Little Girl Blue

Nina Simone's debut LP for the Bethlehem label, 1958's LITTLE GIRL BLUE, presents Simone's brooding sound and highly-focused eclecticism fully-formed from the very start. Even from the beginning, she stood to inherit Billie Holiday's mantle as the premiere jazz singer of the moment--a socially significant yet highly musical artist for the civil rights era just beginning to emerge. Whether by design or accident, Simone's classy juxtaposition of Bach, folk, and jazz standards--all '50s supper club staples to be sure--managed to pack a mighty prescient message for the heady days to come. Highlights include the original "My Baby Just Cares For Me" and a tender "I Loves You Porgy."