{{Short description|American musician (1946–2021)}} '''Gary Lee Yoder''' (January 25, 1946 – August 7, 2021) was an American musician who was part of several 1960s [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] [[psychedelic rock]] bands, including [[the Oxford Circle]], [[Kak (band)|Kak]], and [[Blue Cheer]].

Yoder was born in [[Pasadena]], California. Oxford Circle (formed in 1966) and Kak (formed in 1968) were both formed in Yoder's hometown of [[Davis, California]], and featured the same nucleus of members.<ref>Frank Gutch,[http://www.popculturepress.com/dehner_patten.html Interview with Dehner Patten], guitarist with Oxford Circle and Kak, Spring, 2008. Pop Culture Press; www.popculturepress.com.</ref> While Oxford Circle frequently shared the stage with greats such as the [[Grateful Dead]], [[Jefferson Airplane]], and [[Janis Joplin]], they did not achieve the same level of fame and never got a record deal. In 1997, a live album, ''Live at the Avalon 1966'' was released. It made #6 on ''[[Record Collector]]'''s list of Top 50 reissues of 1997, ahead of reissues of [[Pink Floyd]], [[Grateful Dead]], and [[Carlos Santana|Santana]], and also received a favorable review in ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''.

Kak would release only one record in 1969, the eponymous ''Kak'', which has become a collector's item. It was reissued by [[Big Beat Records (Ace subsidiary)|Big Beat Records]] in 1999 as ''Kak-ola''. This recording additionally contained unreleased solo work by Yoder.

Yoder performed occasionally prior to his death,<ref>See [http://www.davisfarmersmarket.org/picnic/music/ Notice of August, 2008 engagement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204194405/https://www.davisfarmersmarket.org/picnic/music |date=2018-12-04 }} at Davis Farmers Market, Davis, California; www.davisfarmersmarket.org, retrieved 09-01-16. Yoder is described as playing "Southern Rock 'n' Roll".</ref> aged 75 on August 7, 2021.<ref>[https://kdrt.org/blog-entry/davis-musician-gary-lee-yoder-rip-oxford-circle-kak-and-blue-cheer-he-was-part-1960s-san Bill Buchanan, "Davis musician Gary Lee Yoder, RIP", ''KDRT.org'', August 9, 2021]. Retrieved August 28, 2021</ref>

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kak-mn0000296359/biography Kak biography] by [[Richie Unterberger]]

{{Blue Cheer}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoder, Gary Lee}} [[Category:1946 births]] [[Category:2021 deaths]] [[Category:Musicians from California]] [[Category:People from Davis, California]] [[Category:Blue Cheer members]]