Biography
Mr. Lucky & the Gamblers operated as a Pacific Northwest garage rock outfit between 1964 and 1967. During those years the combo issued independent singles, maintained a busy performance schedule, and reportedly prevailed in numerous local battles of the bands. A later reunion lineup attempted a return to activity around 2001. The ensemble bears no relation to various other acts that have used the shorter name the Gamblers, among them Ray Gentry & the Roving Gamblers, Alaska & the Gamblers, Big Brown & the Gamblers, and Cherry Casino & the Gamblers.
Bud Garrison, identified as the group’s business leader, originally called the unit the Blazers before adopting the present name after the television series Mr. Lucky. That choice has produced ongoing discographical mix-ups; some collectors have ordered the album Mr. Lucky: 12 only to receive a set of solo piano interpretations drawn from the program’s soundtrack rather than any Pacific Northwest rock recordings.
Further name confusion arises from a Seattle-area disc jockey named Tom Mix, who is unrelated to the earlier film cowboy of identical name. Together with nightclub proprietor Hal Bronson, Mix launched a small label that enabled Mr. Lucky & the Gamblers to score several regional successes. By the middle of the decade three former members of the Rogues had joined the lineup, shifting the sound toward greater intensity and grit.
In 1966 the band connected with Don Gallucci, previously of Don & the Goodtimes. Gallucci arranged a contract with the regional imprint Panorama, resulting in the better-known singles “Take a Look at Me” and “Alice Designs (LSD Signs).” A band chronicler characterized the latter track as “an upbeat, California-style commercial pop tune, complete with background harmony.”
Founding member Mike Parker departed in 1967. Although a replacement was found, the group dissolved within the year; surviving personnel moved on to outfits such as the Sound Vendor, Merrillee Rush & the Turnabouts, and Don & the Goodtimes. Former member Norm Smith later entered politics during the 1980s. Most of the original roster reconvened in 2001.
Bud Garrison, identified as the group’s business leader, originally called the unit the Blazers before adopting the present name after the television series Mr. Lucky. That choice has produced ongoing discographical mix-ups; some collectors have ordered the album Mr. Lucky: 12 only to receive a set of solo piano interpretations drawn from the program’s soundtrack rather than any Pacific Northwest rock recordings.
Further name confusion arises from a Seattle-area disc jockey named Tom Mix, who is unrelated to the earlier film cowboy of identical name. Together with nightclub proprietor Hal Bronson, Mix launched a small label that enabled Mr. Lucky & the Gamblers to score several regional successes. By the middle of the decade three former members of the Rogues had joined the lineup, shifting the sound toward greater intensity and grit.
In 1966 the band connected with Don Gallucci, previously of Don & the Goodtimes. Gallucci arranged a contract with the regional imprint Panorama, resulting in the better-known singles “Take a Look at Me” and “Alice Designs (LSD Signs).” A band chronicler characterized the latter track as “an upbeat, California-style commercial pop tune, complete with background harmony.”
Founding member Mike Parker departed in 1967. Although a replacement was found, the group dissolved within the year; surviving personnel moved on to outfits such as the Sound Vendor, Merrillee Rush & the Turnabouts, and Don & the Goodtimes. Former member Norm Smith later entered politics during the 1980s. Most of the original roster reconvened in 2001.