Gary Lewis & The Playboys-This Diamond Ring

[icabodcranium]

This diamond cockring doesnt shine for me anymore! This damn ring says my cock is a dinosaur! No more score, with the whores. This diamond cockring doesnt shine for me anymore!

[TaserTracks]

Gary didn't do the main vocal n This Diamond Ring. Session singer Ron Hicklin did the basic vocal track. Producer Snuff Garrett then added Lewis’s voice twice, and mixed them together. Session musicians played on most of the Playboys records So they were a band in name only for the most part.

[gabbydeb]

Gary still sounds great!.. after all these years. I was in Elementary School when this was popular, and I just loved it then and still do.

[spacemouse1]

He is a great singer and showman !!

[zack157]

song written by Al Kooper

[SIRONEDRAGON]

Cool !! I got to meet Gary many years ago. A great memory for me.

[Thearl]

Thanks for the post.

[windycitygal1000]

I just checked Gary;s official website and see that he has put together a list of venues he will be in 2010. It sounds like more dates are to come ! ! YAAAAY

[CandidKamerah]

Damn I was looking for this song for years since I was a little boy. I just found a CD with this song on it today after years of searching. I always thought this was from The Beatles. Funny. I wish I was a 60s kid.

[windycitygal1000]

this is part of my generations music, i think that he is soooo cute btw. still is.

[OurMusicPlus]

love it Gary

[biscayne427]

Awesome!

[QueensLadyDay]

very good song! Sorry his brother just passed away. Jerry Lewis acted disgracefully by not acknowledging the brother's life or family because of prior drug use. To Jerry: Life's road is rocky. Get use to it!

[boliboy2299]

in which key is this?

[reg5381]

tou have to give him credit, he is not just some rich guys son cashing in.he keeps playing the smaller venues and likes what he is doing.

[dannyrose55]

it's sad people are not allowed to get old

our society does not want to see there

heros get old

[OurMusicPlus]

love it, he is my son's father in law

[RapIsDeadly]

@OurMusicPlus

Why does it seem like Gary never talks to his father Jerry??? Did they not get along???

I've got quite a few old Gary Lewis records...I'm glad to see he's still playing.

[saunders49]

Love it! My generation...the greatest music of all time...the '60's!

[Yonden85]

sike

[supafly1954]

@saunders49 ya, Grandpa, everybody thinks their generation's music was the greatest music.

[FOSEEBOY]

Gary's NOT playing the DRUMS??.....

[clambeandip]

I like it.

[touretteman]

Just give it up mate and go back to the dya job!

[barilko5551]

Gary did not shuck his duty????? did he??? I have so much respect for Gary - from dec-64 to this day...God bless you Gary!!!!!

[Rusfi16]

i remember him performing this on one of the Jerry Lewis telethons many years before this performance.

Looks pretty much the same but his voice was higher pitched on that show and didn't play the guitar.

[FR4NCKI]

me hace sentir bien este anillo de diamante

[LeaderOfKGB]

i saw this guy at my school in alaska

[nyc1rob]

Written by Al Kooper.

[Joerotty]

Could have used a better backup band and true to times arrangements.

These late live concerts sound so rushed plus he doesn't sound like Gary of old (I know this isn't 1964) he sounds like the 1960's version of his father.("Hey lady!")

He looks like Screatch from Saved By The Bell

[bitterchew]

From what I've read there was a lot of enhancement on the original recording, using studio musicians, and even a studio singer's voice mixed in with Gary's. He does look a little like Screech, or maybe Napoleon Dynamite

[StanBennet]

His voice was flat and they found a singer that sounded "like he should sound" to bring his up.

[RapIsDeadly]

@bitterchew

Come on guys...Screech??? Well, ok maybe a little bit.

"Hey Laaady" hahaha

[MikeDeesNuts]

Jerry welcome Suzan Lewis to the family .3/6/09 Gary Lewis told the TV show that since meeting her several years ago, he has always believed that they shared a father. Suzan's late mother claimed she had an affair with the comedy star, which resulted in her birth in 1952. Jerry Lewis, who recently received an Oscar for his humanitarian work, has never publicly acknowledged Suzan as his daughter and declined comment for an "Inside Edition" report last month on her paternity claims.

