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Start Date: May 27, 2020
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GAYLE CALDWELL - CELEBRATION OF LIFE - A&M SP4196 (1969)

Gayle Caldwell (20 February 1941 - 14 April 2009) was an American musician who, in 1962, became a replacement for another female singer in the sensational folk-rock group, The New Christy Minstrels.
Gayle fit well into the Christy team and her talents brought much to the group's sound.  Even when she was not featured in a step out solo (every Minstrel was given time in the spotlight), her sound was apparent in the blend, and her clear, liquid soprano was used often to great effect in accent parts.  Within the group, she and Jackie Miller, the other woman in the group, developed a tight, distinctive blend as a duo and, on stage, they looked great together.  The group's career continued its amazing trajectory and, within a few months, Gayle had attracted her own loyal following among the group's burgeoning audience of fans.  By the summer of 1964, “Jackie and Gayle” were being represented by none other than the William Morris Talent Agency.  Between 1964 and 1967, the girls released several singles, co-starred in two teen-oriented movie musicals, Wild on the Beach and Wild, Wild Winter, and appeared on numerous TV variety shows.
Fresh out of The New Christy Minstrels, Gayle recorded her only solo album "Celebration Of Life" in 1969.  Definitely nothing heavy here, as you might suspect, but that doesn't mean the then-current musical tides had no effect on her over-all sound.  While most of this album is your basic female vocal pop, and generally fairly light pop at that, the psychedelic demon-seed did manage to insinuate itself into not one, but two of the ten cuts offered.  The track "Lonely Lily" is a wonderful soft psych cut that, alone, makes this album worth the price of admission.  But in an effort to avoid short changing you, she also throws in "Nice People" as a bonus pop/psych stab.  Also on this album is her classic song "Cycles", which she wrote for Frank Sinatra.