Gary Puckett
Wikimp3 information about the music of Gary Puckett. On our website we have 20 albums and 70 collections of artist Gary Puckett. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist. We also know that Gary Puckett represents Pop genres.
Biography
[Edit]During the late '60s — a period forever distinguished as rock's most radical, innovative, and far-reaching — Gary Puckett and the Union Gap forged a series of massive chart ballads almost otherworldly in their sheer earnestness and melodrama. Likely the only pop band of the era to play two nightly shows in the Catskills — the early gig for their younger fans, the later appearance for the fans' parents — the group pioneered the hip-to-be-square concept two decades before spiritual descendants Huey Lewis and the News; clad in Civil War-era get-ups (complete with fictitious military ranks) and bizarrely pedophilic lyrics, Puckett and the Union Gap were in their own way as far-out and singular as any other act of the period.
Frontman Puckett was born October 17, 1942, in of all places Hibbing, MN, (where Bob Dylan went to high school). Raised primarily in Yakima, WA, he picked up the guitar as a teen, and while attending college in San Diego played in a number of local bands before quitting school to focus on music. Puckett eventually landed with the Outcasts, a hard rock group comprised of bassist Kerry Chater, keyboardist Gary "Mutha" Withem, tenor saxophonist Dwight Bement, and drummer Paul Wheatbread. Despite earning a strong local following, in 1966 Wheatbread relocated to Los Angeles to serve as the house drummer on the television series Where the Action Is; the remaining members of the Outcasts toured the Pacific Northwest, and on their return, Wheatbread also moved back to San Diego and rejoined the lineup. For reasons unknown, manager Dick Badger — convinced his charges needed a strong visual hook — then sent the group to Tijuana, where they were outfitted with Union Army-style Civil War uniforms.
A demo was soon cut in L.A., and Badger arranged a meeting with CBS producer Jerry Fuller. Though impressed by Puckett's soaring baritone, Fuller believed the band's gritty, R&B-influenced approach was all wrong, but agreed to check out their live show at the San Diego bowling alley the Quad Room. Believing Fuller was due to arrive on Saturday, the Outcasts opted to save their energy, delivering an atypically mellow set on Friday night. Fuller, who was in the crowd for both shows, signed the group contingent on their willingness to foster their latent soft rock leanings. Re-christened the Union Gap in honor of a suburb of Yakima, on August 16, 1967, the band recorded its first single, "Woman Woman." Suggesting a mellower Righteous Brothers sans producer Phil Spector's majestic firepower, the single reached the Top Ten late in 1967 and was a million-seller by February of 1968; concurrent CBS press releases gave each member his own imaginary military rank — Puckett was the general, Bement the sergeant, Chater the corporal, and both Withem and Wheatbread were relegated to privates.
In the spring of 1968, the Union Gap scored their biggest hit, "Young Girl," written by Fuller in the style of "Woman, Woman," but exchanging the age-old theme of infidelity for the age-old theme of the temptation of underage romance: "My love for you is way out of line/you better run, girl, you're much too young, girl," an anguished Puckett wailed. The juggernaut rolled on, and the group continued rattling off hits — "Lady Willpower," "Over You," and "Don't Give in to Him" among them — and also headlined at the White House and Disneyland. But there was dissension in the ranks: the Union Gap wanted to write and produce their own material, and Puckett found himself increasingly confined within the CBS-mandated ballad formula. In 1969, stalemate: Fuller assembled a 40-piece studio orchestra for a new song he had written, but Puckett and the Union Gap refused to cut the tune. The session was ultimately canceled, and Fuller never again worked with the group. For the Union Gap, it was a pyrrhic victory.
The band immediately returned to the Top Ten that autumn with the Dick Glasser-produced "This Girl Is a Woman Now," but it was to be their last hit. The follow-up, "Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance," tanked, and after management dictated that Puckett's bandmates now receive a weekly salary instead of a percentage of the revenue, Chater and Withem left the band. Bement assumed bass duties, keyboardist Barry McCoy and horn player Richard Gabriel were added, and gospel vocalists the Eddie Kendrick Singers also signed on. The Civil War gear was soon jettisoned, but even so, prospects did not improve. In 1970, Puckett began recording as a solo act, but his efforts were not well-received; the Union Gap remained his live backing unit, until they were dismissed following an appearance at the 1971 Orange County Fair. Puckett's contract with CBS was terminated one year later.
Puckett continued making solo appearances in the months to come, but by 1973 he had essentially disappeared from music, opting instead to study acting and dance. He performed in theatrical productions in and around L.A., but his acting career never really took off, and in 1984 he signed on with the Happy Together oldies package tour. Two years later, Puckett was tapped to open for the Monkees on their 20th Anniversary tour, and he remained a staple of the revival circuit into the next century. Among his original bandmates, Bement later joined the oldies act Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids, while Chater relocated to Nashville, where he plied his trade as a songwriter. Wheatbread, meanwhile, turned to concert promotion, and Withem returned to San Diego to teach high-school band.
