Incredible High Energy Side by Gary & Gary

Gary & Gary  “Bustin’ Loose” (Vee-Jay, 1962)

Greetings from the ice caves!  Western Mass is currently in a “state of emergency” or “winter” as we called it when I was growing up in Boston.

The storm has allowed me to catch up on a couple movies and check out The Girl Group Sound DVD I picked up a couple weeks ago.  I had low expectations but a lot of the performances were actually recorded live and were well worth the price of admission.  In particular the Martha and The Vandellas performance was great, with Martha’s voicing coming in a lot lower than usually and sounding wayyyy more evocative.  The other real highlight was The Shangri-Las absolutely captivating “Give Him A Great Big Kiss.”

Today’s record is one I picked up on the West Coast trip I took this past December.  When I got this I thought it was going to be some beatles-like acquisition that Vee-Jay made of a rocking “Chad & Jeremy” type and was just holding out hope that it was a little fuzzy or weird.  In addition I knew Horace Ott‘s name was a pretty safe bet.

Well, I must say, I was immediately taken in with the opening voicing, a real upbeat track but with a definite melancholy in the singing all on top of the excellent Horace Ott arrangements.  Ott’s career is best remembered for his work with Nina Simone, Duke Ellington and Count Basie though it’s worth noting that early in his musical arc he was co-writing songs with fellow South Carolina native Don Covay for the likes of Dee Clark.  The later part of Ott’s career is notable for arranging the mega disco hit YMCA. 

But in 1962, he was in the studio with Gary Kylvert and Gary Lovett putting together this excellent slice of music.  “Bustin’ Loose” was written by the team of Ron Miller (this is Ron Alonzo Miller, not to be confused with the Motown Ron Miller) and Lee Porter who penned a number of songs together and with other musicians, including the one thread we can weave through this whole production, Don Covay.

Gary & Gary formed in 1961 and put out releases on Arock and Heidi in addition to their work on Vee-Jay.  Information about their origins or paths beyond these few records is pretty scant (though I haven’t given up just yet!) They were a vocal duo for the first half of their life, adding a musical trio from 65-68 before calling it quits in 68.

This record has become a favorite in my room though I haven’t given it much of a chance on the dance floor just yet.

As always, thanks for coming along on another musical episode, I hope you enjoy this record as much as I do!

-George / Snack Attack

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