Gary and Dave
Encyclopedia
Gary and Dave were a Canadian pop
duo
popular in the 1970s best known for their song "Could You Ever Love Me Again". Dave Beckett (vocals); born in Newmarket
, Ontario
on July 5, 1949 and Gary Weeks (vocals); born May 22, 1950 in Charlottetown
, PEI
.
Gary Weeks, from Charlottetown, PEI and Dave Beckett, from Newmarket, ON, had been friends since grade school in the early 1960s. They played in numerous bands until 1966, when the pair auditioned for a United Appeal concert, and came in fourth out of five hundred acts. They began to play the festival circuit, and became a top attraction at the Japan World's Fair in 1970.
Gary & Dave's first recordings were made in 1969; in 1970 they had a single on Quality 1977 - "Tender Woman" b/w "I'm A Rider." In 1972, they signed with Greg Hambleton's Axe label, and made two singles that didn't see much action. Then in 1973, they released their own composition, "Could You Ever Love Me Again." It entered the RPM 100 on July 14, 1973 at #98. It picked up a bullet at #44 on September 8, lost it at #31 on September 22, gained it back on October 20 at #10. It was #2 with a bullet for two weeks in a row, and then hit #1 without the bullet on November 17.
Gary and Dave toured with The Stampeders in 1973 to promote "Could You Ever Love Me Again," and their first album, and the single was released in twenty-two countries. It did particularly well in Australia.
The pair had further hits with "I Fell In Love With You Sometime" and a cover of Carole King's "It Might As Well Rain Until September." They had six further singles through 1976, the last one on Polydor, and made two albums for Axe plus a Greatest Hits compilation. It was 1976 when Gary and Dave left the music business altogether to pursue careers in aviation.
Both men had a long-standing love of flying, and both became pilots for Aitransit STOL Canada during a time in their career when they walked away from it the first time. After their official disbanding, both Gary and Dave went to work as pilots for Air Canada. Gary Weeks later became a pastor, and left Canada for Ireland, where he worked as a missionary.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
popular in the 1970s best known for their song "Could You Ever Love Me Again". Dave Beckett (vocals); born in Newmarket
Newmarket, Ontario
Newmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
on July 5, 1949 and Gary Weeks (vocals); born May 22, 1950 in Charlottetown
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...
, PEI
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
.
Gary Weeks, from Charlottetown, PEI and Dave Beckett, from Newmarket, ON, had been friends since grade school in the early 1960s. They played in numerous bands until 1966, when the pair auditioned for a United Appeal concert, and came in fourth out of five hundred acts. They began to play the festival circuit, and became a top attraction at the Japan World's Fair in 1970.
Gary & Dave's first recordings were made in 1969; in 1970 they had a single on Quality 1977 - "Tender Woman" b/w "I'm A Rider." In 1972, they signed with Greg Hambleton's Axe label, and made two singles that didn't see much action. Then in 1973, they released their own composition, "Could You Ever Love Me Again." It entered the RPM 100 on July 14, 1973 at #98. It picked up a bullet at #44 on September 8, lost it at #31 on September 22, gained it back on October 20 at #10. It was #2 with a bullet for two weeks in a row, and then hit #1 without the bullet on November 17.
Gary and Dave toured with The Stampeders in 1973 to promote "Could You Ever Love Me Again," and their first album, and the single was released in twenty-two countries. It did particularly well in Australia.
The pair had further hits with "I Fell In Love With You Sometime" and a cover of Carole King's "It Might As Well Rain Until September." They had six further singles through 1976, the last one on Polydor, and made two albums for Axe plus a Greatest Hits compilation. It was 1976 when Gary and Dave left the music business altogether to pursue careers in aviation.
Both men had a long-standing love of flying, and both became pilots for Aitransit STOL Canada during a time in their career when they walked away from it the first time. After their official disbanding, both Gary and Dave went to work as pilots for Air Canada. Gary Weeks later became a pastor, and left Canada for Ireland, where he worked as a missionary.
Singles
| Year | Song | CAN Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | "Here it Comes Again" | 47 | - |
| "Could You Ever Love Me Again" | 1 | 92 | |
| 1974 | "I Fell in Love With You Sometime" | 25 | - |
| "It Might as Well Rain Until September" | 31 | - | |
| "I May Never See You Again" | 35 | - | |
| 1975 | "What Can You Do About It" | 90 | - |
| "All in the Past" | 64 | - |