On one of his rare excursions from the US, where he is kept busy with one-nighters all over the country, Gary Puckett is back in the UK for the Solid Gold 60s tour…
Gary Puckett
Gary and his and Union Gap are probably best-known and remembered for their Civil War uniforms, was one of the successful musical groups of the sixties.
He led the band to six consecutive gold records and Top 10 Billboard hits with Young girl, Woman Woman, Lady Willpower, Over You, This Girl Is A Woman Now, Keep The Customer Satisfied, Don’t Give In To Him, and Home.
The Union Gap disbanded in the seventies but, in 1974, Young Girl was re-issued in England and went Silver in the top five in the charts.
Gary, now 74, began playing guitar in his teens, but in the early-to-mid 70s, his music career waned and he turned to act and dance, performing in theatrical productions.
Suddenly, he was booked onto a tour that took him to Las Vegas in 1981. Since then, he has been a regular on the national oldies circuit, and was on the bill for the first major Monkees reunion tour in 1986, with The Grass Roots, featuring Rob Grill, and Herman’s Hermits, without Peter Noone. Gary’s is backed by The Pacemakers.
Gary went back to the recording studio and released new material, ‘Gary Puckett at Christmas’ in 1994, and in 2002, he appeared at the Moondance Jam, Minnesota.
The US 60s star still performs one-nighters across the States and some would love to come to the UK for a few shows.
Mick Mansueto has made numerous attempts to square a deal with UK promoters but to no avail. Ron Dante of The Archies has also offered to be part of a package deal.
Gary is one of the artists of the era who continues to perform at live concerts in venues across the US, including “package” oldies circuit tours, with The Association and The Lettermen.
On June 20, 2010, he sang for the first time in Union Gap, Washington, the namesake city of his former band.
Gary’s showbiz career has not been a smooth one. There was dissension in the ranks. The band was determined to write and produce its own material, but he resented singing the ballads. In 1969, CBS producer Jerry Fuller prepared a 40-piece studio orchestra to record a new song he had written, but Puckett and the group refused to record it, and the session was cancelled.
The band hit the charts with This Girl Is a Woman Now, produced by Dick Glasser, but later releases failed to make the grade. The Union Gap band was dismissed after an appearance at the 1971 Orange County Fair. Puckett’s recording contract was terminated a year later. Gary’s acting carer never really took off.
Follow-up releases failed, but Gary Puckett and The Union Gap’s original hit songs are still given air time all over the world. Now, UK fans have a chance to re-live the 60s on the Sixties Gold tour 2016, with big names P J Proby, The Searchers, Brian Poole, Chip Hawkes and Dave Munden of The Tremeloes, and Wayne Fontana.