This feature is personal for me.  Gayle Caldwell was one of my best friends and my first "celebrity" friend.  I knew Gayle pretty well the last 4+ years of her life.  I was working very hard with Gayle to revive her professional music career.  She told me on many occasions, especially the last few months before she passed away, that I was the one who got her to record again.  It was a proud honor because her last work, the CD "All is One", is a truly great accomplishment.  It took me a long time to get around to making updates to Gayle's feature and believe me, I heard about it.  But now I can talk about her again, and share with you some of the information I've gathered, photos, and other fond remembrances.

    Gayle's feature in Polar Blair's Den was her first "official" Internet presence, created on June 2, 2005.  I did have quite a bit on Gayle in my website since 2004, concerning her appearances on TVs "The Beverly Hillbillies" and her two beach party movies, but this was her first musical feature in Polar Blair's Den.  In 2008, she set up www.gaylecaldwell.org.  This feature has changed in content and appearance over the years, but it will always exist in some form.

    Gayle Caldwell was born Judith Gayle Geddes on February 20, 1941.  As she told me, "I had no problem with Judith, I just never went by it.  I was always Gayle.  But sometimes my songwriting credits are shown as J. Caldwell, and it throws people off."  Russ Caldwell was Gayle's first husband, and when that marriage ended, she kept the last name.

    Gayle was born in Eugene, Oregon, and raised in Roseburg.  Her father, Paul Geddes, was a lawyer and served as state senator and representative.  He was also an excellent singer (tenor) and directed the church choir in Roseburg.  Paul got acquainted with Esther, the woman who would become his wife and Gayle's Mom, through the church.  She was the organist, and he drove her back and forth from church to her home outside of town several times a week.  So Gayle's family was musical from the start, and all six of Paul's daughters with Esther were musical in one way or another.

    Of all the girls, though, Gayle's talent surfaced very early.  I know for a fact that Gayle was really, really into music, performing, and expression in general.  That's why she carried over so well as an actress.  I think it's a shame that Gayle didn't pursue acting harder, but that's another story.  In Gayle's obituary, her sister Carole (also a nice lady), recalled how Gayle had perfect pitch, "She could call out the note someone's fork made when it hit the floor, or the pitch the tires made when the family car crossed the bridge over the Umpqua River."

    Gayle matured into a beautiful young woman.  Her musical talent led to a scholarship for a music major at the University of Southern California.  She sang in the madrigal choir as a coloratura soprano.  In Los Angeles, she met an aspiring young actor by the name of Russ Caldwell.  They married in Mexico when she was just 17, which was very early into her time at USC.  While only a freshman in college, Gayle was asked to audition for the distinguished Roger Wagner Chorale and was offered a position.  I think anyone would've taken advantage of such a great opportunity, and Gayle did.  She quit school and went on tour with the Chorale.  While with the Roger Wagner Chorale, Gayle performed some very intricate music.  She had to be good: She performed at Carnegie Hall!  The professional career of Gayle Caldwell had made an impressive debut!

    The Chorale soon lost a member, though, when it was learned Gayle was pregnant with her first daughter, Michelle.  When this happened, Gayle wanted to stay close to home in Los Angeles.  For every door that closes, another one opens.  Gayle learned this was true in the fall of 1962 when she was hired as a featured soloist in an "off-Broadway" musical comedy revue at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles.  One fateful night, after the show, a man from the audience by the name of Sid Garris came into the dressing room and asked Gayle to audition for his group, The New Christy Minstrels.  Gayle didn't know who they were or anything about them!

    Sid Garris was one of the business managers and co-owner of The New Christy Minstrels.  Come on, you've got to admit the name of that group sounds cool!  That's what first attracted my attention to the group many years before I met Gayle.  The Christies (as they were referred to) was a ten-person ensemble, each member talented in his/her own way.  There were eight men and two women.  The leader of the group was folk singer Randy Sparks.  In less than a year, the group had recorded two albums for Columbia Records and landed a high profile spot as regulars on the first season of NBC's "The Andy Williams Show".  Despite great success, NCM's first brunette abruptly left, eager to do her own solo work.  Sid was in desperate need for a suitable replacement.  Gayle had big talent, and the looks to please television audiences.  She was not only a good replacement, but she helped take the group into the stratosphere!  Gayle thought it was awesome; she was actually collecting a weekly paycheck!  Once Gayle was in the group, the New Christy Minstrels popped up everywhere on television, and the group was becoming more successful all the time.  Gayle loved singing the folk music that she did with the Minstrels, but folk music was not her favorite genre.  She was much more a fan of jazz and Latin sounds and, to some degree, the blues.  Gayle liked a lot of stuff and she could do it all.

