“Over You,” by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, is today’s classic song of the day. Released in September of 1968, this single hit #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, #5 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #3 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
Unlike many Union Gap songs, which were all about trying to get into a young girl’s pants, “Over You” was about mourning the loss of a lover. It’s there in the lyrics:
Why am I losing sleep over you?
Reliving precious moments we knew
So many days have gone by
Still, I’m so lonely and
I guess there’s just no getting over you
And there’s nothing I can do
But spend all of my time
Out of my mind over you
“Over You,” was written and produced by Jerry Fuller, who wrote and/or produced most of the band’s big hits, including “Lady Willpower” and “Young Girl.” (Some would say he was really the driving force behind their success.) The recording of “Over You” took place at Columbia Studios in Hollywood, with Fuller producing. Al Capps provided the orchestral arrangement, Peter Romano was the session engineer, and the backing musicians included Wrecking Crew members Al Casey and James Burton on guitars and Union Gap members Dwight Bement and Gary “Mutha” Withem on keyboards, Kerry Chater on bass, and Paul Wheatbread on drums. There was also a prominent oboe in the intro, but no record of who played it.
This was, however, the last Union Gap single written and produced by Mr. Fuller—and, not coincidentally, their last big hit. (Well, they had one more non-Fuller hit in 1969 with “This Girl is a Woman Now,” but that was it.) The story goes that Gary Puckett and his band had grown tired of recording Jerry Fuller’s big brassy ballads, and of Mr. Fuller receiving all the songwriting royalties. The final break came when Mr. Fuller had booked a recording session with a 40-piece orchestra to record a new song he’d written, but the Union Gappers refused to show. The session was cancelled and Mr. Fuller and the Union Gap never worked together again.
And, for your viewing pleasure, today’s daily bonus video of the day features Gary Puckett & the Union Gap lip synching “Over You” on the February 26, 1969, episode of The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. Love that wardrobe.
