Bethlehem was formed in 1954 in New York City by Gus Wildi. Bethlehem was known primarily as a jazz record company and had a fine stable of jazz recording artists, including Nina Simone, Bobby Scott, Ruby Braff, Herbie Mann, Chris Connor, Carmen McRae, Errol Garner, Benny Carter, Roland Kirk and Bobby Troup. The Musical Director of the company was Sy Oliver and A&R was handled by Lee Kraft and Creed Taylor. The label was distributed by King Records and Syd Nathan purchased the label in 1960 and moved the company's office to Cincinnati.

The reissue series distributed by RCA was confusing, since it used the same catalog series (BCP- 6000 series), yet the albums weren't the same as those with the corresponding numbers in the original series. To add to collectors' troubles, Starday in the early 1970s reissued some of the albums on a new BS-6000 series, with numbers corresponding to the original album series, but the titles and track order were different.

About the time that Starday-King was sold to Gusto, Bethlehem was sold off and became independent. They have been issuing albums and CDs ever since.

The Bethlehem label was dark red with silver printing. The Starday/Bethlehem label was bright red with a large "B" to the left of the center hole.

We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Bethlehem Records, which is currently still active. Should you want to contact Bethlehem, or should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and Follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 1998, 1999 by Mike Callahan.