Gary and Dave

Gary and Dave were a Canadian pop duo composed of Gary Weeks (born May 22, 1950 in Charlottetown, PEI) and David Lloyd George "Dave" Beckett (born July 5, 1949 in Newmarket, Ontario). They are best known for their 1973 song "Could You Ever Love Me Again".

Gary and Dave
OriginCharlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
GenresPop rock
Years active1969 – 1979
LabelsQuality Records
Axe Records
Polydor Records
MembersGary Weeks
Dave Beckett

Weeks and Beckett had been friends since grade school in the early 1960s. They played in numerous bands until 1966, when the pair competed in 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 Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan.

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 Records 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. The single was released in twenty-two countries. It did particularly well in Australia. The single became their only entry on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts, and was a Top 20 hit in the Detroit/Windsor market thanks to airplay support from CKLW.

The pair continued to record with Hambleton in 1974,[1] and toured in western Canada with Jay Telfer.[2] They 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,[3] and made two albums for Axe plus a Greatest Hits compilation.

Both Gary and Dave had a long-standing love of flying. In 1975, they left music altogether to pursue careers as pilots with Airtransit STOL Canada. They did return to their music careers for a time[3] but, 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.

Gary had three sons, Ben, Jesse and Daniel. Daniel became the youngest pilot in Canada when he got his licence on his 16th birthday after Gary completed introductory flight training with him.[4] In 2005, Gospel Folio Press published Gary's biography, "Could You Ever Love Me Again: The Gary Weeks Story of Forgiveness."[5]

Albums
  • Together (1973)
  • All in the Past (1974)
  • 14 Greatest Hits (1977)
  • Together Re-Issue Axe Records (2014)
  • Forever Re-Issue Axe Records (2014)

Singles
Year Song CAN US AU
1973 "Here it Comes Again" 47 - -
"Could You Ever Love Me Again" 1 92 7
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 - -
gollark: They didn't notice because I was distracting them. I ask where I can be healed of my horrible* injuries.
gollark: Fine, I go to the item shop.
gollark: A populated one.
gollark: I leave and go to a populated area.
gollark: I do second aid.

References
  1. Martin Melhuish (13 July 1974). From the Music Capitals of the World. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 42–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  2. From the Music Capitals of the World. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 5 October 1974. pp. 2–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  3. Martin Melhuish (13 November 1976). Canadian Artists get Heavy Polydo Push. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 63–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. Cook, Tim. Globe and Mail, Aug, 2001 : Canada's newest pilot just 16: Now he'll learn how to drive The Globe and Mail, Aug. 30, 2001.
  5. Bob Cretny (2010). Could You Ever Love Me Again: The Gary Weeks Story of Forgiveness. softcover. Gospel Folio Press, Inc. ISBN 9781926765143.


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