John Gary

John Gary possessed a pleasing vocal style and warm delivery that evoked comparisons to Andy Williams and Tony Bennett, yet his emergence coincided with the onset of the British Invasion, limiting his impact among adult vocal listeners. Born in Watertown, New York, in 1932, he performed as a singer on Don McNeill’s radio program Breakfast Club prior to inking a deal with RCA Records in 1962. Although just a single release reached the U.S. pop charts—the 1964 Top 100 entry “Soon I’ll Wed My Love”—his mid-’60s LPs The Nearness of You, Encore, and A Little Bit of Heaven all climbed into the Top 20, while he achieved stronger results on the easy listening listings, where one album, Cold, hit number one, and on Cash Box, where his records twice entered the Top Ten. His selections drew from a broad array of material available at the time, encompassing show tunes, country hits, and romantic ballads, while notably steering clear of most novelty pop numbers that hindered many contemporaries. Gary passed away on January 4, 1998.