The group's lead singer, Gary Puckett, was born on October 17, 1942, in Hibbing, Minnesota, and grew up in Yakima, Washington – close to Union Gap – and Twin Falls, Idaho. He began playing guitar in his teens, graduated from Twin Falls High Schoolin 1960,[1] and attended college in San Diego, California. There, he dropped out of college and played in several local bands before joining the Outcasts, a local hard rock group, which produced two singles, but they were unsuccessful.
Following the breakup of the Outcasts, Puckett formed a new group he called Gary and the Remarkables, comprising bassist Kerry Chater (born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; August 7, 1945 – February 4, 2022), keyboardist Gary 'Mutha' Withem (born August 22, 1944, San Diego),[2]tenor saxophonistDwight Bement (born December 28, 1945, San Diego), and drummer Paul Wheatbread (born February 8, 1946, San Diego).
In 1966, the band toured the Pacific Northwest without Wheatbread, who was recruited as the house drummer on the television series, Where the Action Is; he later rejoined the line-up. Under manager Dick Badger, the team was renamed The Union Gap in early 1967, and its members outfitted themselves in Union Army-style Civil War uniforms as a visual gimmick. They then recorded a demo, which was heard by CBS record producer and songwriter Jerry Fuller. Impressed by Puckett's tenor voice and the band's soft rock leanings, Fuller signed them to a recording contract with Columbia Records.[3][4]
The band recorded their first single "Woman, Woman", a song about a man's fears that his female partner might be considering infidelity, that had been written and composed by Jim Glaser and Jimmy Payne, in August 1967.[3] It became their first hit, reaching No. 3 in Cashbox and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was quickly certified as a million-selling Gold disc.[5]
This was followed during the next two years by "Young Girl" (No. 1 in Cashbox, No. 2 in Billboard), "Lady Willpower" (No. 1 in Cashbox, No. 2 in Billboard), "Over You" (No. 5 in Cashbox, No. 7 in Billboard), and "Don't Give in to Him" (No. 15).[4] All were produced by Fuller, who also wrote and composed "Young Girl", "Lady Willpower" and "Over You". Although the band never had a Billboard No. 1 record in the United States, "Young Girl" hit No. 1 on the UK singles chart for four weeks in May/June 1968. "Young Girl" was the second million selling disc for the band, which it reached less than two months after issue; "Lady Willpower" and "Over You" also won gold discs.[6] The band headlined at a White House reception for Prince Charles and Princess Anne [7] and at Disneyland in 1968, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1969, losing out to José Feliciano.
The band, however, wanted to write and produce its own material, and Puckett resented singing the power ballads written by Fuller. In 1969 Fuller prepared a 40-piece studio orchestra to record a new song he had written, but Puckett and the group refused to record it, the session was canceled, and Fuller never again worked with the group.[3] The band returned to the charts with "This Girl Is a Woman Now", produced by Dick Glasser, but later releases failed to make the Billboard Top 40. Chater and Withem left the band; Bement took over on bass guitar and keyboardist, Barry McCoy, and horn player, Richard Gabriel, were added. In 1970 Puckett began recording as a solo act, but with limited success; the Union Gap remained his live backing band until they were dismissed following an appearance at the 1971 Orange County Fair. Puckett's recording contract was terminated one year later.[3]
Solo careers and personal lives
Gary Puckett in Boston, circa 2005
After the Union Gap was disbanded, Puckett had modest success as a solo artist with the 1971 album The Gary Puckett Album on Columbia, and later mostly performing and re-recording the band's songs. By 1973, he had essentially disappeared from music, opting instead to study acting and dance and performing in theatrical productions in and around Los Angeles. A comeback tour engineered by music writer Thomas K. Arnold brought him to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1981, and from that point on he became a regular on the national oldies circuit.[3] Puckett was on the bill for the first major Monkees reunion tour in 1986, along with The Grass Roots featuring Rob Grill and the current version of Herman's Hermits (minus Peter Noone). He has also released some new material, including a 2001 holiday album entitled Gary Puckett at Christmas.[8] In 1994 and 2002 Puckett performed at the Moondance Jam near Walker, Minnesota. As of 2010, Puckett continued to perform live concerts in venues across the US, including oldies circuit tours with the Association and the Lettermen. On June 20, 2010, Puckett performed for the first time in Union Gap, Washington, the namesake city of his former band.[9]
The Union Gap, ca. 2012
Puckett is married to Lorrie Haines. He has two step-daughters, Sydney and Michaela from Lorrie's previous mariage; they currently reside in Clearwater, Florida.[10] Bement later joined the oldies act Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids. Chater moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he worked as a songwriter, and had a minor solo hit in 1977 with the song "Part Time Love" and the albums Part Time Love (1977) and Love on a Shoestring (1978). Wheatbread turned to concert promotion, and Withem returned to San Diego to teach high-school band.[3]
Puckett's current band lineup, still known as Gary Puckett and the Union Gap is Woody Lingle (bass and vocals), Jamie Hilboldt (keyboards and vocals) and Mike Candito (drums and vocals).[11]
↑ Chart position is from the official UK "Breakers List".
