Gary Lewis & the Playboys

Gary Lewis & the Playboys
Genres	Rock music, Pop rock, Rock and roll
Years active	1960s
Website	Gary Lewis & The Playboys
Past members
Gary Lewis David Walker Allan Ramsay David Costell John West

Gary Lewis & the Playboys were a 1960s rock group fronted by Gary Lewis, son of comedian Jerry Lewis. They are best known for their 1965 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "This Diamond Ring."

Original members

• Gary Lewis - Drums and vocals
• David Walker - Guitar
• Allan Ramsay (died in 1985) - Bass
• David Costell - Guitar
• John West - "Cordovox" (electronic accordion)

1960s fame

The group auditioned for a job at Disneyland, without telling Disneyland employees about Lewis' celebrity father. They were able to do this because they were known then as Gary & the Playboys. They were hired on the spot, audiences at Disneyland quickly accepted them, and the Playboys were soon playing to a full house every night.

Band leader Les Brown had known Jerry Lewis for years, and he told record producer Snuff Garrett that the younger Lewis was playing at Disneyland. After listening to the band, Garrett thought using Gary's famous name might sell records. Garrett took them into a recording studio with the song "This Diamond Ring" in a session financed by Jerry Lewis' wife Patti. However, according to Lewis, the Playboys were not allowed to play their instruments except on the backing tracks. Garrett wanted to maximize the chances for a hit, so he insisted on using experienced session musicians for the overdubs, which included guitar and keyboard solos, additional bass and drum overdubs, and timpani. These musicians included Tommy Allsup on guitar, Leon Russell on keyboards, Joe Osborn on bass, and Hal Blaine on drums. Session singer Ron Hicklin did the basic vocal track. Garrett then added Lewis’s voice twice, added some of the Playboys and more of Hicklin. "When I got through, he sounded like Mario Lanza," Garrett commented.

Garrett got airplay in New York City for "This Diamond Ring" by making a deal with WINS disc jockey "Murray the K" Kaufman, who ran a series of all-star concerts at theaters around the New York area, promising that if he played Lewis’ record, the Playboys would do his shows. Garrett then had Jerry Lewis use his contacts to get his son onto The Ed Sullivan Show. However, Sullivan had a general policy that all acts appearing on his show were to perform live. Since so many studio tricks had been used on the record, the Playboys could not re-create its sound. In compromise, Lewis sang along with pre-recorded tracks as the Playboys pretended to play their instruments.^[1] The January 1965 broadcast made Gary Lewis and the Playboys instant stars. "This Diamond Ring" went to #1, sold over one million copies by April 1965, and became a gold disc.^[2] However, by the end of 1965 only West and Lewis remained in the band. Other later band members included Tommy Tripplehorn (father of actress Jeanne Tripplehorn), Carl Radle (died 1980), Jimmy Karstein, Randy Ruff and Dave Gonzalez.

In 1965, Gary Lewis was Cash Box magazine's "Male Vocalist of the Year," winning against nominees Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. The group was one of only two acts during the 1960s whose first seven Hot 100 releases reached that chart's top 10 (The Lovin' Spoonful was the other): "This Diamond Ring" (#1), "Count Me In" (the only non-British Commonwealth record in Hot 100's Top 10 on 8 May 1965, at #2), "Save Your Heart for Me" (#2), "Everybody Loves a Clown" (#4), "She's Just My Style" (#3), "Sure Gonna Miss Her" (#9), and "Green Grass" (#8). Lewis was drafted into the U.S. Army in January 1967 and discharged in 1968. He immediately returned to recording but was unable to regain his group's earlier momentum. Lewis continued touring, eventually marketing the band as a nostalgia act. He also appeared and performed on many of his father's Labor Day telethons for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Lewis had eight gold singles, seventeen Top 40 hits, and four gold albums. In addition to The Ed Sullivan Show, he appeared on American Bandstand, Shindig!, Hullabaloo, The Sally Jessy Raphaël show, Tonight Show, The Mike Douglas Show, Nashville Now and Wolfman Jack. Despite the group's US success, it made no progress at all in the UK.

