Glen Dee Hardin is an American piano player and arranger. He has performed and recorded with such artists as Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, and Ricky Nelson.
Leon Russell was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career which spanned multiple genres, including rock and roll, country, gospel, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, southern rock, blues rock, folk, surf and Tulsa Sound.
Gary Lewis & the Playboys were an American 1960s era pop and rock group, fronted by musician Gary Lewis, the son of comedian Jerry Lewis. They are best known for their 1965 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "This Diamond Ring", which was the first of a string of hit singles they had in 1965 and 1966. The band had an earnest, boy-next-door image similar to British invasion contemporaries such as Herman's Hermits and Gerry and the Pacemakers. The group folded in 1970, but a version of the band later resumed touring and continues to tour, often playing for veterans' benefits.
"This Diamond Ring" is a 1965 song written by Al Kooper, Bob Brass and Irwin Levine. It was first recorded by Sammy Ambrose on Musicor #1061, then by Gary Lewis & the Playboys on Liberty #55756. Lewis' version charted first, #101 on the January 2, 1965, Billboard "Bubbling Under" chart. Both versions charted on January 9, Lewis still at #101 and Ambrose at #117. Ambrose dropped off the charts at that point, but Lewis made #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the next week and his version continued to climb until it reached #1 on February 20, 1965.
Thomas Lesslie "Snuff" Garrett was an American record producer whose most famous work was during the 1960s and 1970s.
Gary Lewis is an American musician who was the leader of Gary Lewis & the Playboys.
Washington D.C.'s Slickee Boys' fourth and final "proper" album, Fashionably Late was released in early 1988 by the French New Rose label. That summer, they toured Europe ; soon afterwards, founding member Kim Kane departed to focus on his newer band, Date Bait. After a few more years of live shows, the Slickee Boys called it quits.
Cybernetic Dreams of Pi, released in 1983, is an album by The Slickee Boys. It was released on LP by the Minneapolis record label Twin/Tone. Along with songs penned by the band, there are cover versions of songs by Hamilton Streetcar and the Status Quo. To support the album, the band shot music videos for "Life of the Party" and "When I Go to the Beach", the latter video receiving semi-regular airplay on MTV, thanks to a second-place finish on that channel's Basement Tapes show. A CD version with eight additional tracks was released 22 years later.
"Rubber Ball" was an early 1961 hit for Bobby Vee on Liberty Records. It was the record which made Vee an international star. The song was recorded on August 12, 1960, in a four-song, three-hour session at United in Hollywood. It was produced by Thomas "Snuff" Garrett, arranged by Ernie Freeman, and was co-written at the Brill Building in New York by Gene Pitney, using his mother's maiden name (Orlowski), and by Aaron Schroeder. Veteran session drummer Earl Palmer played drums at the session. The record marked Vee's first use of overdubbing his second vocal.
The Midnight String Quartet were an easy listening chamber music quartet, consisting of two violins, a viola, and a cello, made up of students or graduates from the University of Southern California. They played covers and standards over several albums from 1966 to the early seventies, supplemented by a professional rhythm section, often including bass, drums and guitar and sometimes piano and harpsichord.
"Save Your Heart for Me" is a song written by Gary Geld and Peter Udell. The song was originally written for and recorded by singer Brian Hyland in 1963. Although not released as a single in its own right, it was included as the B-side to Hyland's song, "I'm Afraid to Go Home," and appeared on Hyland's 1994 greatest hits album.
"Everybody Loves a Clown" is a song written by Snuff Garrett, Gary Lewis, and Leon Russell and was recorded by Gary Lewis & the Playboys for their 1965 album, Everybody Loves a Clown. The song reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965.
"She’s Just My Style" is a song written by Al Capps, Thomas Lesslie "Snuff" Garrett, Gary Lewis, and Leon Russell and was recorded by Gary Lewis & the Playboys. The song reached #3 on The Billboard Hot 100 in January 1966.
"Count Me In" is a song written by Glen Hardin and performed by Gary Lewis & the Playboys. The song was produced by Snuff Garrett and arranged by Leon Russell, and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, behind "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" by Herman's Hermits. Outside the US, "Count Me In" went to No. 6 in Canada, and No. 49 in Australia in 1965. It was featured on their 1965 album, A Session with Gary Lewis and the Playboys.
"My Heart's Symphony" is a 1966 song written by Glen Hardin and performed by Gary Lewis & the Playboys, and featured on their 1966 album, (You Don't Have To) Paint Me a Picture. The song was produced by Snuff Garrett and Leon Russell and arranged by Russell and Hardin.
"(You Don't Have To) Paint Me a Picture" is a song written by Roger Tillison, Leon Russell, and Snuff Garrett and performed by Gary Lewis & the Playboys. It reached #9 in Canada, #15 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #58 in Australia in 1966. It was featured on their 1966 album, (You Don't Have To) Paint Me a Picture.
The 1st of Sonny Curtis is a country pop album by the Crickets guitarist and songwriter Sonny Curtis recorded for Viva Records. It is Curtis's first album for Viva and second solo record, after an LP of Flamenco versions of Beatles songs he released in 1964. In addition to new original material, the album contains new versions of Sonny Curtis songs "A Fool Never Learns", "Walk Right Back", and "I Fought The Law ". The album was originally released as a stereo LP record in late February 1968, the album has never been re-released on CD. There was no mono release.
This Diamond Ring is the debut studio album by American band Gary Lewis & the Playboys, and was released in 1965 on Liberty Records, LRP-3408. It is the first of three charting albums released by the band in 1965.
Everybody Loves a Clown is the third studio album by American band Gary Lewis & the Playboys, and was released in 1965 on Liberty Records, LRP-3428. It is the third of three charting albums released by the band in 1965, and it was the band's third highest charting original album reaching number 44 on the Billboard 200. The single "Everybody Loves a Clown" was the band's fourth single in a row to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 4 in November 1965.
"Lies" is a song written by Beau Charles and Buddy Randell, performed by The Knickerbockers; the single was produced by Jerry Fuller. It reached #20 on the U.S. pop chart in 1965. It was featured on their 1966 album Lies and is famous for often being mistaken for a Beatles track due to its similarities to their style and harmonies.
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