Gary Puckett

During rock's explosively creative late-'60s stretch, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap issued a string of sweeping, emotionally heightened chart ballads whose intensity set them apart. Possibly the sole ensemble of that time to schedule dual nightly performances in the Catskills—one aimed at youthful admirers, the other for their elders—the act embraced a proudly uncool stance long before Huey Lewis and the News echoed the idea; dressed in Civil War uniforms complete with invented ranks and lyrics that sometimes veered into unsettling territory, Puckett and his colleagues stood out as eccentrically distinctive as any contemporaries.

Born October 17, 1942, in Hibbing, MN—the same town where Bob Dylan attended high school—frontman Puckett grew up mainly in Yakima, WA. He began playing guitar during his teenage years and, while enrolled at a San Diego college, performed with several area groups before dropping out to pursue music full-time. He eventually joined the Outcasts, a hard-edged rock outfit featuring bassist Kerry Chater, keyboardist Gary "Mutha" Withem, tenor saxophonist Dwight Bement, and drummer Paul Wheatbread. Although the band built a loyal regional audience, Wheatbread moved to Los Angeles in 1966 to become the house drummer for the television program Where the Action Is. The remaining members toured the Pacific Northwest; upon their return Wheatbread rejoined in San Diego. Manager Dick Badger, certain a striking visual identity was essential, then dispatched the musicians to Tijuana to acquire Union Army-style Civil War uniforms.

A demo soon followed in Los Angeles, leading Badger to introduce the group to CBS producer Jerry Fuller. Fuller admired Puckett’s powerful baritone yet felt the band’s raw, R&B-tinged sound missed the mark, though he agreed to attend a live date at San Diego’s Quad Room bowling alley. Expecting Fuller on Saturday, the Outcasts conserved their strength with a subdued Friday performance; Fuller, present for both nights, offered a deal provided the musicians leaned further into softer material. Renamed the Union Gap after a Yakima suburb, the group cut its debut single, “Woman Woman,” on August 16, 1967. Evoking a restrained Righteous Brothers without Phil Spector’s grand production, the track climbed into the Top Ten by year’s end and earned platinum certification by February 1968; accompanying CBS announcements assigned each member a fictional military rank—Puckett as general, Bement as sergeant, Chater as corporal, and Withem and Wheatbread as privates.

Spring 1968 brought the band’s biggest success, “Young Girl,” which Fuller composed in the vein of their debut yet shifted the theme from infidelity to the lure 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 pleaded. Momentum continued with further smashes including “Lady Willpower,” “Over You,” and “Don't Give in to Him,” alongside headline engagements at the White House and Disneyland. Internal friction grew, however: the musicians sought greater creative control, while Puckett chafed at CBS’s insistence on ballad-only releases. In 1969 a standoff occurred when Fuller booked a 40-piece orchestra for a new composition, only for Puckett and the Union Gap to refuse the session; the date was scrapped and Fuller never collaborated with the act again—a costly triumph for the band.

That fall they returned to the Top Ten with Dick Glasser’s production of “This Girl Is a Woman Now,” their final hit. The follow-up, “Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance,” flopped, and after management shifted Chater and Withem to salaried pay instead of revenue shares, both departed. Bement switched to bass, Barry McCoy joined on keyboards, Richard Gabriel was added on horns, and the Eddie Kendrick Singers supplied gospel backing. The Civil War attire was abandoned, yet commercial fortunes did not recover. Puckett launched a solo career in 1970 with limited success; the Union Gap continued as his concert support until being let go after a 1971 Orange County Fair appearance. His CBS contract ended the following year.

He kept performing solo dates briefly, but by 1973 had largely withdrawn from music to study acting and dance. Theatrical work around Los Angeles followed, though screen success proved elusive, leading him to join the Happy Together oldies package tour in 1984. Two years later he opened for the Monkees on their 20th Anniversary tour and remained active on revival bills for decades. Among his former colleagues, Bement later played with Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids, Chater moved to Nashville as a songwriter, Wheatbread entered concert promotion, and Withem returned to San Diego to teach high-school band.