Notes on Gary
Lewis & Playboys from Other sites. Mentions to Allan.
Gary Lewis & The Playboys have never been taken too seriously
by rock historians, which is somewhat a matter of prejudice, growing out
of A) the idea (only partly true) that Lewis had free ride, thanks to the
help of his then superstar entertainer father; and, B) their status as
mid-'60s pop-rock entertainers, without a resident songwriter or a philosophy
behind their work. They weren't great stylists, and the closest Lewis ever
got to being a great drummer was getting a few pointers from his father's
friend Buddy Rich.
This two-albums-on-one-CD release shows the unfairness of that
neglect-apart from "This Diamond Ring, " a song originally written with
the Drifters in mind (who rejected it, as did Bobby Vee) which became a
monster debut hit single, there's a lot of worthwhile, breezy pop-rock
among the 16 tracks here. Lewis and company-Dave Walker (rhythm guitar),
Dave Costell (leag guitar), Al Ramsay (bass), and John R. West (keyboards)--do
okay by covers of "Needles and Pins, " "Sweet Little Rock 'n Roller, "
"All Day And All of the Night, " "Dream Lover, " "The Night Has A thousand
Eyes, " "Concrete and Clay" etc. There isn't too much special or creative
here, just enjoyable music that a lot of kids who bought the LPs would've
had a good time dancing to, and there's nothing wrong with that, either.
Two instrumental rarities, the original B-side off of "This
Diamond Ring, " "Hard To Find (Leroy's Tune),
" and its replacement, "Tijuana Wedding"-a "La Bamba"/"Hang On Sloopy"
piece of nonsense credited to Gary Lewis and producer and musical director
Snuff Garrett and Leon Russell-fill out the CD, and are interesting for
showing the band just jamming in the studio, rather than shooting for pop
music perfection. The annotation is very thorough, and the sound, from
1998-era transfers, is excellent. ~ Bruce Eder
Gary Lewis & The Playboys info from another site:
Editorial note to this write up below in black:
Write Ups have Al on 'Guitar' and Dave Costell on 'Bass'. just the OPPOSITE.
They have Dave Walker on Keyboards and John West on Guitar. OPPOSITE AGAIN.
Also when Gary was discharged in late '68 or very early '69....he did NOT
do the Brian Hyland Hit then...It was done on 6/22/66 BEFORE he went into
the service. (See Billboard List - #10 on the Charts.
One of most commercially successful US pop groups of the mid-60s, the
original Playboys comprised
Gary Lewis (b. Gary Levital, 31 July
1946, New York, USA; vocals/drums),
Alan Ramsey
(
note incorrect spelling of name!!)(b. 27 July 1943, New Jersey,
USA; guitar),
John West (b. 31 July 1939, Unrichville, Ohio, USA;
guitar),
David Costell (b. 15 March 1944, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
USA; bass) and
David Walker (b. 12 May 1943, Montgomery, Alabama,
USA; keyboards). Group leader Gary Lewis was the son of comedian Jerry
Lewis and had been playing drums since the age of 14. After appearing at
selected Hollywood parties, the ensemble was offered a residency at the
Disneyland Park and soon after were signed by Liberty Records and producer
Leon Russell. Their debut single, This Diamond Ring (co-written by Al Kooper
and originally intended for former idol, Bobby Vee) topped the American
charts in February 1965 and spearheaded an remarkable run of Top 10 hits
that included Count Me In, Save Your Heart For Me, Everybody Loves A Clown,
She's Just My Style, She's Gonna Miss Her and Green Grass. The latter,
although written by UK composers Cook And Greenaway(alias David And Jonathan),
predictably failed to make any impact in the UK market where the group
remained virtually unknown. Undoubtedly the best-selling US group of the
mid-60s without a UK hit to their name, they nevertheless enjoyed healthy
record sales all over the world, appeared regularly on television and even
participated in a couple of low budget movies, A SWINGIN' SUMMER and OUT
OF SIGHT. Their relative decline in 1967 probably had less to do with changing
musical fashions than the induction of Gary Lewis to the US Armed Forces.
By the time of his discharge in 1968, a set of Playboys were ready to return
him to the charts with a remake of Brian Hyland's Sealed With A Kiss. A
revival of the Cascades' Rhythm Of The Rain pointed to the fact that the
group were running short of ideas while also indicating their future on
the revivalist circuit. After disbanding the group at the end of the '60s,
Lewis was unsuccessfully relaunched as a singer-songwriter but later assembled
a new version of the Playboys for cabaret and festival dates.