Related Research Articles
It's a Beautiful Day is an American band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1967, featuring vocalist Pattie Santos along with violinist David LaFlamme and his wife, Linda LaFlamme, on keyboards.
Gary DalePuckett is an American singer. He is best remembered for being the lead vocalist for Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, who had six consecutive gold records in 1968, including "Lady Willpower", "Young Girl", "Woman Woman", and "Over You".
"Kentucky Woman" is a 1967 song written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond.
"To Love Somebody" is a song written by Barry and Robin Gibb. Produced by Robert Stigwood, it was the second single released by the Bee Gees from their international debut album, Bee Gees 1st, in 1967. The single reached No. 17 in the United States and No. 41 in the United Kingdom. The song's B-side was "Close Another Door". The single was reissued in 1980 on RSO Records with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" as its flipside. The song ranked at number 94 on NME magazine's "100 Best Tracks of the Sixties". It was a minor hit in the UK and France. It reached the top 20 in the US. It reached the top 10 in Canada.
"You Better Sit Down Kids" is a major hit single by American singer/actress Cher in 1967 from her fourth studio album With Love, Chér, released in November 1967 by Imperial Records. The song was written by her then-husband Sonny Bono. Sung from a father's perspective, the lyrics tell the story of a divorce as explained to the couple's children. The song is featured on the compilation albums Cher's Golden Greats (1968), Superpack Vol. 1 (1972) and Gold (2005).
Jerry Fuller is an American songwriter, singer and record producer.
"Young Girl" is a RIAA million-selling Gold-certified single that was written, composed, and produced by Jerry Fuller and performed by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap with instrumental backing by members of "The Wrecking Crew". It was released in 1968.
"I'll Try Anything" is a 1967 single by Dusty Springfield which reached the UK Top 20 and the US Top 40."I'll Try Anything" was co-written by Mark Barkan and Vic [aka Victor] Millrose.
"Lady Willpower" is a song written by Jerry Fuller and recorded by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap for their 1968 album Incredible. The single was awarded a million-selling Gold disc from the RIAA.
"Over You" is a song written and composed by Jerry Fuller and recorded by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap for their 1968 album, Incredible.
"Woman, Woman" is the debut single by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, from their 1968 debut album Woman, Woman. It was written and composed by Jim Glaser and Jimmy Payne, and uses session musicians from The Wrecking Crew. Like most of the band's hits, it is a ballad centered around Gary Puckett's soulful vocals. The lyrics are from the perspective of a man who senses that his wife is dissatisfied with him sexually, and fears that she is going to start cheating on him. The song went to number 3 on Cash Box and number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1968.
"This Girl Is a Woman Now" is a song written by Victor Millrose and Alan Bernstein and was recorded by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap for their 1969 album The New Gary Puckett and the Union Gap Album.
"Don't Give In to Him" is a song written by Gary Usher, produced by Dick Glasser and recorded by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap for their 1969 album, The New Gary Puckett and the Union Gap Album.
Woman, Woman is the Gold-selling debut album by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, released in early 1968.
Kerry Michael Chater was a Canadian musician and songwriter who was best known as a member of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, but he was a successful Nashville songwriter for many years.
"Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance" is a song written by Red West and Richard Mainegra. It was recorded by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap for their 1970 album, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap's Greatest Hits. The song reached #41 on The Billboard Hot 100 in 1970 and #16 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Young Girl is the RIAA Gold-certified second studio album by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, released in 1968.
Incredible is the third studio album by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, released in 1968. In contrast to their first two albums, which used cover versions of hit songs for about half their content, Incredible consists entirely of new songs written by the band members themselves and/or their producer, Jerry Fuller. The album landed on the Billboard 200 chart, reaching No. 20, being the group's top charting album.
The New Gary Puckett and the Union Gap Album is the fourth and final studio album by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap that contained all new material. It was released in 1969.
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap's Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American pop band Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, released in 1970. The album was certified Platinum, selling well over a million copies in the United States alone. It peaked at #50 on the Billboard album chart.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
