Gary Lewis didn't want to take the easy route up the charts, and trade on his being the son of comedian Jerry Lewis. Producer Snuff Garrett, though, had other ideas, when he produced Gary Lewis & the Playboys' debut hit, "This Diamond Ring", recorded in November 1964, released two months later. "Ring" would hit the top of the charts, beginning a string of top 10 hits that continued with inventory material when Lewis went into military service.
The following clip takes a performance from, I believe, The Ed Sullivan Show, as part of a 2014 PBS special, Rock Rewind, whose host, Adam West (Family Guy, Batman, etc.) introduces "Ring":
Gary actually played the drums, but the story goes that Garrett insisted on using studio musicians to augument the sound on the record. The ploy worked, but it wouldn't fly today.
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