jazz/7Later removed from this series to become BCP 6001 and replaced.BCP 13 and Sue RyanMr. and Mrs. JazzReplaced original BCP 13 issue.BCP 14East Coast Jazz/6BCP 15Don Elliott SingsBCP 16East Coast Jazz/8BCP 17Easy LivingBCP 18I'm Nuts About the Most...Sam That Is!BCP 19A Great Mercer Songbook: Bobby Troup Sings Johnny MercerBCP 20This Is ChrisBCP 21, Cozy Cole and Charlie ShaversJazz at the Metropole CafeBCP 22Smith/Glamann QuintetPoincianaBCP 23I'm Wild AgainBCP 24 QuartetFlamingoBCP 25Charlie MarianoBCP 26I Play TromboneBCP 27Gershwin, Shavers and StringsBCP 286BCP 29Newport NewsBCP 30Toots SweetBCP 31The Australian Jazz Quartet/QuintetLater removed from this series to become BCP 6002 and replacedBCP 31Stu Williamson PlaysReplaced original BCP 31 issue.BCP 32Jazz GreatBCP 33Oscar PettifordBCP 34It's a Blue WorldBCP 35The Distinctive Style of Bobby TroupBCP 36Daddy Plays the HornBCP 37This Time the Drum's on MeBCP 38Jam for Your BreadBCP 39The Australian Jazz QuartetLater removed from this series to become BCP 6003 and replaced.BCP 39Shades of Sal SalvadorReplaced original BCP 39 issue.BCP 40 and Sam MostThe Herbie Mann-Sam Most QuintetBCP 41Ralph Sharon TrioBCP 42The Return of Howard McGheeBCP 43Songs from the HeartBCP 44The Jazz City WorkshopHerbie Harper, Larry Bunker, Marty Paich, Curtis Counce, Frankie Capp and Jack CostanzoBCP 45Why Do I Love YouBCP 46 OrchestraFour Horns and a Lush LifeBCP 47Songs of a Woman in LoveBCP 48Max BennettBCP 49Charlie Mariano PlaysBCP 50Max Bennett PlaysBCP 51Joe DeRiseBCP 52Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dek-TetteBCP 53 with Russ Garcia "Wigville" BandThat Old Black MagicBCP 54Claude WilliamsonBCP 55Stu WilliamsonBCP 56ChrisBCP 57The View from Jazzbo's HeadBCP 58Herbie Mann PlaysReissue of BCP-1018 with additional materialBCP 59Frivolous SalBCP 60Historically SpeakingBCP 61Life Is Just a Bowl of CherriesBCP 62Relaxin' with Frances FayeBCP 63Love and the WeatherBCP 64Take the "A" TrainBCP 65The Jazz Experiments of Charlie MingusCompilation of Period Records SPL 1107 and SPL 1111 BCP 66The Happy Jazz of Osie JohnsonBCP 67 and Maxine SullivanThe Complete Charlie Shavers with Maxine SullivanBCP 68BijouBCP 69 'Round MidnightBCP 70Sounds by SocolowBCP 71Grand StanBCP 72Say It Isn't SoBCP 73MoodyBCP 74A Tribute to the GreatsBCP 75Sam Most Plays Bird, Bud, Monk and MilesBCP 76Somebody Loves MeBCP 77A Swinging Introduction to Jimmy KnepperBCP 78The Amazing Mr. Sam MostBCP 79Jazz for Young ModernsBCP 80 / Russ Garcia / Herbie HarperJazz City Presents Bethlehem Jazz SessionBCP 81Love, Gloom, Cash, LoveBCP 82Various ArtistsBethlehem's Best Volume OneBCP 83Various ArtistsBethlehem's Best Volume TwoBCP 84Various ArtistsBethlehem's Best Volume ThreeBCP 85Various ArtistsNothing Cheesy About This JazzBCP 86Various ArtistsWe Cut This Album for BreadBCP 87Various ArtistsDouble Barrel JazzBCP 88Various ArtistsJazz Music for People Who Don't Care About MoneyBCP 89Various ArtistsWe've Built a Jazz Album for YouBCP 90Various ArtistsA Handful of Cool JazzBCP 91Various ArtistsA Lot of Yarn But a Well Knitted Jazz AlbumBCP 92Various ArtistsNo Sour Grapes ...Just Pure Jazz
5000 series The 5000 series of 12 inch LP records commenced in 1957 but only released six albums.Edwards, D. & Callahan, M., Bethlehem Records Catalog: 6000, 5000 series - album index, accessed November 8, 2019 Catalog Artist AlbumBCP 5001Ted Steele Presents Miss Teal JoyBCP-5002The Most IntimateBCP-5003Dick Stabile Plays for YouBCP-5004 and His OrchestraLet's Go Dancin''' |- |BCP-5005 | |Clean Head's Back in Town|- |BCP-5006 |, His Vocal Choir and Orchestra |Sounds in the Night''
6000 series The 6000 series of 12 inch LP records commenced in 1956 and ran until 1964.Edwards, D. & Callahan, M., Bethlehem Discography, Part 3: BCP-6000 Series, accessed May 13, 2015