Nichelle Nichols - 1974 - Dark Side of the Moon FLAC

 Dark Side of the Moon/.It's Been On My Mind/ Starry-Eyed/Let's Trip

 

 Nichelle Nichols (/nɪˈʃɛl/ born Grace Dell Nichol,; December 28, 1932) is an American actress, singer and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series, and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was ground-breaking for African American female characters on American television. From 1977 until 2015, Nichols volunteered her time to promote NASA's programs, and to recruit diverse astronauts, including women and ethnic minorities. Nichols has released two music albums. Down to Earth is a collection of standards released in 1967, during the original run of Star Trek.[29] Out of This World, released in 1991, is more rock oriented and is themed around Star Trek and space exploration. She sang with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Lionel Hampton. As Uhura, she sang songs in Star Trek episodes "Charlie X" and "The Conscience of the King".

Side A opens with the title-track, a song written by Nichelle' second husband Duke Mondy, who is credited as "Duke Monday". With some Moog effects layered in for that spacey feeling, it is a pretty good example of the kind of Exotica-flavored Lounge Croon Soul that the EP contains. The lyrics poetically describe the coldness and aridity of the hidden side of our only satellite.
"It's Been On My Mind" was written again by Mondy along with Nichelle Nichols. The song starts with a spoken introduction before exploding in a rich Soul number with effective backing vocals appearing during the refrain and cool horns scattered here and there.
On Side B we find "Starry-Eyed", another spacey number written by producer Eddie Singleton along with one Dorothy Goodman who I wasn't able to trace back. The song offers more synthesizers than any other on the EP, along with elegant touches of jazzy guitars in the middle section and inspired vocals.
The frenetic "Let's Trip", once again written by Eddie Singleton, ends the record with an agitated vocal performace where Nichelle sighs, wheezes, hints, shouts, laughs and moans on the top - or better, over the top - of a repetitive walking bassline, chorus and complex full-instrumentation arrangement.

Four Pennies - 1966 - Trouble Is My Middle Name FLAC

 Trouble Is My Middle Name/Way Out Love/ Juliet/When Will I Be Loved

 

 The Four Pennies were founded in 1963, and initially consisted of Lionel Morton (vocals, rhythm guitar), Fritz Fryer (lead guitar), Mike Wilshaw (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), and Alan Buck (drums) The group's name was chosen as a more commercial alternative to "The Lionel Morton Four", and was decided upon after a meeting above a Blackburn music shop, Reidy's Home of Music, which was then situated on "Penny Street".

In their homeland, the group scored a number 47 placing with their first single, 1964's "Do You Want Me To". They then became famous for having a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart later in 1964 with "Juliet". It was written by group members Fritz Fryer, Mike Wilshaw and Lionel Morton. The ballad was originally intended for release as a b-side (b/w "Tell Me Girl"). "Juliet" was the only 1964 Number one by a UK group not to chart in America. The US division of Philips Records issued only two of the Four Pennies' singles stateside. Both these singles ("Juliet" and "Until It's Time for You to Go") were major European hits, but while "Juliet" did pick up some airplay on a number of US radio stations, "Until It's Time For You To Go" did not. In any event, neither single picked up enough US airplay or sales to chart.

Following the UK chart-topping success of "Juliet", the Four Pennies racked up subsequent 1964 UK hits with their original "I Found Out The Hard Way" and a cover version of Lead Belly's, "Black Girl". They also issued an album, Two Sides of Four Pennies, which, as was customary for British acts of the time, mostly ignored their hit singles.

After their first single of 1965 did not reach the UK chart, Fryer left the Four Pennies to found a folk trio called Fritz, Mike and Mo. (The single's b-side, "A Place Where No-One Goes", found success in Turkey later that year). Fryer was replaced on guitar by David Graham. The revamped quartet then hit the UK chart again with "Until It's Time for You to Go", written by Buffy Sainte-Marie. 1966 saw the final UK chart entry for the Four Pennies, with a cover version of Bobby Vinton's "Trouble Is My Middle Name". Fryer then returned to the fold, replacing Graham.

They finished 1966 – and their career – with a non-charting album (Mixed Bag), and two non-charting singles: UK songwriter Charles Bell's "Keep The Freeway Open", and Tom Springfield's "No More Sad Songs For Me". By the end of the year, the group had dissolved.

Pietro Attila and The Warlocks - 1969 - Pietro and The Warlocks FLAC

 Happy Birthday/This Guy Is In Love With You/Beggin' /Turn Around, Look at Me

Pietro D'Angelo was born in Sicily, Italy, sometime during the late '30s. He spent the first part of his life in his native island mastering the tenor saxophone; here he got married and also had a daughter. During the late '50s / early '60s he moved to Hong Kong and made his base there. Later he adopted the stage name Pietro Attila and his charactheristic 'bald dome and pony tail' look. He came to Singapore in 1968 with a foreign edition of The Warlocks and they did gigs in local clubs. At some point, the group went back home but Pietro stayed and formed a new edition of The Warlocks comprising mainly Asian musicians. They got signed by EMI and in 1969 they released an album, "Something In the Air", and an untitled EP of exclusive tracks, which is the subject of this post. A single with two cuts taken from the album ("Something In the Air" and "Dizzy") was also released the same year. Subsequently, the group changed again. In the early '70s, drummer Lim Wee Guan performed with Pietro and The Warlocks for six months at the New Latin Quarter nightspot in the Akasaka district in Tokyo after The Quests split.

Glen Campbell - 1969 - By The Time I Get To Phoenix FLAC

 By The Time I Get To Phoenix/Crying/Homeward Bound/Wichita Lineman/Catch The Wind/Gentle On My Mind

 

 Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television from 1969 until 1972. He released 64 albums in a career that spanned five decades, selling over 45 million records worldwide, including twelve gold albums, four platinum albums, and one double-platinum album.

Born in Billstown, Arkansas, Campbell began his professional career as a studio musician in Los Angeles, spending several years playing with the group of instrumentalists later known as "The Wrecking Crew". After becoming a solo artist, he placed a total of 80 different songs on either the Billboard Country Chart, Billboard Hot 100, or Adult Contemporary Chart, of which 29 made the top 10 and of which nine reached number one on at least one of those charts. Among Campbell's hits are "Universal Soldier", his first hit from 1965, along with "Gentle on My Mind" (1967), "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (1967), "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife" (1968), "Wichita Lineman" (1968), "Galveston" (1969), "Rhinestone Cowboy" (1975), and "Southern Nights" (1977).

In 1967, Campbell won four Grammys in the country and pop categories. For "Gentle on My Mind", he received two awards in country and western; "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" did the same in pop. Three of his early hits later won Grammy Hall of Fame Awards (2000, 2004, 2008), while Campbell himself won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. He owned trophies for Male Vocalist of the Year from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM), and took the CMA's top award as 1968 Entertainer of the Year. Campbell played a supporting role in the film True Grit (1969), which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. He also sang the title song, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Thanks  to RAM

 

Gene Pitney - 1965 - Gene Pitney's Greatest Hits FLAC

 (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance/ If I Didn't Have A Dime/True Love Never Runs Smooth/Half Heaven, Half Heartache

 

Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician.

Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, including 11 in the top ten. Among his most famous hits are "Town Without Pity", "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance", "Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa", "I'm Gonna Be Strong", "It Hurts To Be In Love", and "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart". He also wrote the early-1960s hits "Rubber Ball" recorded by Bobby Vee, "Hello Mary Lou" by Ricky Nelson, and "He's a Rebel" by the Crystals. In 2002 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Thanks to RAM