Few artists have had the impact on pop, soul, rock and jazz as the iconoclastic Nina Simone.  Simone (1933-2003) played by her own rules in life and art, recording some of the most electric and eclectic music imaginable in any genre.  It wasn’t uncommon on a Simone album to find politically charged protest music alongside popular Broadway hits and reworkings of contemporary rock songs.  This April, she will enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, though she preferred to call her singular fusion of genres “black classical music.”  Throughout her long and fascinating career, the singer/pianist/songwriter/activist recorded for a variety of labels including Philips, RCA Victor, and CTI.  But two new compilations are looking at her two earliest recording affiliations – for the Bethlehem and Colpix labels.  On February 9, Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Singles will arrive from BMG, and two weeks later, The Colpix Singles will be released on the newly-reactivated $tateside label.

Nina Simone began her recording career at the jazz-oriented Bethlehem Records label at the age of 25 in 1958.  Her debut album Little Girl Blue (named for the Rodgers and Hart standard) would feature 11 of the 14 tracks she recorded for the album, including what would become a signature song: “Porgy (I Loves You Porgy)” from George and Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward’s Broadway opera, Porgy and Bess.  By the time “Porgy” began rising on the charts, Simone had already moved on to Colpix Records, but Bethlehem continued to capitalize on the artist’s small trove of recordings for the label both on the collection Nina Simone and Her Friends (also featuring Chris Connor and Carmen McRae) and on 45 RPM singles.  Between 1959 and 1962, Bethlehem issued all of the material Simone had recorded for the label.

Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Singles will be released on CD and vinyl.  The 14-track CD version follows the chronology of the original singles, while the vinyl LP version has “Porgy (I Loves You Porgy)” and “Love Me or Leave Me,” Simone’s debut single, on a bonus 7-inch replica 45 rather than on the LP.  Additionally, Barnes and Noble will have an exclusive blue vinyl version.  Ashley Kahn’s new liner notes draw on a fresh interview with drummer Al “Tootie” Heath, who joined Simone and bassist Jimmy Bond on the intimate recordings.  The collection of original mono single versions has been produced by the acclaimed team at Omnivore Records.

Simone’s move to Colpix Records was a fruitful one.  She remained at the label from 1959-1964, releasing ten albums and numerous singles.  Those singles are being collected on the 2-CD, 27-track release simply entitled The Colpix Singles (also available in a 14-track highlights edition on vinyl).  Singles were drawn from both live and studio albums for the label, including The Amazing Nina Simone, Nina Simone at Town Hall, Nina Simone at Newport, and Nina Simone Sings Ellington.  At Colpix, Simone recorded some of the most sly, sultry, and incendiary music of her career, touching on folk, blues, jazz, and soul including renditions (all included here) of “Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair,” “Willow Weep for Me,” “Cotton Eyed Joe,” “I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl,” and an answer song to Ray Charles’ “Hit the Road, Jack” entitled “Come On Back, Jack.”  Featuring all of the songs in their original mono single versions (including some unique edits), The Colpix Singles will be released on $tateside, which Warner Music’s Global Catalogue Division relaunched last year to focus on  classic jazz, soul, and R&B releases – making Nina Simone an ideal candidate for the new label’s roster.

Look for Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Singles from BMG on February 9, and The Colpix Singles from $tateside on February 23.  You’ll find pre-order links for both titles below!

Nina Simone, Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Singles (Bethlehem/BMG, 2018)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP + 7″: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

1. I Loves You, Porgy
2. Love Me or Leave Me
3. Little Girl Blue
4. He Needs Me
5. Don’t Smoke In Bed
6. African Mailman
7. Mood Indigo
8. Central Park Blues
9. For All We Know
10. Good Bait
11. You’ll Never Walk Alone
12. Plain Gold Ring
13. He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands (Alternate Take)
14. My Baby Just Cares For Me

Original versions of Tracks 1-5, 7-8, 10-12 and 14 released on Little Girl Blue (Bethlehem Records BCP-6028, 1958)
Original versions of Tracks 6, 9 and 13 released on Nina Simone and Her Friends (Bethlehem Records BCP-6041, 1959)

Nina Simone, The Colpix Singles ($tateside/Rhino, 2018)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. (TBD) / Amazon Canada

* included on vinyl version

Disc 1

1. Chilly Winds Don’t Blow *
2. Solitaire
3. Children Go Where I Send You *
4. Willow Weep For Me
5. The Other Woman *
6. It Might As Well Be Spring
7. Summertime *
8. Fine and Mellow
9. Since My Love Has Gone *
10. Tomorrow (We Will Meet Once More)
11. Under The Lowest (Short Version)
12. If Only For Tonight *
13. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out *
14. Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair

Disc 2

1. Trouble In Mind *
2. Cotton-Eyed Joe
3. Work Song *
4. Memphis In June
5. You Can Have Him
6. Gin House Blues *
7. Come On Back Jack *
8. You’ve Been Gone Too Long
9. In The Evening By The Moonlight *
10. I Want a Little Sugar In My Bowl
11. I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good) *
12. Little Liza Jane *
13. Blackbird