Gary Lewis & the Playboys

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Gary Lewis and the Playboys were a 1960s pop group, fronted by Gary Lewis, son of comedian Jerry Lewis.

The original group was composed of:

• Gary Lewis - Drums and vocals
• David Walker - Guitar
• Al Ramsay - Guitar
• David Costell - Lead Guitar
• John West - Keyboard

Gary Lewis & The Playboys auditioned for a job at Disneyland without the Disneyland employees knowing who Lewis' father was. 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 talked it over with the group and got their approval, then took them into a recording studio with a song called This Diamond Ring to see what he could do. The session was financed by the elder Lewis' wife, Patty Lewis.

The Playboys were almost irrelevant on the record, as they weren’t allowed to play their instruments and their voices were used sparingly. Garrett wanted a hit, so he insisted on using trusted studio musicians. The studio musicians included Tommy Allsup on guitar, Leon Russell on keyboards, Carol Kaye on bass and Hal Blaine on drums. To help fill out what he felt to be Lewis’s vocal shortcomings, Garrett brought in a session singer, Ron Hicklin. Hicklin did the basic vocal track; then Garrett added Gary’s voice, overdubbed him a second time, added some of the Playboys, and then added more of Hicklin. "When I got through, he sounded like Mario Lanza" Garrett commented.

Next came the hype. Garrett got This Diamond Ring on the radio in New York City 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. He was promised that if he played Lewis’ record, the Playboys would do his shows. Then Garrett had Jerry Lewis pull some strings to get his son onto The Ed Sullivan Show.

There was a problem, though. It was Sullivan’s policy that all the acts appearing on his show had to perform live (although one of the rock bands most commonly featured on Ed Sullivan, the Dave Clark Five, lyp-synched all appearances from their second appearance on, in early 1964). Since so many studio tricks had been used on the record, there was no way the Playboys could re-create its sound. So a compromise was struck. Lewis sang along with pre-recorded tracks as the Playboys faked it on instruments. America didn’t mind. Gary Lewis and the Playboys were instant stars. "This Diamond Ring" shot up to #1, and the pressing plants ran 24 hours a day, but could not keep up with the demand for the record.

According to John Morthland "producer Snuff Garrett...signed" the group "because he knew Jerry Lewis and was intrigued by Gary's talent" (Brackett 2000, p.3). The group soon landed a spot on the Ed Sullivan Show in January 1965. Almost immediately, their song "This Diamond Ring" shot to the top and hit #1 on the pop charts, passing The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley along the way.

The band's membership changed by the end of 1965, with only West and Lewis remaining. New members have included Tommy Tripplehorn (the father of actress Jeanne Tripplehorn), Carl Radle, Jimmy Karstein and Dave Gonzalez.

In 1965 Gary himself was Cash Box magazine's "Male Vocalist of the Year", winning the honour over other nominees Presley and Sinatra. Gary Lewis was the only artist during the 1960s to have his first seven releases reach Billboard magazine's Top 10 on the Hot 100 chart.

Their first seven releases in 1965 and 1966 were:

• "This Diamond Ring" #1
• "Count Me In" #2
• "Save Your Heart For Me" #2
• "Everybody Loves a Clown" #4
• "She's Just My Style" #3
• "Sure Gonna Miss Her" #9
• "Green Grass" #8

Through 1968, they also released:

• "My Heart's a Symphony" #13
• "You Don't Have to Paint Me a Picture" #15
• "Where Will the Words Come From" #21
• "Girl's in Love-1967" #39
• "Sealed with a Kiss" #19

The group's success slowed down when Gary Lewis was drafted into the U.S. Army. He went into the Army in January 1967, and was discharged in 1968.

Lewis was anxious to get back to making hits. However, while he was in the Army, things had changed. The psychedelic movement had captured the public's interest by that time. Through the years, Lewis had several musicians as his "Playboys" and today's linup enjoys great success recording, touring and performing as a nostalgia act. Lewis has also appeared and performed on many of his father's Labor Day Telethons for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, most recently being in 2006.

Gary Lewis had eight Gold Singles, 17 Top 40 hits, 45 records sold worldwide, and four gold albums. In addition to The Ed Sullivan Show, Gary appeared on American Bandstand, Shindig, Hullabaloo, Sally Jessy Raphael, Tonight Show, Mike Douglas, Nashville Now and Wolfman Jack.

[edit] External links

• The Official Gary Lewis & The Playboys Web Site
• Myspace