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Friday, April 24, 2015

CAN 'U' SEE ME ON 'U' DAY?



Today is "U" day at the "A" to "Z" Blog Challenge. The band that I have chosen to write about is a real flash in the pan. It had several hits in rapid succession and then faded away.


The band I speak of is Gary Puckett and the Union Gap. Gary Puckett was born in Hibbing, Minnesota, and grew up in Yakima, WA, which is near Union Gap, Idaho. 
Gary began playing guitar in his teens. After graduating from high school he attended college in San Diego, CA. Gary quit college and joined a number of local bands before finally joining The Outcasts, a local hard rock group. The Outcasts toured the northwest in 1966 and recorded a couple of singles which did not do well.   
The bands name was changed to The Union Gap in 1967 with the members wearing Union Soldier uniforms as a gimmick. The band recorded a demo and was signed by Columbia Records.
Gary and the Union Gap had a number of single hits that all went gold. Their first hit was Woman, Woman. This was followed by Young Girl then Lady Willpower, and then Over You and Don't Give in to Him. These hits were written by the songwriting team of Jimmy Pane and Jim Glaser. 
Gary and the band wanted to write their own songs and refused to record any more of the Pane Glaser authored songs. 
The band had their last hit, This Girl is a Woman Now in 1969. The band disbanded in 1971.

Puckett worked sporadically playing the "oldies circuit" from time to time. However, he has not come close to duplicating the success 1967 thru 1969.

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