[LisaJones8]

Telent really runs in the Lewis's family

[Moose4Choice]

Gary did not see combat in Nam. I like the way people hear some rumor and believe it. Gary was in the Army. Period. Frankly, I am happy he did not have to see combat. As for him not looking like his father now, well, he is a lot thinner than his father, but you can still see the resemblance. This is definitely Gary. It is funny how some people doubt this is Gary, yet 250,000 plus views of "Hang on Sloopy" by ??The McCoys, karaoke, and only I see that it is NOT the McCoys.

[gypsydog24]

I went to his official site and it certainly looks like Gary Lewis from his site pictures.

[aquinasb]

Gary Lewis had boots on the ground in VietNam for a little over 4 months. Combat??? I don't know.....but he was there at a bad time.

. You come off like a nacrisstic asswipe.WOW!!!!you were 1 in a 1/4 million to know it wasn't the McCoys.......go brag to all your co-workers at Wal-Mart.

[Moose4Choice]

And what do you come off as? I didn't say that Gary was not in Nam. I said he did not see combat. Can you read? And go look at that supposed McCoys video and tell me those are the REAL McCoys.

I am proud to say I have never even been inside a Wal-Mart. I won't patronize a big box chain that has 23,000 items made in China and has put thousands of locally owned stores out of business. I will leave that to the wankers who have no clue what is happening to America.

[bmovies60]

Maybe its the bad viewing quality, but Gary looks nothing like his Father here which surprises me because in the mid 60s, at the height of his popularity, Gary was the spitting image of his Father, Jerry.

[GMPNY]

they look nothing alike at all now.

[oranger2525]

shocking!; this clip was from 1999.

he said let's go back to Dec, 1964.

thatt's 35 years. what did you expect them to look like?

[GMPNY]

You misunderstood, I mean Gary and his FATHER. Gary looks fine now LOL Him and his wife both are fine and doing very well.

[LoveMusic720]

I used to have the worst kind of crush on Gary Lewis when I was a little girl. Still have my albums! Good to see him looking so healthy and still performing. Thanks for posting!

[mrslopez39]

He sounds like his dad Jerry!

[senorbellaco]

Looks like the singer from Devo.

[Isabellaispunk]

why do u have to do this

[brez9091]

he saw combat in viet nam. gary is the real deal.

[ProudKansan08]

Really? I just heard from being on here that he was drafted, but wasn't aware he was in Vietnam & saw combat.

[54spiritedwill54]

Thanks for posting. Enjoyed it.

[EarleYetter]

Good Lord, he can't sing worth a damn. Shows how many studio tricks they used to make the records sound so good.

[mikawhofan]

have you ever thought it was the video itself. ( no offense Doctor) and also think about it there was a 30+ yr difference. his voice isn't going to remain the same.

this song is a classic.

[EarleYetter]

The SONG is a classic. The performance is awful.

[tacako1930]

Really great post !! I love 60's ~ 70's .

[lilWorksofART]

Love this era of music. Nice little history on Gary, too.

[fvilledutchman]

I admire Gary. In the world of celebrity kids, he shines as an example of one who kept his head on straight ! It would have been very easy to fall back on daddy's money. He stated his band and did that without using his dad's name to get a break. He did a stint in the Army, when daddy probably could have pulled some strings to keep him out of it. I'm sure he doesn't need the money, but continues to play because he enjoys it...and it shows when he is on stage.

[gonzoman76]

Nice to see and hear that Gary is still working the road!

[coyclown]

Vote for Pedro!

[tacako76]

Aww Great video !  I long for the days past.

[RedgameZZ]

[Gary Lewis & The Playboys] = epic, I was surprised when I found out that Gary was Jerry Lewis' son, [being a relative to the king of comedy] = overly epic

[saunders49]

It's crazy to compare Gary Lewis to the Beatles and the Stones! They shouldn't even be in the same sentence...let alone in the same music league. Nevertheless, Gary had some terrific hits, She's Just My Style and This Diamond Ring were only two of their many. Gary still tours, I saw him last week in NY. He seems to still really enjoy what he's doing.

[Swade345Blog]

why do you care about comparing the playboys to the beatles? they are great and thats what matters.

