YOUNG GIRL,
GET OUT OF MY MIND
MY LOVE FOR YOU
IS WAY OUT OF LINE...
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
initially credited as
The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett
was an
American
pop rock group
active in
the late 1960s.
The group,
formed by
Gary Puckett,
Gary "Mutha" Withem,
Dwight Bement,
Kerry Chater
and
Paul Wheatbread,
who eventually named it
The Union Gap,
had its biggest hits
with
"Woman, Woman",
"Young Girl",
"Lady Willpower",
"Over You",
"Don't Give In to Him",
and
"This Girl Is a Woman Now".
The members featured
costumes that were
based on
the Union
Army uniforms
worn during
the American Civil War.
Jerry Fuller
gave the act a
recording contract
with Columbia Records.
The group eventually
grew unhappy
with doing material
written and
produced by others,
leading them to
stop working
with Fuller.
The band
eventually disbanded,
and Puckett
went on to do both
solo work
and collaborations.
History
The group's lead singer,
was born on
October 17, 1942,
in Hibbing, Minnesota,
and grew up in
Yakima, Washington
close to Union Gap
and Twin Falls, Idaho.
He began
playing guitar
in his teens,
graduated from
Twin Falls High School
in 1960,
and attended college
in San Diego, California.
There,
he dropped out
of college
and played in
several local bands
before joining
the Outcasts,
a local
hard rock group,
which produced
two singles,
but they were
unsuccessful.
Following the breakup
of the Outcasts,
Puckett formed
a new group
he called
Gary and the Remarkables,
comprising bassist
Kerry Chater
keyboardist
Gary 'Mutha' Withem
tenor saxophonist
Dwight Bement ,
and drummer
Paul Wheatbread
In 1966,
the band toured
the Pacific Northwest
without Wheatbread,
who was recruited
as the
house drummer
on the television series,
Where the Action Is;
he later rejoined
the line-up.
Under manager
Dick Badger,
the team was
renamed
The Union Gap
in early 1967,
and its members
outfitted themselves
in Union Army-style
Civil War uniforms
as a visual gimmick.
They then
recorded a demo,
which was heard
by CBS
record producer
and songwriter
Jerry Fuller.
Impressed by
Puckett's
tenor voice
and the band's
soft rock leanings,
Fuller signed them
to a recording contract
with Columbia Records.
The band recorded
their first single
"Woman, Woman",
a song about a man's
fears that his
female partner
might be
considering infidelity,
that had been written
and composed by
Jim Glaser
and
Jimmy Payne,
in August 1967.
It became their first hit,
reaching No. 3
in Cashbox
and No. 4
on the
Billboard
Hot 100 chart.
It was quickly
certified as a
million-selling
Gold disc.
This was followed during
the next two years by
"Young Girl"
(No. 1 in Cashbox, No. 2 in Billboard),
"Lady Willpower"
(No. 1 in Cashbox, No. 2 in Billboard),
"Over You"
(No. 5 in Cashbox, No. 7 in Billboard),
and
"Don't Give in to Him"
(No. 15).
All were produced
by Fuller,
who also wrote
and composed
"Young Girl",
"Lady Willpower"
and
"Over You".
Although the band
never had a
Billboard No. 1 record
in the United States,
"Young Girl"
hit No. 1
on the
UK singles chart
for four weeks
in May/June 1968.
"Young Girl"
was the
second million
selling disc
for the band,
which it reached
less than two months
after issue;
"Lady Willpower"
and
"Over You"
also won
gold discs.
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