''Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space'' is the debut album of

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...

, recorded in character as

Mr. Spock Spock is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as science officer and first officer (and Kirk's Second-in-command) and ...

from the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

TV series ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

''. It was released in April 1967 by

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

and reached number 83 on the ''

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

''.

Background

The album capitalized on the popularity of the Spock character on ''

''. The songs contain many outer-space elements, science fiction-themed narrations, and space sound effects. Opening with a rendition of the show's main theme, the album also features a take on the theme to '' Mission: Impossible'', which Nimoy would incidentally go on to join as a cast member in 1969. Also featured is an instrumental version of the song "Beyond Antares", written for the ''Star Trek'' episode "

The Conscience of the King "The Conscience of the King" is the 13th episode of the first season of the American science-fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Barry Trivers and directed by Gerd Oswald, it was first aired on December 8, 1966. The episode tak ...

" and originally sung by

Nichelle Nichols Nichelle Nichols (, born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in ''Star Trek'' and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was gr ...

. Nimoy sings two show tunes, "

Where Is Love? "Where is Love?" is a song from the Tony Award-winning British musical ''Oliver!'' and the 1968 film of the same name, based on the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. The musical was written by Lionel Bart and was first staged in Lon ...

" (from ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...

'') and "Lost in the Stars" (from the musical of the same name). Closing track "A Visit to a Sad Planet" is a

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

science fiction piece that was released as a single and charted at number 121 on ''Billboard''.

Track listing

Side one

Theme from Star Trek The "Theme from ''Star Trek''" (originally scored under the title "Where No Man Has Gone Before") is an instrumental musical piece composed by Alexander Courage for ''Star Trek,'' the science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry ...

" (

Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...

) #"Alien" (

Cy Coben Seymour "Cy" Coben (4 April 1919 – 26 May 2006) was an American songwriter, whose hits were recorded by bandleaders, country singers, and other artists such as The Beatles, Tommy Cooper and Leonard Nimoy. Biography Early life Coben was born ...

) #"

" (

Lionel Bart Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical '' Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his work ...

) #" Music to Watch Space Girls By" (

Anthony Velona Anthony Velona (November 16, 1920 – January 31, 1986) was an American author, lyricist, and composer. Velona was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He wrote or co-wrote numerous songs including the 1955 hit ''Domani "Domani" (Italian for "tom ...

Sidney Ramin Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * ...

) #"Beyond Antares" (

Wilbur Hatch Wilbur Hatch (May 24, 1902 – December 22, 1969), was an American music composer who worked primarily in radio and television. He was born in Mokena, Illinois, and died in Studio City, California.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An I ...

Gene Coon Eugene Lee Coon (January 7, 1924 – July 8, 1973) was an American screenwriter, television producer and novelist. He is best remembered for his work on the original ''Star Trek'' as a screenwriter, story editor, and showrunner from the mid ...

) #" Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Earth" ( Charles R. Grean, Fred Hertz, Leonard Nimoy)

Side two

#" Mission: Impossible" (

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...

) #"

Lost in the Stars ''Lost in the Stars'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948) by Alan Paton. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1949; it was the composer's last work ...

" (

Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

) #"Where No Man Has Gone Before" (Alexander Courage) #"You Are Not Alone" (Don Christopher) #"A Visit to a Sad Planet" (Charles R. Grean, Don Christopher) "A Visit to a Sad Planet" was released as a single, with "Theme from Star Trek" on the b-side. It became Nimoy's only hit single, reaching number 121 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

chart. The album itself reached number 83 on the magazine's album charts.

Re-release

The album was re-released in the UK in 1973 on the

Rediffusion Rediffusion was a business that distributed radio and TV signals through wired relay networks. The business gave rise to a number of other companies, including Associated-Rediffusion, later known as Rediffusion London, the first ITV (commercia ...

label as ''Mr. Spock Presents Music From Outer Space''. The track listing is identical to the original Dot Records release, but with a new sleeve design by Stephen Hill Design Services, including a different photo of Nimoy as Spock (front), and new liner notes by Ron Edwards (rear). It was re-released again on October 10, 1995 by

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer r ...

Records, Inc. This reissue features side one of the LP ''Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy'' as a bonus. #"Theme from Star Trek" (Alexander Courage, Gene Roddenberry) #"Alien" (Cy Coben) #"Where Is Love?" (Lionel Bart) #"Music to Watch Space Girls By" (Anthony Velona, Sidney Ramin) #"Beyond Antares" (Wilbur Hatch, Gene Coon) #"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Earth" (Charles R. Grean, Fred Hertz, Leonard Nimoy) #"Mission: Impossible" (Lalo Schifrin) #"Lost in the Stars" (Maxwell Anderson, Kurt Weill) #"Where No Man Has Gone Before" (Courage) #"You Are Not Alone" (Don Christopher) #"A Visit to a Sad Planet" (Grean, Christopher) #"Highly Illogical" (Grean, Hertz) #"The Difference Between Us" (Coben) #"Once I Smiled" (Grean, Nimoy) #"Spock Thoughts" (Grean) #"By Myself" (Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz) #"Follow Your Star" (Grean, Hertz) #"Amphibious Assault" (Grean, Mason Williams)

References

External links

Review of ''Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space''
at maidenwine.com, a detailed Leonard Nimoy fan site. {{Authority control Leonard Nimoy albums Albums produced by Charles Randolph Grean 1967 debut albums Dot Records albums