Ballerina & Puppet Man

It’s 1962 and music is as segregated as society is. Well done music has a way of reflecting the world around us. Whether it’s white popular music or black soul music; country, classical or jazz, every genre has its own radio station programmed specifically for their audience. There is no integration of music styles on any one station. Segregated; just like the world we live in.

Gary is most interested in the pop charts. His idols, Sam Cooke, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ray Charles and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles have made that nearly impossible crossover leap into pop. That’s where the money is, in Gary’s opinion. These artists are too big, to be relegated to black audiences only.

That’s where Gary wants to go. He feels like his songs are too intelligent and unique for the average colored listener. His songs are going to be trend setters, scene shifters, history makers, once he breaks through. Music will never be heard the same again, after him.

Gary remembers the first time he heard songs by Sam Cooke. Those songs reached beyond black music and into what music could be for all listeners. Hearing him was a watershed moment in Gary’s life. This is the type of impression on the world that Gary strives for.

“You’ve never heard nothing else like me,” he’s been known to boast.