With the Central Washington State Fair set to begin in less than two weeks, there’s a lot of talk about the entertainment lineup and all the big names who’ve played at the fair, and State Fair Park, in the past. Performers have included the up-and-coming, the less-famous and the once-famous.
Gary Puckett has played plenty of fairs and festivals throughout the country in the years since he and his band, The Union Gap, broke up in 1971. Their biggest hits stretched from late 1967 through the summer of 1969 — “Woman Woman,” “Young Girl,” “Lady Willpower” and “This Girl is a Woman Now.”
Born in Hibbing, Minn., Puckett moved to Yakima when he was 6 and stayed until halfway through his junior year at West Valley High School. His dad, Arlon Puckett, was a buyer for Bon Marche before being transferred in 1959 to Idaho, where Gary Puckett graduated from high school. The family moved again to Vista, Calif., where Arlon Puckett ran Arlon’s Department Store.
It’s easy to see where Gary got his singing chops. Arlon and his wife, Leona, were active in barbershop quartet groups. Arlon sang lead with the Four Quarters and Leona performed in the Sweet Adelines, according to an April 1968 article in the Yakima Herald-Republic. Gary Puckett sang and played guitar, piano and blues harmonica along with writing and arranging songs.
His professional career in music didn’t take off right away, though. Puckett, who attended San Diego Community College, performed with several musicians before he formed his own band in January 1967, the newspaper article said. It was initially named The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett before its name changed to Gary Puckett and The Union Gap.
In answering a question from a newspaper reader in Granger about where the band was from and the story behind its name, Puckett’s father said his son chose it during the time music groups were using unusual names. “It also lent itself to a costume of the Union Army,” the newspaper’s answer noted.
The name was decided upon, Arlon Puckett said, “when the group was booked for Seattle. Booking agents thought he was out of his mind, but Gary told them, ‘We use The Union Gap or we don’t play.’”
Columbia Records signed the band after Puckett’s fortuitous meeting with nascent producer Jerry Fuller. The label released “Woman, Woman” in late 1967 and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap’s popularity rose quickly on its power. The band appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in May 1968. At the time, members had just earned their second gold record when “Young Girl” sold more than a million copies.
Gary Puckett and The Union Gap broke up in 1971. Over the years Puckett has had a solo career, performed on a reunion tour of The Monkees and other oldies tours. He even performed in Union Gap for the first time on June 20, 2010, during Old Town Days.
Check out some memorabilia from Puckett’s performance at the Old Town Days festival at Pepp’rmint Stick Drive-In, 4002 Main St. in Union Gap — have some waffle fries while you’re there. And get a look at the band’s albums and more information in the “Making A Mark Beyond the Valley” exhibit at the Yakima Valley Museum, 2105 Tieton Drive, Yakima.
Puckett, 76, lives in Clearwater, Fla. and is still out making music, according to his website, www.garypuckettmusic.com.