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Gary Lewis (musician)

Gary Lewis
Birth name Gary Harold Lee Levitch
Born (1946-07-31) July 31, 1946 (age 70)
Origin Los Angeles, California, United States
Instruments Vocal, drums, guitar
Years active 1960s–present
Labels Liberty
Associated acts Gary Lewis & the Playboys
Website garylewisandtheplayboys.com

Gary Lewis (born Gary Harold Lee Levitch, July 31, 1946) is an American musician who was the leader of Gary Lewis & the Playboys.

Gary Lewis is the son of comedian and actor Jerry Lewis. His mother, Patti Palmer Lewis (née Esther Calonico), a singer at the time with the Ted Fio Rito Orchestra, intended to name him after her favorite actor, Cary Grant, but a clerical error led to his naming as "Gary".

He received a set of drums as a gift for his 14th birthday in 1960. When he was 18, Lewis formed what would become Gary Lewis & the Playboys (then known as "Gary and the Playboys") with four other friends. Joking at the lateness of bandmates to practice, Lewis referred to them as "playboys", and the name stuck. Lewis was the drummer, but at that time singing duties were held by guitarist Dave Walker. As the band started, Gary's mother was quietly funding the purchases of equipment, as they believed Gary's father would not have supported the band. This could explain why, even though he lived down the street from the Lewis family, producer Snuff Garrett wasn't aware of Gary's band until a mutual friend, conductor Lou Brown, informed him that the band was playing at Disneyland and that Garrett should give them a listen.

Seeing an opportunity to capitalize on the Lewis name, Garrett put Lewis' band into the studio to develop, still with the finances of Lewis' mother. Garrett pushed Lewis to improve his drumming skill, even getting Buddy Rich to tutor him, and, more importantly, made Lewis the singer, and therefore the focal point of the group. By Lewis' own admission, his natural singing voice was not one of his strengths, and this led Garrett to employ vocal overdubbing tricks in the studio, to enhance it.

"This Diamond Ring", hitting number one on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart on February 20, 1965, made Lewis an instant star. Lewis was Cash Box magazine's 1965 "Male Vocalist of the Year". Besides The Lovin' Spoonful, the group was the only artist during the 1960s to have its first seven Hot 100 releases each reach that chart's Top 10. 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 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). Of "Everybody Loves a Clown", Lewis says he composed the song as a gift for his father's birthday. He believed the song was too good, so instead of giving it as a gift, he recorded it.


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