Biography
Gary Unger
Guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and label owner. Unger spent his early years in Clinton, Iowa. The family eventually moved to the Illinois Quad-Cities area, where he graduated from Rock Island (Illinois) High School in 1967. He was a member of Patti and the Nite-Lites, although it’s unclear if he was on the recordings.
Page 55 of the September 23, 1979, issue of Rock Island's daily newspaper, “The Dispatch,” reported that Unger had formed his own record company, ACI Records, with headquarters in nearby Milan, Illinois. The artist roster was reported to include Union Pacific, Union, and Judy McClary.
The "Quad-City Times" of Davenport, Iowa, reported on page 10 of its January 12, 1981, issue that Unger, along with business partner Charles Griffith, had formed Entertainment Communications International / Lovelight Records. The offices for the label were given as 320 West 3rd Street, Davenport, an address in the Kahl Building, just two doors east of the Capitol Theater. Sugarvine Music (BMI) was also associated with this venture. Unger is quoted in the article as actively promoting the label's current single, Dolly Coulter - Don't You Believe.
In January 1984, Unger had formed yet another label, Chrway Records. As reported in “The Dispatch” of Rock Island on December 30, 1984, page 101, Chrway Records was created to promote overlooked independent artists. Heading the talent roster was Texan Dori Shoss, who had released the single, “You’re a User.” In the article, Chrway is represented as a pop music label supporting a Christian music sublabel called Narrow Road, which had reportedly released a single by Paul Gregory titled “Jesus Took Me In.” The article went on to state, “In the future, only Christian music will be accepted by Chrway, even though their biggest success to date has been Shoss’ pop single.” Unger claimed that a Chrway record had been played on American Bandstand’s "Rate-a-Record" segment. He also told the Dispatch, “When our songs achieve gold status, we’ll put them on our special series called Starstatus Records.”
In 1988, Jim Arpy, the "Quad-City Times" reporter who had profiled Unger in the 1981 article, interviewed him once again in an article titled "Homeless Share Their Blessings," published November 24, 1988, page 3: "Gary Unger is an enthused young man who says he's a record promoter, songwriter and musician currently down on his luck because he has no financial backing. But he says 'Don't You Believe,' a record he promoted with Dolly Culture [sic], received a lot of radio play. Unger has played guitar and sung some of his own country gospel songs for the mission's religious services."
Page 55 of the September 23, 1979, issue of Rock Island's daily newspaper, “The Dispatch,” reported that Unger had formed his own record company, ACI Records, with headquarters in nearby Milan, Illinois. The artist roster was reported to include Union Pacific, Union, and Judy McClary.
The "Quad-City Times" of Davenport, Iowa, reported on page 10 of its January 12, 1981, issue that Unger, along with business partner Charles Griffith, had formed Entertainment Communications International / Lovelight Records. The offices for the label were given as 320 West 3rd Street, Davenport, an address in the Kahl Building, just two doors east of the Capitol Theater. Sugarvine Music (BMI) was also associated with this venture. Unger is quoted in the article as actively promoting the label's current single, Dolly Coulter - Don't You Believe.
In January 1984, Unger had formed yet another label, Chrway Records. As reported in “The Dispatch” of Rock Island on December 30, 1984, page 101, Chrway Records was created to promote overlooked independent artists. Heading the talent roster was Texan Dori Shoss, who had released the single, “You’re a User.” In the article, Chrway is represented as a pop music label supporting a Christian music sublabel called Narrow Road, which had reportedly released a single by Paul Gregory titled “Jesus Took Me In.” The article went on to state, “In the future, only Christian music will be accepted by Chrway, even though their biggest success to date has been Shoss’ pop single.” Unger claimed that a Chrway record had been played on American Bandstand’s "Rate-a-Record" segment. He also told the Dispatch, “When our songs achieve gold status, we’ll put them on our special series called Starstatus Records.”
In 1988, Jim Arpy, the "Quad-City Times" reporter who had profiled Unger in the 1981 article, interviewed him once again in an article titled "Homeless Share Their Blessings," published November 24, 1988, page 3: "Gary Unger is an enthused young man who says he's a record promoter, songwriter and musician currently down on his luck because he has no financial backing. But he says 'Don't You Believe,' a record he promoted with Dolly Culture [sic], received a lot of radio play. Unger has played guitar and sung some of his own country gospel songs for the mission's religious services."