According to "I Am Spock", the throngs at his public appearances sometimes got so out of hand that he was forced to resort to Beatles-like escapes. At one autograph signing for the new album at a Long Island department store, the crowd began straining toward him so much that the protective gates started to collapse. The store manager whisked him away to the back offices, but now they were trapped with no way out except back through the crowd. They wound up placing a call to the fire department and then climbing up to the roof, where they were rescued by hook-and-ladder.

It's easy to imagine how this sudden whirl of stardom could go to anybody's head. Nimoy, a veteran of television, movies, and theater by the time Star Trek hit, reflects upon this turn of events with humility and humor in his interviews of the time. In a 1969 article in Co-ed magazine he talks about his recent success with music.

"Let's face it," Leonard said frankly, "I'm an actor who records. I'd be terribly surprised, not unhappy mind you, if this singing career turned into anything big. I'm not passing judgment on my capabilities, but I'm 37 and have been an actor for 17 years. I'm just off the ground as a singer." [...] "I'm not Sinatra."

Sinatra or not, Nimoy's musical career was flying high. He returned to the studio with Grean to record his second album, "Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy", which was released in early 1968 by Dot.

The popularity of Nimoy as the man himself, rather than just the man portraying Spock, led to a new approach on this follow-up album. Instead of mentioning Mr. Spock in the title, Nimoy was now the headliner. The title's "two sides" refers to the two sides of the record, with Nimoy singing from Spock's point of view on the first and then singing from his own point view on the flipside.

Grean is in his element on this recording, penning all but two of the songs on the Spock side of the album, including what might be the ultimate Spock song, Highly Illogical. Grean also brilliantly kicks off Nimoy's side with the now legendary, super-catchy pop tune, The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins. What follows is a taste of things to come on Nimoy's recordings: simple, heartfelt love ballads and folksongs, often with the theme of brotherhood and love of fellow man, a subject that was particularly on the collective mind of America as the controversial Viet Nam conflict continued to escalate and as the country struggled to contend with polarized civil rights beliefs.

Nimoy again contributed his songwriting skills to one song on the album, Once I Smiled, which he co-wrote with Grean. Although it is officially a Spock song, it is in fact a blend of Nimoy and Spock, a love song about a brief, bittersweet affair of the heart experienced by the normally stoic Vulcan.

"Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy" was another commercial success, proving that the public loved both Nimoy and Spock. The promotional tours continued, with the public eagerly embracing all things Leonard Nimoy.

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Tribute site dedicated to the music of Leonard Nimoy. Original content © 2006 Maiden Wine.