Nina Simone - Little Girl Blue

Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original stereo analog master tapes!

For more information on Little Girl Blue and the life and times of Nina Simone, see Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone by Nadine Cohodas, The University of North Carolina Press, 2010.

Little Girl Blue was Nina Simone's debut release. Bethlehem founder Gus Wildi, taken with the uniquely beautiful quality of her voice, gave her complete control over song selection, backing musicians, arrangements and production of the recording. Nina and her rhythm section recorded the entire album plus three additional tracks in just one session. In her biography of Nina, Nadine Cohodas recounts engineer Irv Greeenbaum's recollection of that day: "Nothing like Nina's artistry had ever happened before ... Her voice and the keyboard playing were so rich and interesting that they could have stood alone."

Little Girl Blue documents Nina Simone's unparalleled and idiosyncratic musical persona at a particularly vibrant, formative stage, and helped launch her on a trajectory with more than its share of personal and professional trials and triumphs.

Engineer — Irv Greenbaum

Recorded late fall, 1957, at Beltone Studio, New York, NY

Musicians:
Nina Simone, piano and vocals
Jimmy Bond, bass
Albert "Tootsie" Heath, drums