[ski929]

I will agree on that point. While they had quite a few hits they aren't anywhere in the same league as far as numbers go when it comes to the Stones or the Beatles, argueably the two biggest pop/rock groups of the 60's. My point was while This Diamond Ring is their biggest hit, to say they made a career off of one song isn't exactly correct.

[ApocalypsePlough]

I meant, they aren't in the same category as the Beatles as far as talent and influence and historical importance.

I will admit to being wrong about saying they had only one hit. I Googled, and apparently they have had quite a few. Including one I really like that I forgot - "Count Me In".

[ski929]

You can't be much of a fan of 60's music if you don't know any of their other hits such as Count Me In and Save Your Heart For Me. There are more as well.

[ApocalypsePlough]

Oh, I am, a fan of 60s music.....and I'm probably a bigger fan than a lot of people here, or at least a more knowledgeable, well-informed and honest fan, because, nobody who knows anyhting about 60s music would compare Gary Lewis and the Playboys to the Rolling Stones and The Beatles.

[ProudKansan08]

Apocalypse, GL&TP were a different kind of genre than the Beatles & Rolling Stones. Gary's music was more light and bubblegummish, I guess you would want to say, whereas the other two groups are pure rock. That's my 2 cents worth of opinion.

[amoringis]

ApocalypsePlough,

They are big in the sixties. Almost all their songs are hits. Like the Beatles,Stones,DC Five, Monkees etc. You are probably very young to know who they are .

[ApocalypsePlough]

I was born in the early sixties.

What other hits have they have?? I don't remember any.

I'm not saying there is something necessarily wrong about having a whole career out of one hit. I'm just stating it as a fact. They could be sitting in their Beverly Hills mansions, by the pool, but they don't, they're out there working. I applaud them for that.

[ApocalypsePlough]

I forgot to add...... Gary Lewis & The Playboys are nothing like the Beatles, Stones, DC Five, or even the Monkees. I mean, come on. Comparing them to the Beatles??......what have you been smoking??

[ApocalypsePlough]

These guys had only one hit - This Diamond Ring - and made a whole career out of it, touring, for the last 40+ years. They come up here to Winnipeg a lot, and perform at the casinos.

[buffspringfield]

I can remember the young girl I was seeing I was 15 she was 14 oooo puppy love so great kids dont know what their missing

[generic53]

One hit wonder. JERRY Lewis' son.

[4year]

One hit wonder? Are you kidding me?

In 64 and 65 these guys were duking it out on the charts with the Beatles and Stones. They had many, many hits. We loved them.

[steve1954lancaster]

gary's big moneymaker. Lousy audio on this clip but the song is still great.

[lucyjetson]

God's Daughter - And she can keep the ring!

[Rusfi7]

Wasn't Al Kooper appalled and disappointed by the Gary Lewis version when he first heard it?

It didn't come close to how he intended it to come across supposedly.

Not sure why.Sounded good to me.

[MikeInTheValley]

I think the reason that it sounded so pop successful was because Leon Russell was producing in the studio and soon Oakie bassist from Clapton fame Carl Radle would be in the studio for later hits, along with California session drummer Jim Gordon--way before Layla sessions.

[deckape1956]

I will take johnnys guitar away, if he gets tired, he knows who i am!!

[apple1953]

If anyone has Al Kooper doing this song, I would love to see it.

[lovetheoldiesmusic]

Who cares if this or any other song that was performed by these guys were cover versions? I dont. or who cares if there were no songwriters in the band?? I dont. just because a person is good at singing, doesnt mean they HAVE to be a songwriter. Thats why there are people out there to write songs for these musicians. But anyways,

Whoever posted this video...Thanks

I really like this song and will continue liking it, if its a cover version or an original

[thefamilycat]

Wasn't it 1965? Whatever this was a nice copy of the Lennon/McCartney song Bad to me.

Gary Lewis & the Playboys were an ideal to my mind-nothing but cover versions,songs that copied other songs and not a singer songwriter in sight.

The group was linked pre Beatles high school pop with Merseybeat-its when Leon Russell was launched and its where it all came together

[MikeInTheValley]

Thanks for posting. Enjoyed it. Al Kooper would be amused and delighted. Nice vocal!

[chengloki]

How many of you know that today, 31 July, is Gary's birthday? In Ukrainian, we say "Mno Haiyalita". In English, "Many Years". =Stefan=