BILLBOARD #1 HITS: #128: “THIS DIAMOND RING”- GARY LEWIS AND THE PLAYBOYS- FEBRUARY 20, 1965

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Billboard #1 Hits: #128: ” This Diamond Ring”- Gary Lewis And The Playboys. February 20, 1965. #1 for 2 weeks.

  • Single:”This Diamond Ring”- Gary Lewis And The Playboys
  • Record Company: Liberty
  • Genre: Pop Rock
  • Written by- Al Kooper, Bob Brass, Irwin Levine.
  • Time: 2:01
  • B-side: “Hard To Find”
  • Album- This Diamond Ring
  • Grade: D
  • Peaked at #1 2 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.

In doing this feature it has amazed me how many artists first chart hits went all the way to #1. Gary Lewis born Gary Levitch in Brooklyn in 1945 is the son of the always annoying Jerry.  The band started when Gary was eighteen. They auditioned for a job playing at Disneyland without letting anyone know who the front man’s father was. They were hired and drew big crowds. Orchestra leader Les Brown told record producer Snuff Garrett about them- and Gary And The Playboys became Gary Lewis And The Playboys- Garrett thought adding the Lewis name to the group would help sell more records.  They adapted the boy-next door persona and for two years 1965-66 they couldn’t miss on the charts. I don’t know why this happened? In the best two years ever of pop and rock music-  it is probably good to be reminded that it wasn’t all seashells and balloons. Gary Lewis and The Playboys hit the Top 10 with their first seven singles all within a period of a year and a half. They had 2 #2 hits but “This Diamond Ring” was their only #1.

“This Diamond Ring” was first recorded by Sammy Ambrose- they arrived on the charts at the same time- the Ambrose version only bubbled under the Hot 100- peaking at #117. On the Lewis version- Lewis’s vocals were overdubbed by singer Ron Hicklan. Who were the real back up band? While Gary Lewis says it was the Playboys- it was the Wrecking Crew of LA musicians- including drummer Hal Blaine who in this era seemed to be playing on every hit- and a young man named Leon Russell on keyboards. When you look at all the great #1 hits during this era- how did this piece of garbage/ this third rate band become so popular? In their career Gary Lewis and The Playboys put 15 singles on the charts with a dozen making the Top 40. When the late 60’s arrived- Gary Lewis and The Playboys who were certainly not ‘cool’- thankfully fell out of favor and for the most part out of everyone’s memory.  Again their first seven singles made the Top 10- and went gold. How? Was Jerry sending money to DJ’s to get airplay? Note: The #1 hit single before “This Diamond Ring” was “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’- by The Righteous Brothers- the #1 hit after “This Diamond Ring”- “My Girl” by The Temptations. Out of the first eight #1 hits in 1965- seven were stone cold classics- all of which sound as great today as they did in 1965- and then you have “This Diamond Ring” which had to have sound aged a year or two later.

 

8 responses to “BILLBOARD #1 HITS: #128: “THIS DIAMOND RING”- GARY LEWIS AND THE PLAYBOYS- FEBRUARY 20, 1965”

    • Never liked Jerry much-too over the top- and he always seemed mean. Did like him in The King Of Comedy though.

    • I agree, Hans. Jerry struck me as a “diva on steroids.” A human being couldn’t be more full of himself than Jerry Lewis was. Working directly for Jerry had to be sheer torture.

  4. Aww, this song’s not so bad to warrant a ‘D’. It’s has a fun, catchy vibe that fit the early 60s more so than 1965 perhaps, but I’d give it at least a B-minus instead of a D. (Full disclosure: I bought this 45 single)

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