Gary Lewis, son of “King of Comedy” and Rat Pack member Jerry, had a string of hits and an even larger string of singles in the early to mid 1960s that have mostly been forgotten. But if you were around then, just the mention of “This Diamond Ring,” “Sealed With a Kiss” and especially “She’s Just My Style” brings back strong memories of those times.
Lewis was the drummer for a clean-cut combo named The Playboys, when he was recruited by producer Snuff Garrett to be his first act once Garrett struck out on his own. He had a stable of young, up-and-coming writers and musicians to draw on, but needed a “name” star to do the singing. With the likes of Leon Russell and Al Kooper writing and playing and helping in the studio, plus guys who went on to become fabled L.A. session musicians like drummers Hal Blaine, Jim Keltner and Carl Radle, it’s easy to see why they created hits.
And they did, starting with “This Diamond Ring,” an upbeat song about angsty teen love co-written by Kooper. It hit No. 1 in early 1965. They followed it up with “Count Me In,” which gave Glen D. Hardin his start in the music biz. I’d forgotten about this one, but, as with all of the Playboys’ hits, immediately recognized it. Same with their next hit single, “Save Your Heart For Me” and the next, “Everybody Loves A Clown.” But there’s no forgetting the Beach Boys-style “She’s Just My Style,” which went to No. 3, the group’s fifth Top 5 single in just over a year, and the highest they’d ever climb again.
Still, through the rest of 1966 they cracked the Top 20 several times: “You Don’t Have to Paint Me A Picture,” with its mariachi-like horns; the bouncy shuffle of “Green Grass” with its harpsichord and classical guitar fills; and “My Heart’s Symphony,” with its symphonic strings and occasional Hawaiian steel guitar fills.
And that, for all intents and purposes, was it for Gary Lewis. In 1967 we had The Summer of Love and Sgt. Pepper, and the audience dried up (for a while) for this kind of razor-cut, buttoned-down sound from a studio group. And in 1968 Gary was drafted and sent overseas by Uncle Sam; he cut a few more records before he left, including a serviceable cover of Brian Hyland’s “Sealed With A Kiss” and another of The Cascades’ “Rhythm of the Rain” which cracked the Top 40.
With this package you get all of those, plus a whole lot more, including all of the B sides. Some of which are hilariously bad, but most of which are just mediocre. Producer Garrett’s philosophy was to put a loser on the B side so it wouldn’t detract from the A side. “Little Miss Go-Go” and “Doin’ The Flake” are the kind of Beach Boys knock-offs that you’d hear on the soundtrack of B movies of the period, with middle-aged musicians trying to capture that swingin’ teen sound. On “Time Stands Still” Gary breaks into a dead-on impression of his dad on one of the verses.
It’s all wonderfully annotated by Ed Osborne in a very informative set of liner notes.
It’s worth remembering that not everybody was making San Francisco-style psychedelic music or Dylanesque protest music in the mid-1960s. The sound of Gary Lewis & The Playboys was emulated by countless garage bands around the country in those years. Just look at the photo of this group on the album cover — they’re pretty much anybody’s nextdoor neighbors. The music was similarly non-threatening. Give it a listen and see if it doesn’t take you back.
(Collectors’ Choice, 2009)