Discography

Singles

1965

• "This Diamond Ring" (#1) / "Hard To Find" - Liberty 55756

Later pressings replace the B-side with "Tijuana Wedding." Both B-sides are non-LP instrumental tracks

• "Count Me In" (#2) / "Little Miss Go-Go" - Liberty 55778
• "Doin' The Flake" / "This Diamond Ring" & "Little Miss Go-Go" - Liberty 65-227

Mail order record from Kellogg's Corn Flakes, issued with special sleeve

• "Save Your Heart for Me" (#2) / "Without A Word Of Warning" - Liberty 55809
• "Everybody Loves a Clown" (#4) / "Time Stands Still" - Liberty 55818

B-side features Gary's impersonation of a very close relative

• "She's Just My Style" (#3) / "I Won't Make That Mistake Again" - Liberty 55846

1966

• "Sure Gonna Miss Her" (#9) / "I Don't Wanna Say Goodnight" - Liberty 55865

B-side is a non-LP track

• "Green Grass" (#8) / "I Can Read Between The Lines" - Liberty 55880
• "My Heart's Symphony" (#13) / "Tina (I Held You In My Arms)" - Liberty 55898
• "(You Don't Have To) Paint Me A Picture" (#15) / "Looking For The Stars" - Liberty 55914
• "Where Will The Words Come From" (#21) / "May The Best Man Win" - Liberty 55933

1967

• "Way Way Out" - Liberty (No number issued)

Promotional single for the movie of the same name

• "The Loser (With A Broken Heart)" (#43) / "Ice Melts In The Sun" - Liberty 55949
• "Girls In Love" (#39) / "Let's Be More Than Friends" - Liberty 55971
• "Jill" (#52) / "New In Town" - Liberty 55985

1968

• "Sealed With A Kiss" (#19) / "Sara Jane" - Liberty 56037
• "Main Street" / "C.C. Rider" - Liberty 56075

1969

• "Rhythm of the Rain" (#63) / "Mister Memory" - Liberty 56093
• "Hayride" / "Gary's Groove" - Liberty 56121
• "I Saw Elvis Presley Last Night" / "Something Is Wrong" - Liberty 56144

1970

• "I'm On The Right Road Now" / "Great Balls Of Fire" - Liberty 56158

1972 (Gary Lewis solo)

• "Then Again Maybe" / "Peace Of Mind" - Scepter 12359

1975 (Gary Lewis solo)

• "One Good Woman" / "Ooh Baby" - Epic 50068

Albums

• This Diamond Ring - Liberty LRP-3408 (Mono)/LST-7408 (Stereo) - #26, 3/65
• A Session With Gary Lewis & The Playboys - Liberty LRP-3419/LST-7419 - #18, 9/65
• Everybody Loves A Clown - Liberty LRP-3428/LST-7428 - #44, 12/65
• She's Just My Style - Liberty LRP-3435/LST-7435 - #71, 3/66
• Hits Again! - Liberty LRP-3452/LST-7452 - #47, 5/66
• Golden Greats - Liberty LRP-3468/LST-7468 - #10, 10/66

Original copies are mispressed as Side 2, Track 2 plays "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" instead of "I Won't Make That Mistake Again." Later copies include the correct track.

• You Don't Have To Paint Me A Picture - Liberty LRP-3487/LST-7487 - #79, 2/67

Original copies are mispressed as Side 1, Track 4 plays "Ice Melts In The Sun" instead of "Tina (I Held You In My Arms)." Later copies include the correct track.

• Gary Lewis & The Playboys - Sunset SUM-1168/SUS-5168 - 1967
• New Directions - Liberty LRP-3519/LST-7519 - #185, 7/67
• Listen! - Liberty LRP-3524/LST-7524 - 1967
• Gary Lewis Now! - Liberty LRP-3568/LST-7568 - #150, 8/68
• More Golden Greats - Liberty LST-7589 - 1968
• Rhythm -- Sunset SUS-5262 - 1969
• Close Cover Before Playing - Liberty LST-7606 - 1969
• Rhythm Of The Rain / Hayride - Liberty LST-7623 - 1969
• I'm On The Right Road Now - Liberty LST-7633 - 1969
• Legendary Masters Series - 2000
• The Complete Liberty Singles - Collector's Choice Music - 2009

References

1. ^ "Gary Lewis and The Playboys". Classic Bands. http://www.classicbands.com/garylewis.html. Retrieved 30 January 2011. 
2. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 177. ISBN 0-214-20512-6. 

External links

• The Official Gary Lewis & The Playboys website
• Allan Ramsay Memorial & Original Playboys group history site