Gary Puckett who was born on this date October 17, 1942

When he was six his family moved to Yakima, Washington (not far from Union Gap, Washington), where he grew up. Puckett learned how to sing and play guitar during his teens.

He went to college for two years in San Diego, California, majoring in psychology, then dropped out to work in a band called the Outcasts. After releasing two singles, “Run Away / Would You Care” (1965) and “I Can’t Get Through To You / I Found Out About You” (1966), the group split up in 1967.

In January 1967, Puckett and Dwight Bement formed Gary and the Remarkables with Kerry Chater (August 7, 1945 – February 4, 2022, bass) Gary ‘Mutha’ Withem (born August 22, 1944, keyboards), and Paul Wheatbread (born February 8, 1946, drums).

The break came for the group when Jerry Fuller, a former country music artist, songwriter, and a producer for Columbia Records in Los Angeles, heard them at a small bar where they were performing in a bowling alley complex. Fuller liked their sound and signed them to a contract.

They were now going under the name Gary Puckett & The Union Gap and would be known for hits such as “Lady Willpower”, “Young Girl” and “Woman, Woman”. They sold more records in 1968 than any other group and had six consecutive gold records as well as making two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show (1968, 1971). They wore Civil War outfits, as suggested by Puckett, and called themselves the Union Gap after the Union Gap area where Puckett had lived.

The group eventually grew unhappy with doing material written and produced by others, leading them to stop working with Fuller, and they disbanded in 1971.

After the Union Gap split, Puckett released a solo album titled “The Gary Puckett Album” that same year.

He released a few singles from 1970 to 1972, with his first two being a cover of Dusty Springfield’s 1964 song, “I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself” and a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge over Troubled Water” and “Keep The Customer Satisfied”.

After the release of his 1971 album, Puckett’s contract was terminated.

Afterwards, he lived a private life throughout the rest of the 1970s, studying acting and dance and working in theatrical productions in and around Los Angeles, before he made a comeback in the music industry as a solo artist in the 1980s.

fter a decade out of the public eye, Puckett released “Melodie” (1982) followed by “Love Me Tonight” (1992), “As It Stands” (1995), “Time Pieces” (1996), and “Is This Love” (1997), as well as a Christmas album in 2001. Puckett’s latest album is “This Is Love” (2006).