NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 1965: Gary Lewis and the Playboys perform on the NBC TV music show 'Hullabaloo' ... [+]
Of all the Gary Lewis and the Playboys’ sixties hits, their first, This Diamond Ring, was the biggest. It took just six weeks to climb to No.1 on the U.S. Billboard 100 chart, on February 20, 1965, knocking The Beatles’ Eight Days A Week from the top spot. The tune has since stood the test of time: It is still a staple on classic rock radio stations. We chatted by phone recently with frontman Gary Lewis (www.garylewisandtheplayboys.com) about all things diamond rings. Following are edited excerpts from a longer conversation.
Jim Clash: When you recorded This Diamond Ring, did you have any idea it would become the hit that it was?
Gary Lewis: Oh, absolutely not. We were 19 years old, in college, our first or second year. The band played sorority and fraternity parties for 40 bucks a night. We auditioned at Disneyland, and got a job there in the summer of '64. Our producer, Snuffy Garrett, was out at the park with his family. He was head of A&R at Liberty Records. After our show, he came backstage to talk about recording. He had this song, This Diamond Ring, and asked us to come over to Liberty to tell him what we thought of it. I said, "Sure," but I would have said I liked it no matter what it was [laughs]. It just happened to be Diamond Ring, and we cut it. It stunned the hell out of us because it went to No. 1 in like, six weeks, and actually kicked Eight Days A Week, by The Beatles, out of No. 1. That was really something, you know.
Clash: How did you deal with the sudden fame?
Lewis: It was the beginning of a tremendous learning experience. We were so flipped out and thrilled. But Snuffy said, "Boys, calm down. Do you realize how many one-hit artists there are in the world?" He said that we had to concentrate on a number-two, a number-three - then we might be on our way. That was the most valuable lesson I could have learned. We ended up with seven top-10s in a row. We and The Beach Boys were the only American groups able to stay on the charts during the whole British Invasion.
Clash: Do you remember being in the studio when you recorded This Diamond Ring?
Lewis: We were very inexperienced, and had never been to a recording studio. Snuffy and our arranger, Leon Russell, thought our band was good enough to lay down the basic tracks. We didn't have the Wrecking Crew or any of those people playing for us. We did it. If they didn't think we were good enough, that we would have taken too much time and money, they would have used studio musicians. So I was really happy about that. To lay down the basic tracks only took about seven takes. With the singing part, I think it took four or five takes. I don't want to blow my own horn, but I think I was born to do this. As I said earlier, my mom was a singer with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra.
Sixties rock star Gary Lewis, of Gary Lewis and the Playboys, in the 21st Century.
Clash: I heard some overdubs in the song. Was that you and the Playboys?
Lewis: Most of the solos and the overdubs were done by Leon Russell. He played piano, guitar, keyboard instruments like harpsichord, organ, etc. He could do it all. He even played trumpet on a couple of our other songs. We didn't have to bring in too many of the Wrecking Crew. Leon did it.
Clash: The vocals on This Diamond Ring sound like you are harmonizing with yourself?
Lewis: You are absolutely right. This Diamond Ring was the only song of those we recorded that I harmonized with myself. After we were done, though, Snuffy said, "We'll go with it, but I don't like the same tone both lead-singing and harmonizing, so we have to change it up." We hired this guy from a singing group, Ron Hicklin, and he sang harmony from about two feet behind me in the studio. And it really did sound better.
Clash: What does the song mean to you? I see it as a sad tune, and am fascinated by how many people play it at joyous occasions like weddings, engagement parties, etc.
Lewis: It's about this guy who broke up with his girl, and the diamond doesn't mean anything to him anymore. But people celebrate the song because it has "diamond ring" in the title. All of these jewelry chains got hold of me, asking if I'd cut some lines for their store with Diamond Ring playing in the background. I'd say, "Why not, sure.” It was a good source of extra income.
Clash: Do you remember when you first heard Diamond Ring on the radio?
Lewis: Oh my God. I was driving around Beverly Hills in my car. It was one of the biggest thrills of my life. I thought I was going to faint. This was the first thing I had ever done on my own. All of a sudden, I’m getting all of this acceptance. I was just flipping out.
Clash: Do you ever get tired of playing Diamond Ring live?
Lewis: I never get sick of playing any of my hits, because they put me where I am today. How can you tire of that [laughs]?
