Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep with the record.

— Paul, Vinyl Curator

Nina Simone, Chris Connor, Carmen McRae

Nina Simone And Her Friends (An Intimate Variety Of Vocal Charm)

c. 1959-1960 · Bethlehem Records BS-6041 · Stereo · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM

Pressing details

Label	Bethlehem Records
Catalogue number	BS-6041
Year	c. 1959-1960
Mono / Stereo	Stereo
Country	US
Format	LP
Speed	33 1/3 RPM
Genre	Jazz - Vocal Jazz (compilation)
Musicians	Nina Simone (vocals, piano), Albert "Tootie" Heath (drums), Jimmy Bond (bass) - on the Nina Simone tracks; Chris Connor (vocals) with the Ellis Larkins Trio; Carmen McRae (vocals) with the Mat Mathews Quartet and the Tony Scott Quartet

Matrix / Runout

Side A:  BS-12-6041-A-R-X-3
Side B:  BS-12-6041-B-R-X-5

Condition

Cover: VG+
Vinyl: NM-

Variant chronology

1959 - Bethlehem BCP-6041, mono, red-and-silver deep-groove label
1959-60 - Bethlehem BS-6041, stereo, blue-and-silver label  <- this copy
2021 - BMG/Craft reissue, emerald-green vinyl, Kevin Gray remaster (RSD Essentials)

This Pressing

Original-era stereo pressing (BS-6041, blue/silver Bethlehem label), the stereo counterpart to the mono BCP-6041 deep-groove first pressing.

The Album

Assembled by Bethlehem Records in 1959, this compilation pairs Nina Simone with two of the label's established jazz vocal stars, Chris Connor and Carmen McRae, to capitalize on Simone's sudden fame after "I Loves You, Porgy" became a hit from her debut LP. Several of the Simone sides here were leftover, previously unissued performances from the same December 1957 Beltone Studios sessions that produced her landmark debut, recorded with just Albert Heath on drums and Jimmy Bond on bass in her spare, piano-trio style. Connor's contributions reflect her rise as a cool-toned Bethlehem stylist backed by the Ellis Larkins Trio, while McRae - already admired for her worldly diction and jazz phrasing - is heard with the Mat Mathews and Tony Scott combos. For Simone the release captured a pivotal early-career moment, issued as she was crossing from nightclub obscurity into national visibility, and it remains valued today chiefly as a rare repository of otherwise-unavailable early Simone performances rather than as a unified artistic statement. Critically it has always been viewed as a Bethlehem catalogue product - a sampler rather than a true album - but its Simone content in particular is prized by collectors and biographers tracing her formative Bethlehem period.

Tracklist

Side 1

1. He's Got The Whole World In His Hands - Nina Simone
2. Someone To Watch Over Me - Chris Connor
3. Old Devil Moon - Carmen McRae
4. I Loves You, Porgy - Nina Simone
5. I Concentrate On You - Chris Connor
6. You Made Me Care - Carmen McRae

Side 2

1. For All We Know - Nina Simone
2. From This Moment On - Chris Connor
3. Too Much In Love To Care - Carmen McRae
4. African Mailman - Nina Simone
5. All This And Heaven Too - Chris Connor
6. The Last Time For Love - Carmen McRae

The Label

The label is solid blue with silver/white print - the BETHLEHEM wordmark and HIGH FIDELITY banner at top, STEREO underlined beneath, bold-caps title NINA SIMONE AND FRIENDS, catalogue number BS-6041 at lower left with Side 1/2 (BS-6041-A/B) at right, and MANUFACTURED IN U.S.A. BETHLEHEM MUSIC CORP. around the bottom rim. The mono edition of this catalogue number carries red-and-silver deep-groove labels, while the stereo edition is recognizable by its blue and silver labels, as on this copy. This blue/silver design with the BS-prefixed number places the copy in the original 1959-60 Bethlehem stereo issue window, before the label's later ownership changes and reissue programs (1970s Bethlehem reissues, and the 2021 BMG/Craft green-vinyl remaster) altered the design entirely.

Fidelity

This is an early analog stereo transfer of 1957-vintage, mono-era session tapes; Bethlehem's stereo mixes from this period are generally regarded by collectors as serviceable but vocal-forward with modest channel separation rather than audiophile-grade. Collectors on the forums describe the 2021 Kevin Gray-mastered BMG reissue as vocal-heavy and inconsistent between pressing runs, with some copies poorly separated. Within the album's fidelity hierarchy, this original-era stereo pressing sits above the 2021 Kevin Gray/BMG green-vinyl remaster and any generic later reissues in historical authenticity, being the vintage source pressing those later masters derive from, though the mono BCP-6041 deep-groove pressing is generally considered the more direct and more collectible cut of the two original 1959-60 formats.

Notes

This is the original-era Bethlehem stereo pressing of BCP-6041/BS-6041, distinguished from the mono edition by its blue-and-silver label design; the mono edition uses red-and-silver deep-groove labels. The vinyl on this copy is graded NM- with deep groove present on both sides, consistent with an early-1960s stereo pressing rather than a later reissue. The etched runout (BS-12-6041-A-R-X-3 / BS-12-6041-B-R-X-5) follows the expected BS-12-6041 stereo matrix prefix pattern for this catalogue number.

Documenting collections

I do this work for other people’s collections too — documenting a collection record by record, researching individual pressings, and preparing collections for sale or for insurance. If you have a collection you would like documented, or a record you want identified properly, get in touch: email

This record’s page: https://vinylcurator.net/albums/nina-simone-nina-simone-and-her-friends/