More Info on Gary PuckettSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Infobox musical artist | | name = Gary Puckett & The Union Gap| image = GP 2010.jpg| caption = Band lineup in 2010, L to R: Mike Candito (drums & vocals), Puckett, Woody Lingle (bass & vocals), Jamie Hilboldt (keyboards & vocals)| image_size =| background = group_or_band| alias =| origin = San Diego , California , United States | genre = Pop rock , pop music | years_active = 1967–1971| label = Columbia Records | associated_acts =| website = http://www.garypuckettmusic.com/ Gary Puckett official website| current_members =| past_members = Gary Puckett Kerry Chater Gary 'Mutha' Withem Dwight Bement Paul Wheatbread Barry McCoy Richard Gabriel Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (initially credited as The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett ) was an United States|American pop rock musical ensemble|group operating in the late 1960s. Their biggest hits were " Woman, Woman ," " Young Girl (Gary Puckett & The Union Gap song)|Young Girl ," and " Lady Willpower ."
History
Singer Gary Puckett (born October 17, 1942, Hibbing, Minnesota|Hibbing , Minnesota ) grew up in Yakima, Washington - close to the city of Union Gap, Washington|Union Gap - and Twin Falls, Idaho|Twin Falls , Idaho . He began playing guitar in his teens, and graduated from Twin Falls High School before attending college in San Diego, California . There, he quit college and played in several local bands before joining the Outcasts, a local hard rock group comprising bassist Kerry Chater (born August 7, 1945, Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada ), http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003863/Gary-Puckett-and-the-Union-Gap.html Musicianguide.com keyboardist '''Gary 'Mutha' Withem (born August 22, 1946, San Diego), tenor saxophone|tenor saxophonist Dwight Bement (born December 28, 1945, San Diego), and drummer Paul Wheatbread (born February 8, 1946, San Diego).
In 1966, the band concert tour|toured the Pacific Northwest without Wheatbread, who was recruited as the house band|house drummer on the television program|television series , Where the Action Is ; he later rejoined the line-up. As The Outcasts, the band produced two singles, but they were unsuccessful. Under manager Dick Badger, the band was renamed The Union Gap in early 1967, and kitted themselves out with Union Army -style American Civil War|Civil War uniforms as a visual gimmick. They then recorded a demo (music)|demo , which was heard by CBS record producer and songwriter Jerry Fuller . Impressed by Puckett's baritone voice and the band's soft rock leanings, Fuller signed them to a recording contract with Columbia Records .Allmusic|class=artist|id=p5196|pure_url=yes Band entry at Allmusic.com. Accessed 2 January 2010 http://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/Gary-Puckett-and-The-Union-Gap.html Gary Puckett and the Union Gap at Oldies.com. Accessed 2 January 2010
The band recorded their first single, "Woman Woman", a song written by Jim Glaser and Jimmy Payne, in August 1967. It became their first hit record|hit , reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and being certified as a RIAA Certification|gold disc .cite book | first= Joseph | last= Murrells | year= 1978 | title= The Book of Golden Discs | edition= 2nd | publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London | page= 232 | isbn= 0-214-20512-6 This was followed during the next two years by "Young Girl" (#2), "Lady Willpower" (#2), " Over You (Gary Puckett & The Union Gap song)|Over You " (#7), and " Don't Give In To Him " (#15). All were produced by Fuller, who also wrote "Young Girl," "Lady Willpower," and "Over You". Although the band never had a Chart-topper|#1 gramophone record|record in the United States , "Young Girl" reached #1 on the UK singles chart , and #6 when it was reissued in the UK six years later. Controversial at the time and later for its wiktionary:risqué|risqué lyrical references to underage romance, Allmusic labeled the groups lyrics "bizarrely pedophilic".Allmusic|class=artist|id=gary-puckett-p5196/biography|pure_url=yes Gary Puckett Allmucic bio "Young Girl" was the second million selling gramophone record|disc for the band, which it reached less than two months after issue; "Lady Willpower" and "Over You" also won gold discs.cite book | first= Joseph | last= Murrells | year= 1978 | title= The Book of Golden Discs | edition= 2nd | publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London | page= 250 | isbn= 0-214-20512-6 The band headlined at a White House reception for Prince Charles http://www.garypuckettmusic.com/bio.htm Biography at Gary Puckett website and at Disneyland Park (Anaheim)|Disneyland in 1968, and were nominated for a Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best New Artist|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. 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 (music)|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 (California)|Orange County Fair . Puckett's recording contract was terminated one year later.
In 2009, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame .
