Gary Lewis & The Playboys

Original line-up: Gary Lewis (real name: Levitch) / David Walker / Al Ramsey / David Costell / John West

Gary Lewis, son of comedian Jerry Lewis, formed his group in 1964 in Los Angeles +++ Later that same year, the group signed a recording contract with LIBERTY records +++ Apparently using his father's connections, the group appeared on the "Ed Sullivan Show" in January 1965 (over the years the group appeared 5 times on this show) +++ Partly due to their nationwide exposure, their song "This diamond ring" climbed to no. 1 in a matter of days +++ Further hits followed, mostly during 1965 and 1966, including "Count Me In", "Save Your Heart For Me", "Everybody Loves A Clown", "Sure Gonna Miss Her" and "Green Grass" +++ Also in 1965, Gary Lewis was voted "Male Vocalist Of The Year" by the Cash Box magazine (runner-ups: Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra) +++ Still during 1965 David Walker, Al Ramsey and David Costell left the group and were replaced by Carl Radle, Tom Tripplehorn and Jimmy Karstein +++ 1967 Gary Lewis was drafted into the US Army +++ When he returned a year later, music taste had changed and the group failed to regain their former success +++ Still today, however, Gary Lewis & The Playboys have to be considered as one of the most remarkable success stories of the 60's +++ Gary Lewis now lives in Florida, still plays drums and sings and tours regularly with his new Playboys +++