Defend the Indefensible: Gary Puckett and the Union Gap

I gather (and believe me I have tried my best not to pay attention when having this story recounted to me innumerable times in the past, as I never thought anyone would ever be even remotely interested - but some of it must have seeped into my subconscious by some form a osmosis) that there's a lot of bad blood between Mr Puckett and "The Gap" (as my gf and probably both of their other loyal fans are wont to call them).

Allegedly, although Union Gap had been an established gigging band on the UK circuit in their own right for some time before Mr Puckett came over and adopted them as his backing band, he has subsequently claimed the right to the name for himself and has taken all sorts of legal action to try to prevent them from using the name "Union Gap".

Fascinating stuff, eh?

Almost as exciting as seeing them live.

Union Gap

Coming soon to a cabaret club, cruise ship or as part of a 60's nostalgia weekend at a holiday camp near you

... my dad played this song all the time, and the highlight of his pathetic life was singing it on stage at a Butlins holiday camp in front of 500 demented souls!

... ha! think you know pain!

"Let's Give Adam & Eve Another Chance" was also notable for its ridiculous lyrics.

Gary Puckett: Nowhere near as great as Paul Revere & The Raiders, their chief competitors within the genre of Mid-'60s-Bands-signed-to-Columbia-that-dressed-up-in-USA-historical-period-costumes. But at least they were better than the Grass Roots, with whom I've often confused them, for some reason. I think Puckett sang like David Clayton-Thomas or the guy from Iron Butterfly, if memory serves.

"young girl" is kinda hardwired into my brain, and has been since very, very early youth. when i first heard it, it instantly conjured an intensely and unconquerably powerful sense of nostalgia and timeless beauty. hey, i was only about 4 or 5, maybe 6, but this song just stayed there. for toddler me, it WAS 'old music'.

nowadays it dips in and out of my consciousness at intervals of months, but it's just as clear. listening to it on youtube tonight merely confirms this. perhaps it's no special piece of songwriting. perhaps it's a leetle creepy. but it's in my head, and it's never, ever, ever coming out.

i will defend it to the hilt on these grounds.

Young girl is amazing.

Creepy as fuck but amazing.

I keep singing the chorus, because that is how my brain has always told me choruses should be sung. It's swelling, dramatic, mellow, haunting, sad, and powerful all at once. And the arrangement is perfect. It is impossible to describe in words quite how one's earliest musical staples 'work', though.

I mean, I didn't know what the song was called, who wrote it, or when, before YESTERDAY when I looked it up.

they actually worked the song "Young Girl" into the sci-fi musical Return to the Forbidden Planet and the pedophilia theme is played for comedy.

"This Girl Is a Woman Now" is like my favorite song of 1968. Um, if it came out in 1968. And "Woman, Woman" is creepy as fuck. Imagine Nick Cave singing it!

The guy's unhinged!

They're cool when they catch you by surprise, but I wouldn't buy a record.

Record'd probably cost you a dollar. Treat yourself!

I meant to say "they're cool when they catch you by surprise ON THE RADIO," but somehow or another I forgot. Anyway, maybe I might DL one of their songs from iTunes for $1 a song - "Woman Woman" or "Young Girl" will likely sound real good when it randomly turns up on shuffle play, next to something that sounds 180-degrees different.

Reportedly, a true story...

This collector acquaintance of mine met Puckett backstage at some oldies revue. He had a copy of the rare Outcasts single on Karate (this was Puckett's early garage-rock band, pre-Union Gap). When Puckett was asked to autograph it, he said he would, but he didn't have a pen. Then a few middle-aged soccer moms rolled up with some regular Puckett records to sign, then all of a sudden a pen turned up outta nowhere...

I have become officially obsessed with “Lady Willpower.” That is one tight song structure.

Great song, I posted it here recently somewhere, he had a really good voice.

Morrissey cover coming up on his covers album...

somehow this thread reminded me of this truly awful california old-timey country band from the late '60s that had one 7" track or b-side that was an absolute psychedelic ripper. i can't remember the name of the band or the song though... hate it when that happens... one day it'll turn up, just like that great oil company jingle from the early '70s i have kicking around somewhere

in my memory it sounds a little like "fatbird" by the collectors but it's not the collectors, their albums aren't nearly that terrible

Stumped on that one. Not Nitty Gritty Dirt Band?

no, nitty gritty dirt band also not terrible, though i personally prefer "i'll search the sky" to their quadruple album whatever whatever

knowing me it's probably some group that maybe three people ever have heard

"I'll Search the Sky" is nice. Could have been a tune on the Association's Renaissance album.

oh dammit there's another one, the first vocal line of "pandora's golden heebie jeebies" reminds me of another song that has a similar vocal line. like the same key or something, that's not a common key to write pop songs in, is it? anyway whatever song it is, it's brilliant, and i can't focus on the association song, which is very nice in its own right and has, you know, good harmonies, because there's the ghost of this other song there

fuck, got it, "the scorpion lament" by the roches. great fucking song.

sorry, i know i'm derailing the thread seriously, but what else is there to say about gary puckett? most pederasty-driven songs in pop music, and that's a category with some fierce competition, also some good tunes. does he have any deep cuts? he ever do anything better than "lady willpower"?

Their producer wrote or co-wrote those big hits that kinda sound the same and I think their Wikipedia page says there was the usual story of the band wanting to do their own material. Seems like there are the most self-written songs on the first and fourth albums, which bookend their short career.