Solo careers and personal lives
After the Union Gap was disbanded, Puckett had modest success as a solo musician|artist , 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 concert tour|tour engineered by music journalism|music writer Thomas K. Arnold brought him to Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas , Nevada in 1981, and from that point on he became a regular on the national oldies circuit. He has also released some new material, including a 2001 holiday album entitled Gary Puckett at Christmas .Allmusic|class=artist|id=p5196|pure_url=yes Allmusic.com - Discography - accessed April 2009 In 1994 and 2002 Puckett performed at the Moondance Jam near Walker, Minnesota|Walker , Minnesota . As of 2010, Puckett continued to perform live concert s in venues across the United States|U.S. , including "package" oldies circuit tours with The Association and The Lettermen . On June 20, 2010, Puckett performed for the first time in Union Gap, Wash., the namesake city of his former band. http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/06/20/reunion-gap-gary-puckett-performs-in-band-s-namesake-town Yakima Herald-Republic - ReUnion Gap: Gary Puckett performs in band's namesake town - accessed June 2010 Puckett is marriage|married to Lorrie and he has two Stepfamily|stepdaughter s, Syd and Michaela. They currently reside in Clearwater, Florida|Clearwater , Florida . http://www.garypuckettmusic.com/images/photos/photo29.html Garypuckettmusic.com Bement later joined the oldies act Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids . Chater relocated to Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville , Tennessee where he worked as a songwriter, and had a minor solo hit in 1977 with "Part Time Love." Wheatbread turned to concert promotion, and Withem returned to San Diego to teach high-school band.
On his 2010 Australian tour, Puckett was joined by Australia 's Lucky Starr (musician)|Lucky Starr , a regular on popular television program s Bandstand (Australia)|Bandstand and '' Six O'Clock Rock .
" This Girl Is a Woman Now " (Victor Millrose, Alan Bernstein)
"His Other Woman" (D. Allen, Kerry Chater)
#9
-
March 1970 ‡
"Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance" (Richard Mainegra, Bobby West)
"The Beggar" (E. Colville, Gary Puckett)
#41
-
June 1974 ‡
"Young Girl" (re-issue) (Jerry Fuller)
" Woman, Woman " (Jim Glaser, Jimmy Payne)
-
#6
† - Billed as The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett
‡ - Billed as Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
Gary Puckett solo
" I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself " (#61) / "All That Matters" - Columbia 45249 - October 1970
"Keep The Customer Satisfied" (#71) / "No One Really Knows" - Columbia 45303 - February 1971
"Life Has Its Little Ups And Downs" / "Shimmering Eyes" - Columbia 45358 - 1971
"Hello Morning" / "Gentle Woman" - Columbia 45438 - 1971
"Hello Morning" / "I Can't Hold On" - Columbia 45509 - 1971
"Bless The Child" / "Leavin' In The Morning" - Columbia 45678 - 1972
Kerry Chater solo
"Part Time Love" (#97) / "No Love On The Black Keys" - Warner 8310 - March 1977
Albums
Month and Year
Album title
class=artist
UK Albums Chart
February 1968 †
Woman, Woman
#22
-
May 1968 ‡
Young Girl
#21
-
June 1968 ‡
Union Gap
-
#24
November 1968 ‡
Incredible
#20
-
December 1969 ‡
The New Gary Puckett & The Union Gap Album
#50
-
July 1970 ‡
''Gary Puckett & The Union Gap's Greatest Hits
-
-
† - Billed as The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett
‡ - Billed as Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
Gary Puckett solo
The Gary Puckett Album (#196) - Columbia C-30862 - October 1971
See also
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
List of Columbia Records artists
References
reflist
External links
http://www.garypuckettmusic.com/ Gary Puckett official website
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p5196|pure_url=yes Allmusic entry for Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mutha-withem/id405766066 Cheeky Geeks interview with Gary "Mutha" Withem
http://www.archive.org/details/MuthaWithem Cheeky Geeks interview with Gary "Mutha" Withem
Interviews
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mutha-withem/id405766066 Cheeky Geeks interview with Gary "Mutha" Withem (iTunes podcast)
http://www.archive.org/details/MuthaWithem Cheeky Geeks interview with Gary "Mutha" Withem (on the Internet Archive website)
DEFAULTSORT:Puckett, Gary & The Union Gap Category:American pop rock music groups Category:Musical groups established in 1967 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1971 Category:Musical groups from San Diego, California
de:Gary Puckett & the Union Gap es:Gary Puckett & The Union Gap fr:Gary Puckett sv:Gary Puckett uk:The Union Gap
Copyright Citations
This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Gary Puckett
