07/31/2025
Happy birthday to Gary Lewis who was born Gary Harold Lee Levitch on this date July 31, 1945 in Newark, NJ. He is the son of Jerry Lewis and singer Patti Palmer.
He received a set of drums as a gift for his 15th birthday in 1960. When he was 18, Lewis formed the band "Gary and the Playboys" with four friends. Lewis was the drummer, and Dave Walker was the singer and guitarist. Gary's mother was quietly funding the purchases of equipment as they believed Gary's father would not support the band financially.
Even though he lived down the street from the Lewis family, producer S***f Garrett was not aware of the band until a mutual friend, conductor Les Brown, informed him that the group was appearing at Disneyland and that Garrett should give them a listen.
Seeing an opportunity to capitalize on the Lewis name, Garrett put the band into the studio to develop, still financed by Gary's mother. By Lewis' own admission, his natural singing voice was not one of his strengths, and Garrett employed overdubbing techniques (mostly with singer Ron Hicklin) in the studio to enhance it.
"This Diamond Ring" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 20, 1965, making Lewis an instant star.
In addition to "This Diamond Ring", his hits include "Count Me In," the only non-British Commonwealth record in the Hot 100's top 10 on May 8, 1965, (number two); "Save Your Heart for Me" (number two); "Everybody Loves a Clown" (number four); "She's Just My Style" (number three); "Sure Gonna Miss Her" (number nine); and "Green Grass" (number eight).
By 1966, Lewis was exclusively singing, replaced on the drums by, among others, Jim Keltner. His career was put on hold when he entered the U.S. Army as a draftee in January 1967, and he served during the Vietnam War era with the Eighth Army in Seoul, South Korea, until 1968. Lewis released a solo album in 1967 for Liberty Records called "Listen!".
In 1971, Lewis took a break from performing, operating a music shop in the San Fernando Valley and giving drumming lessons. A brief attempt at starting a new band called Medecine, with Bill Cowsill of the Cowsills in 1974, was not successful.
Lewis began touring again in the 1980s, with various incarnations of the Playboys, generally featuring no other original members.
As of 2022, Gary Lewis and the Playboys are still touring the world on their own and occasionally with other popular acts of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. The group performs on cruise ships, at casinos, festivals, fairs, and corporate events.
