Over the years, there have been performers I've wanted to talk with yet, for one reason or another, the opportunity has eluded me. I've made a list and vowed to eventually get those one-on-ones. None are on Hollywood's hot list, though because of different qualities they exhibit in their work, they've definitely been on mine.

The Bible states: "There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven" (Ecc. 3:1). That proved true when Gary Puckett made an appeareance at Gaithersburg's [MD] National Craft Fair. I tried to get an interview with him a year-and-a-half prior in Los Angeles but his manager had specific ideas of where Puckett's career was going and what type of interviews he should do. This time around I found that Gary seemed to have a new manager. This guy was easy to deal with and within a few hours we had scheduled an interview. Gary would do two one-hour shows and I could see him after the second one.

He seemed different than what I expected. A good different, but confusing. I'd last seen him perform in Virginia about five years before. He'd worn a muscle shirt and very tight leather pants. His show was like a well-planned seduction. Yet here he was now, right in front of me, and he was subdued.

His voice was as good as ever and he was extremely personable. The audience responded in kind. One man yelled "Happy Birthday." Puckett's face lit up with a moment of unguarded surprise and genuine pleasure. His voice was almost bashful, he grinned and said, "Thanks. I really appreciate that ... I'm 29 now." Everybody laughed as he'd intended them to. He asked if we remembered the sixties. When many people yelled they did, he teased, "If you remember the sixties, you probably weren't there."

After his first show, a long line of people filed past and he signed autographs. The Fair rep said Gary wanted to do the interview once the autographs were signed, not after the 2nd show. This is where I got my second surprise. The man himself walked up, shook my hand and asked me to wait a minute. I was again struck by the contrast of what I'd expected, as opposed to what he actually was. True, we'd never met, but I just knew something was different. This wasn't the same Gary Puckett.

In his trailer, he began talking of his parents, brothers, and sisters with a deep sense of love in his voice. He grew up in Washington State in a home where music was a big factor. His father played an instrument and his mother played the piano and sang. He and his siblings were expected to learn their choice of instrument. "I didn't know music was to be my calling. I sang a lot, knew I had a voice but I didn't particularly know it was a great voice or that I was a quote-unquote great talent or anything."

He sat with his legs spread, his elbows on his knees supporting his chin. He was reflective, his words even-toned and subdued. As he spoke, I got a vision of a Norman Rockwell painting and said as much. He nodded and agreed that he had indeed grown up in a sort of Norman Rockwell type of existence. Asked if he was married and had any children, Gary looked down, then up, and replied, "No." He hesitated, then continued, "I wouldn't mind doing that. I just have to find the right person. I was married once, for the better part of 10 years altogether. It was a tough relationship and, since I'd been brought up with family values, I tried to make it work but it wasn't meant to be. I've been a loner all my life, always introverted. Even though you see me up on stage, that's something within me. That's a God-given talent."

I raised the question of the difference between today's music and that of the sixties. "I've done well in this business. I've gone up and down," and he went on to say that, though there were a lot of differences, there were many constants. Whereas I had expected him to give a show that titillated, he instead catered to the families of his audience. Kids were dancing and singing along with him. This wouldn't happen with some of today's music.

Suddenly I understood. Now I knew why this Gary Puckett wasn't the one I had expected to find. There had been a transformation. That God-given talent had been given back to God and in the process, it was strengthened and made into something so much more special.

I can't wait to hear the gospel album Gary said he was putting together. The thought of Gary Puckett's voice raised to the Heavens makes chills go through me. There have been few really great voices in the history of pop music and, in my opinion, his is one of them.