Gary Lewis and The Playboys

Circle Square Cultural Center, Florida

And – just because it happens so seldom – it is always a special thrill when show business lightning strikes twice in the same family. The comedy antics of Jerry Lewis skyrocketed him to fame when he was just barely out of his teens. No. 1 son Gary had achieved comparable success in the music f eld… also at a young and carefree age.

The son of a famous father – in any f eld – is often faced with serious problems in f nding and maintaining 

his own identity. But when Gary Lewis and The Playboys auditioned for their f rst job at Disneyland, no one there knew Gary was anybody but a thin drummer. The entertainment director of the park merely liked what he saw and heard, and hired Gary and the boys on the spot – much to their surprise. The boys were enthusiastically accepted by the audiences from the very f rst night, and as the word spread it was 

not long before they were playing to a packed house every night.

It was the summer of 1964 when Gary Lewis and The Playboys were discovered by producer Snuff Garret. Before long, with the producer/arranger team of Garrett and Leon Russell behind them, they took their f rst single, “This Diamond Ring” straight to number one. After their second hit titled “Count Me In” went to number two, Gary and the band proved that they would be a continued success. They followed with more Top 10 songs such as 

“Save Your Heart For Me”, “Everybody Loves A Clown”, “She’s Just My Style”, “Sure 

Gonna Miss Her”, and many more.  

In 1965 Gary himself was Cash Box magazine’s “Male Vocalist of the Year”, winning the honor over other nominees Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. He was the first and only artist during the 1960 s to have his first seve releases reach Billboard magazine’s Top 10 on the Hot 100 chart.   

Along with his appearances on various popular television shows 

including “American Bandstand”, “Hullabaloo”, and “The Tonight