Gary Puckett to Bring Hits to Wildwood

Gary Puckett and the Union Gap had a string of hits in the sixties containing the word “girl” or “woman.”
Remember “Young Girl,” Lady Willpower,” “This Girl is a Woman Now,” and “Woman Woman”?
“People used to say ‘Gosh, can’t you sing about anything else?” said Puckett. “I used to say ‘What better thing to sing about than girls or love… it’s what makes the world go round.’”
While Puckett could have had a career as a solo artist in the vein of B.J. Thomas or Tom Jones, he was part of the Union Gap, a band known for their Civil War uniform costumes. Puckett hails from the Yakima Valley area of Washington State.
Puckett said he was fascinated with Civil War photos taken by Mathew Brady.
“That was the seed that led me to using the Civil War outfits,” he said. “When I was 15, I would hitchhike from where I lived in the Yakima Valley to Union Gap for my Saturday job.”
It was there an old timer in his 80’s told Puckett about the Civil War. Born in Minnesota, Puckett said he was attracted to the blue Union Army uniforms.
Record producer Jerry Fuller, who wrote many of the Union Gap’s hits and “Travelin’ Man” for Ricky Nelson, saw Puckett as a ballad singer.
Puckett said he was a rock n’ roller at heart having grown up in the fifties.He said his rock n’ roll heroes were Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley , the Coasters, the Platters, Gene Vincent, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and the Everly Brothers.
In 1968 Gary Puckett and The Union Gap had six consecutive gold records and sold more records than any other recording act including the Beatles. They played a command performance at the White House for Prince Charles and Princess Anne by special invitation of the president.
Puckett shares the bill April 24 at the Wildwoods Convention Center with the Grass Roots and Paul Revere and The Raiders, sponsored by the Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce. Puckett said he has played a number of shows with Paul Revere and the Raiders and will be part of a rock n’ roll cruise with that band in February 2011.
Puckett said his records have held up well and don’t sound dated like some sixties acts. His voice garnered six consecutive gold records and top ten hits.
The Union Gap split up in 1971.
On his Web site, www.garypuckettmusic.com, he has an album for sale entitled, “The Lost Tapes,” from the middle seventies which few fans have heard. He wrote most of the songs and played guitar on the tracks.
In 1984, Puckett was featured in one of the first oldies tours of the 80’s, the Happy Together Tour with The Turtles, The Association and Spanky and Our Gang. David Fishof put the tour together and two years later reunited The Monkees, (three of them) for a 20th anniversary tour.
Puckett was part of The Monkees reunion tour that started out playing theaters and quickly became an arena and stadium tour. He said it was the top grossing tour of 1986.
A good percentage of oldies show audiences have teens that have come along with the parents. Puckett said a number of teen have discovered their parent’s records collection and like what they hear or “become button pushers on the radio,” and find the sixties.
And by the way, Puckett had hits without the word “woman” or “girl” in the title: “Over You,” and “Don’t Give in to Him.”