    The New Christy Minstrels was a great thing for Gayle on a lot of levels.  She never denied that.  Gayle was always fiercely proud of the music she had made with the Minstrels.  She even owned the CD releases of her albums with them, and displayed the photos of her with the Minstrels in her home.

    The idea of the Minstrels group was that each one of the ten members could have a step out solo, while still be able to back up the other nine.  Gayle certainly had her turn in the spotlight.  Because of this, she was noticed by fans of the group and developed her own loyal following.  What really worked out is her musical relationship with Jackie Miller, the blonde woman in the group.  Together, they developed a tight, distinctive blend as a duo, and they looked great.  Jackie & Gayle complimented each other beautifully.  Jackie was tall and blonde, Gayle was shorter and dark-haired.  Gayle was spunky, Jackie was more reserved.  Both had excellent singing voices, but different.  When you watch them in old TV and film footage, it's interesting to see how they blend aesthetically and musically.

    When the first season of "The Andy Williams Show" wrapped, the Minstrels did not return for a second year.  Instead, they hit the more lucrative concert trail.  The exposure they had been given on national television under a big star like Andy Williams was a huge benefit for them.  1963 saw four albums recorded by The New Christy Minstrels.  It's interesting to note that the most popular albums by The New Christy Minstrels feature Gayle Caldwell.  "Ramblin'" earned a gold record and soon became a pop-folk classic.  "Merry Christmas", their most endearing release, is also one of the best-known Christmas albums ever recorded.  Gayle was showcased prominently in several songs on the Christmas album.  Of all the NCM albums Gayle worked, the one she seemed to be most fond of was "Merry Christmas".   That was the one she always talked to me about.  By the end of 1963, the New Christy Minstrels were definitely stars in their own right, and had successfully broken out from the shadow of Andy Williams.

    Gayle was having a good time in music, but a number of "behind-the-scenes" elements were going on.  Gayle told me all about it when I visited her in California in early 2009.  Gayle's teenage marriage to Russ and her career move away from classical music didn't at all please Gayle's father, Paul.  For the rest of her days, Gayle's relationship with her father was strained.  To make matters worse, her relationship with Russ was breaking up, which ultimately led to him leaving.  But the real icing on the cake was the corporate, music business nonsense that was put on Gayle.  The New Christy Minstrels had a very squeaky clean image, and the group's business managers made it very clear to Gayle that she was not to mention the fact that she had a daughter.  If the public caught wind of it, or if she talked about it in public, she would've been fired on the spot.  This bothered Gayle to no end.  It's terrible to be forced to not admit you have a child.  Over four decades later, when I visited with Gayle, she was STILL upset about it.  Gayle loved both of her daughters.  Fortunately, the ruse didn't go on for too long.  By early December of 1963, Gayle submitted her resignation to Randy Sparks.  She explained to Randy that she wanted to have more time at home to spend with Michelle, and that she would stay until a replacement could be found.  Beyond that, Gayle just felt she had done all she could do with the group.  She loved the music she had done with the Minstrels, and in her short time with the group she helped give them their most popular recorded works.  What's very interesting is that Gayle is still thought of as one of the "original" New Christy Minstrels, even though the group was around for some time before she joined.  She's simply thought of as an "original" member because the group made their first major impact once she came on board.

    It was only a week after Gayle announced her plans that Jackie Miller decided to leave the New Christy Minstrels.  They were close pals, and remained friends for the rest of Gayle's life.  One of the last major appearances of Jackie & Gayle with the New Christy Minstrels (before the reunions) was at the White House in January of 1964.  It was a pretty easy decision for Jackie & Gayle to leave the Minstrels.  They had become well-known as the female duo within the group.  By the Summer of 1964, Jackie & Gayle were represented by the esteemed William Morris Talent Agency.