Gary Puckett - Biography
By Nick Castro
Gary Puckett, and his group the Union Gap, was one of the most popular pop rock acts of the late 60's, and even had some success into the 70's, as a solo artist. They are famously known for their hit songs, "Woman, Woman", "Young Girl", and, "Lady Willpower", as well as a slew of other tunes. Their career also extended to the UK, where the group topped the charts and had several successful tours. Puckett can still be found performing concerts with his new band and often gets booked on retro or revival tours.
Puckett was originally from Minnesota state, though in his adolescence, he moved to Washington, near a town called Union Gap, which is where his early group got their name. Originally, Puckett was in a group called The Outcasts. He was living in San Diego at the time, studying at San Diego State University. Puckett found some experienced players from the San Diego area, including Gary Withem and Dwight Bement, who were both also attending San Diego State, and majoring in music. They rounded out their group with the help of Canadian bassist, Kerry Charter and San Diegan, Paul Wheatbread, who also studied music in college. This array of players put the group at a distinct advantage over other groups of the time, in that they were all experienced and schooled players. Wheatbread had in fact already played with both The Mamas & the Papas, Paul Revere and the Raiders and Otis Redding as well as on Dick Clark's show, Where The Action Is, which was a hugely popular music show for teenagers.
Soon, The Outcasts had built up a large regional following and were auditioning for major label record producer, Jerry Fuller, who was also known for his work with Mack Davis, Johnny Mathis and Andy Williams, who liked the group after seeing them play in San Diego. At first, he thought the group's sound was too heavy, but after catching an impromptu mellow set by the band, he proposed that that sound be their new direction. They accepted his challenge, signed to CBS, were Fuller's first big discovery for the label, changed their name to The Union Gap with Gary Puckett, later to be changed again to Gary Puckett and The Union Gap, and went to Tijuana, Mexico, to get civil war style suits custom made for themselves, upon the suggestion of then manager, Dick Badger. In 1967, the group recorded and released the song, "Woman, Woman", and it was an instant success for them all. The song was already in the top ten of the charts by the end of the year and one of the biggest selling singles in the country by early 1968, selling well over a million copies.
By the end of 1968, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap were huge stars, even outselling Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and the Beatles that year, becoming the world's highest selling artists, though for some reason, the band is largely forgotten today by casual enthusiasts of 60's music. They released the album Woman, Woman (1968 - Columbia), which finds the band doing a slew of cover material, drawing on the popular songs of the day, such as, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", by Jimmy Webb, "Don't Make Promises", by Tim Hardin, "To Love Somebody", by the Bee Gees, and, "Kentucky Woman", the latter of which, Puckett's voice is aptly suited for, at times even surpassing the original Neil Diamond version in terms of male bravado and swagger. The album was produced by Fuller, but arranged by Al Capps, who had not only been working in film and as an orchestra leader, but had gained some recognition for his work on the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour television show. Overall, the production and arrangements are tremendously slick and polished, creating one of the tightest sounding pop rock records of its time. This sound led, in large part, to their enormous success because they not only appealed to the younger crowd, but to adults as well. This duality got them invited to play at the White House for the president as well as sold out shows in prestigious venues, like New York City's Central park stage.
Soon, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap released their second single, "Young Girl", which not only became another instant hit, but stirred up a lot of controversy for its suggestive lyrics about an older man becoming infatuated with a teenage girl, and knowing that the affair is wrong, is trying to break it off, though somehow still manages to weave in partial responsibility and fault of the girl. They quickly released a follow up LP to support the new single and the band came up with the aptly named, Young Girl (1968 - Columbia) album, which was the first to begin featuring compositions by Puckett, such as "The Pleasure of You", "I'm Losing You", and, "Say You Don't Need Me", all of which he was assisted in the writing by Fuller, who had a keen sense for what would be popular. The album also contained a strong version of the Beatles classic, "Lady Madonna". Unfortunately, the band began to lose a lot of their live sound to the lush arrangements and production of the album. The band then released the album, Incredible (1968 - Columbia), which contained the hit single, "Incredible", which like its two predecessors, went into the top ten charts.
After a few more minor hits, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap soon began to lose steam and the band was dissolved by 1971. Puckett made an attempt to go solo, and did score some success with the songs, "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", which may have been all too telling of his current predicament, and the song, "Keep the Customer Satisfied". He even appeared, though sporadically, in some acting roles, but largely, his career slowed down immensely. He has continued to remain somewhat active in the revival circuit, even joining the Monkees on a world tour in the mid 80's.