Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Born on this day, October 24, 1942: Don Gant
Don Gant
Donald W. Gant (October 24, 1942 – March 15, 1987) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer.
With Tupper Saussy, in the late 1960s he formed The Neon Philharmonic. Singing vocals, with Saussy on the keyboards, they recorded five singles and two albums for Warner Bros. Records between 1969 and 1971. The albums were The Moth Confesses (1969), containing the duo's biggest hit "Morning Girl" (peaked at #17 on 7–14 June 1969), and the eponymous The Neon Philharmonic (1969).
In Nashville, Tennessee he worked at Acuff-Rose Music as a songwriter and as an executive.[2] He wrote a number of songs himself and co-wrote with Joe Melson. Songwriter Mickey Newbury said of Gant that there are "A lot of songwriters you'd never have heard of if it wasn't for Don Gant." Gant also produced records for singers Jimmy Buffett,[3] Lefty Frizzell, Eddy Raven, Roy Orbison when he was with MGM Records and others and eventually joined ABC Records.
Don Gant died unexpectedly at the age of 44 in Nashville of complications following a serious boating accident in Florida.
Donald W. Gant (October 24, 1942 – March 15, 1987) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer.
With Tupper Saussy, in the late 1960s he formed The Neon Philharmonic. Singing vocals, with Saussy on the keyboards, they recorded five singles and two albums for Warner Bros. Records between 1969 and 1971. The albums were The Moth Confesses (1969), containing the duo's biggest hit "Morning Girl" (peaked at #17 on 7–14 June 1969), and the eponymous The Neon Philharmonic (1969).
In Nashville, Tennessee he worked at Acuff-Rose Music as a songwriter and as an executive.[2] He wrote a number of songs himself and co-wrote with Joe Melson. Songwriter Mickey Newbury said of Gant that there are "A lot of songwriters you'd never have heard of if it wasn't for Don Gant." Gant also produced records for singers Jimmy Buffett,[3] Lefty Frizzell, Eddy Raven, Roy Orbison when he was with MGM Records and others and eventually joined ABC Records.
Don Gant died unexpectedly at the age of 44 in Nashville of complications following a serious boating accident in Florida.
You remember them.
The Neon Philharmonic
The 45 of the hit song, "Morning Girl" by Neon Philharmonic from 1969.
Background information
Origin: United States
Genres: Psychedelic pop
Years active: 1967 to 1975
The Neon Philharmonic (formed 1967) was an American psychedelic pop[citation needed] band led by songwriter and conductor Tupper Saussy and singer Don Gant. They released their only two albums (The Moth Confesses and the eponymous The Neon Philharmonic) in 1969, and they scored a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Morning Girl", which featured the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, when it hit the Top 40 in May of that year and rose to number 17 on Billboard and number 15 on the Cash Box chart. The band hit the charts again with "Heighdy-Ho Princess" in 1970. The group was produced by Saussy, Gant, and Bob McCluskey, and engineered by Ronald Gant, Don's brother. The group disbanded in 1975 after releasing numerous non-album singles. Although the first album stated "Borges Forever!", the group's concertmaster is really named Pierre Menard, and it is not a reference to the Jorge Luis Borges story Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote,, Saussy was not conscious of the connection.
The 45 of the hit song, "Morning Girl" by Neon Philharmonic from 1969.
Background information
Origin: United States
Genres: Psychedelic pop
Years active: 1967 to 1975
The Neon Philharmonic (formed 1967) was an American psychedelic pop[citation needed] band led by songwriter and conductor Tupper Saussy and singer Don Gant. They released their only two albums (The Moth Confesses and the eponymous The Neon Philharmonic) in 1969, and they scored a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Morning Girl", which featured the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, when it hit the Top 40 in May of that year and rose to number 17 on Billboard and number 15 on the Cash Box chart. The band hit the charts again with "Heighdy-Ho Princess" in 1970. The group was produced by Saussy, Gant, and Bob McCluskey, and engineered by Ronald Gant, Don's brother. The group disbanded in 1975 after releasing numerous non-album singles. Although the first album stated "Borges Forever!", the group's concertmaster is really named Pierre Menard, and it is not a reference to the Jorge Luis Borges story Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote,, Saussy was not conscious of the connection.
Morning Girl
Single by Neon Philharmonic
"Morning Girl" is a 1969 hit song by Neon Philharmonic. The song was a hit in Canada and the United States. The song featured a chamber-sized orchestra of Nashville Symphony Orchestra musicians. The project was headed by composer Tupper Saussy and vocalist Don Gant.
The song reached number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 during the spring of the year. It peaked at number 15 on the Cash Box Top 100. It was a bigger hit in Canada, where it hit number six on the RPM 100, and number two on RPM's Adult Contemporary chart.
Single by Neon Philharmonic
"Morning Girl" is a 1969 hit song by Neon Philharmonic. The song was a hit in Canada and the United States. The song featured a chamber-sized orchestra of Nashville Symphony Orchestra musicians. The project was headed by composer Tupper Saussy and vocalist Don Gant.
The song reached number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 during the spring of the year. It peaked at number 15 on the Cash Box Top 100. It was a bigger hit in Canada, where it hit number six on the RPM 100, and number two on RPM's Adult Contemporary chart.
Morning Girl - The Neon Philharmonic - 1969 -
123,235 views•Jan 5, 2012
jameycruz2
14.7K subscribers
What A Groove- Just 2 Minutes Of Magic- Love It- Love It
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Happy birthday Don Gant! I remember he died young. 
And a quote by Mickey Newbury! That's a name I haven't heard in a long time.