RAVER: Everybody Loves Gary Lewis

***CAUTION: Large images and some totally-worth-it load time ahead.***

Full disclosure: I love Gary Lewis. I have a long-standing positive association with him and his music going back to my childhood in Ohio. I lived in a super small town where pretty much nothing happened — ever. The one saving grace from the dull ache of boredom was a week in the summer when our “downtown” (an elaborate intersection) staged a street fair, complete with putt-putt golf, Italian sausage and street sales.

There was also a stage. And on that stage, for probably six or seven subsequent years, Gary Lewis and his “Playboys” were the headliners. I credit him with first sparking my interest in ’60s music, and when he included a Monkees medley in his act the summer after I got obsessed with them, I was hooked for life.

Not to mention that he was the first “famous person” I ever met. He was exceedingly nice, even after I chased him down after he emerged sweaty and exhausted from hours of rocking. If he hadn’t been so sweet… well, REBEAT would not exist, I’d probably be an accountant somewhere and you definitely wouldn’t be reading about how much I adore Gary Lewis.

It wasn’t until after I grew up a bit that I finally learned more about his career and personal history. It’s equal parts success and tragedy, an icon that burned out just as he hit full-blaze. And the worst part: his downfall wasn’t his doing.

The son of comedy legend Jerry Lewis, Gary’s first love was drumming, and when he assembled his band, Gary and the Playboys (the “Lewis” was added later by industry execs to capitalize on his father’s fame), he relinquished the lead singing to Playboy David Walker in favor of keeping the beat. Obviously, that arrangement was later chucked and, in 1965, the band scored its only #1 hit with its first ever release, “This Diamond Ring.” It’s Gary’s unconventional voice that features prominent on that barnstormer, along with subsequent smashes like “Count Me In,” “Save Your Heart for Me,” and my personal favorite, “She’s Just My Style.”

Fans clamored for more information about these new stars, and 16 magazine answered in August 1965 with its in-depth, “wiggy” questionnaire with the entire band. Gary makes it clear he’s no nerd, and, probably the best news fangirls read that month: he dates fans…

…but only if they’re old-fashioned. Like, seriously old-fashioned. “One thing I like is a girl who can take orders instead of giving them,” he says of his ideal “genuine female” in the following brazenly-titled article from Teen Life, May 1966. (The title is actually drawn from Gary’s own words, as you’ll see in the article.) Note also that Gary’s pictured behind his drums. Although he’d transitioned to front man by then, he occasionally popped behind the skins, like during the group’s first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Remember those other guys in the group with Gary, collectively known as the Playboys? By the time the next article ran in the August 1966 issue of Hit Parader, the original members were out, replaced with four new guys. Gary explains the breakup on “personality conflicts” that arose when the group resisted his vision. (For what it’s worth, in an interview from 2007, Lewis admits that he was a “cocky, rich kid.” That brashness is definitely reflected in many articles from the Playboys’ heyday, as you can tell. Hindsight = 20/20.)

Like most bands, touring was also a huge part of Gary Lewis and the Playboys’ career. In April 1966, Tiger Beat featured the band’s appearance in Hawaii, and the bevy of beauties that surrounded them.

Meanwhile, the January 1967 issue of Teen Life noted that back in Los Angeles, the gals went gaga for Gary’s hip, Buddy Holly-esque specs.

Gary’s carefree and euphoric happiness — not to mention his musical winning streak — were about to come crashing down, however. The very same month that the above article ran in Teen Life, Gary Lewis entered the Army as a draftee. It’s said that Jerry Lewis refused to contact any of his friends in high places in order to save Gary from serving. From the beginning, it had been Gary’s mother, Patti, who’d supported the band; Jerry had either been indifferent or downright opposed to his son’s aspirations.

On the upside, during the Playboys’ jaunt in the Philippines, Gary met a lovely girl named Sara Jane “Jinky” Suzara and married her nine months later in March, 1968. Soon after, the couple’s first child, Sara, joined adopted son John and the Lewis family seemed complete. Gary reported for basic training and also found time to share his “secret diaries” with Teen Life in July 1968.

After spending time in South Korea, Gary returned to the States and intended to resume making music. But his career was devastated by his time in the service, and success proved elusive the second time around. After a string of mediocre singles both with and without the Playboys, he decided to call it quits.

He tried his hand at managing a music store and giving drum lessons, but show business eventually beckoned him back. Today, Gary’s still on the road. This summer, he’s appearing alongside Flo & Eddie, Mark Farmer, Chuck Negron, and Mitch Ryder on the Happy Together tour.

In fact, it seems that the road is in Gary’s blood. Back in 1966, when asked what he liked best about the biz, Gary said, “Touring the real small towns — the places that don’t get much live rock and roll. The people are so appreciative. It makes me feel good to play them.”

Well, from one of those “small-towners” who didn’t get much live rock and roll in the 1990s, thank you, Gary Lewis.

(Featured photo from Teen Screen, February 1966.)

Allison Johnelle Boron

Allison Johnelle Boron is a Los Angeles-based music writer and editor whose work has appeared in Paste, Goldmine, Popdose, and more. She is the founder and editor of REBEAT. Her karaoke song is "Runaway" by Del Shannon. Find her on Twitter. All writing and opinions are unaffiliated with any company or organization and are strictly her own.