Title: Gary Puckett: Studio 102 Essentials
Artist: Gary Puckett
Genre: Rock, Punk Rock, Country, Pop, Traditional Pop Music
Title: Grandfather Mountain
Artist: Gary Puckett
Genre: Country, Songwriter/Lyricist, Contemporary Folk
Collections
Title: Pop Megahits of the 1960's, Vol. 10
Genre: Pop
Title: Pop Classics of the 60's
Genre: Rock
Title: #1 Smash Hits
Genre: Pop
Title: Pop Memories: The 60s
Genre: Pop
Title: Cool Hits of the 60s
Title: Sixties Pop Hits
Genre: Pop
Title: Love Power: The 60s Album
Genre: Pop
Title: Pop Megahits of the 1960's, Vol. 1 (Re-Recorded Version)
Genre: Pop
Title: 20 All-Time Country Hits
Genre: Country
Title: Pop Megahits of the 1960's, Vol. 7 (Re-Recorded Versions)
Genre: Pop
Title: 60s Pop Hero's-The Association-Lou Christie-Billy & More
Genre: Pop
Title: 60s Pop Idols
Genre: Pop
Title: Home For The Holidays
Genre:
Title: The No. 1 Hits - 1968
Title: 100 Oldie Collection CD 4
Genre: Pop Rock
Title: 100 Oldie Collection CD 8
Genre: Pop Rock
Title: 100 Oldie Collection CD 19
Genre: Pop Rock
Title: 100 Oldie Collection CD 20
Genre: Pop Rock
Title: 100 Oldie Collection CD 21
Genre: Pop Rock
Title: 100 Oldie Collection CD 24
Genre: Pop Rock
Title: 100 Oldie Collection CD 30
Genre: Pop Rock
Title: The Golden Age Of Christmas Music CD 5
Genre: Traditional Pop Music
Title: 100 Hits Of The Sixties - CD1
Genre: Rock & Roll, Pop
Title: 100 Hits Of The Sixties - CD3
Genre: Pop
Title: Woodstock Generation (CD1)
Genre: Rock
Title: Woodstock Generation (CD3)
Genre: Rock
Title: The Number One 60'S & 70'S Vol. 2
Genre: Pop
Title: Pure 60s (CD2)
Genre: Pop
Title: Vintage Cheese
Title: Absolute Sixties
Genre: Pop
Title: The Best Sixties Album Ever (CD2)
Genre: Rock
Title: 101 Love Songs 2003 (CD2)
Title: Happy Days Are Back Again Volume 5 (CD1)
Genre: Soul, Rock, Rock & Roll, Pop, Retro
Title: KTel Hits Para Enamorados
Genre: Pop
Title: Top Of The Pops 1968
Genre: Rock
Title: Rock And Roll Enganchados - 60s 70s (CD1)
Genre: Rock & Roll, Pop
Title: The Fab Sixties (Volume 08)
Title: 1000 Klassiekers De Absolute Top Vol. 6 (CD1)
Genre: Club/Dance
Title: 60 Top Hits (Oldie Marathon) (CD1)
Genre: Pop
Title: Greatest Love
Title: The Emotion Collection (Forever Yours) (CD2)
Genre: Pop
Title: 100 Hits Ultimate Soul (CD3)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Jazz, Funk
Title: 100 Hits Peace & Love 2016 (CD4)
Genre: Jazz, Rock, Garage Rock, Latin, Folk
Title: Ultimate... 60S Box Set (CD1)
Genre: Garage Rock, Rock & Roll, Punk, Country, Pop
Title: The 60s Summer Album (CD1)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Rock, Pop, Alternative
Title: Get Together The Colourful Sound Of The Sixties (CD3)
Genre: Rock
Title: Big Time Operators: Big Bold Booming Voices 2CD (CD1)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Rock, World Music, Pop, Folk
Title: Yesterday Once More AM Radio Hits
Genre: Soul
Title: 100 Hits Cool (CD3)
Genre: Blues, Vocal Jazz, World Music, Latin, Folk
Title: 100 Hits Cool (CD5)
Genre: Blues, Vocal Jazz, World Music, Latin, Folk
Title: The 60s Love Album (CD2)
Title: Easy Listening: 100 Popular Jazzing (CD1)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Easy Listening: 100 Popular Jazzing (CD2)
Genre: Jazz
Featuring albums
Title: Young Girl: The Best Of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
Artist: Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
Genre: Pop
Title: Keep Playin' That Rock & Roll - The '60s Album
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Rock, Rock & Roll, Pop
Title: After Dusk: 16 Love Songs for Those Hot Nights
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Rock, Punk Rock