| This Diamond Ring | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 1965 | |||
| Recorded | 1964–1965 | |||
| Genre |
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| Length | 26:41 | |||
| Label | Liberty Records | |||
| Producer | Snuff Garrett | |||
| Gary Lewis & the Playboys chronology | ||||
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| Singles from This Diamond Ring | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
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. [2]
The group was formed in 1964 and was originally known as Gary & the Playboys. Producer Snuff Garrett saw them performing at Disneyland and he brought them into the studio to record the single "This Diamond Ring". He also had the band change their name to Gary Lewis & the Playboys to capitalize on Gary's famous father, comedian/actor Jerry Lewis. The success of the single led them to record a whole album of mostly covers of popular songs by the Kinks, Bobby Rydell, the Coasters, and others. The album was the second highest charting original album of their career. [2] The single "This Diamond Ring" launched a string of seven Top 10 hits for the group. [3]
The album is somewhat notable in that it marked the beginning of long successful careers for musicians Al Kooper and Leon Russell.
Over the years, there has been much discussion regarding the roles of various musicians used on the album sessions. Garrett used The Wrecking Crew as session players on the whole album. Lewis has stated in interviews:
"So we went into the studio, we cut the basic track. The only other person from the Wrecking Crew that we had in there while we were doing the basic track was Hal Blaine, and he played the Tympanis on "Diamond Ring"". [4]
Producer Garrett remembers it differently, stating:
"I didn't use The Playboys at all except as overtones." [5]
There is also a question regarding whether Carol Kaye contributed bass on some tracks.
These were the Playboys at the time of the recording, although many session musicians were also used.
| Chart (1965) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard 200 [2] | 26 |
| Year | Single | Billboard Hot 100 |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | "This Diamond Ring" | 1 [3] |
Hal Blaine was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. His drumming is featured on 150 US top 10 hits, 40 of which went to number one.
Al Kooper is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s he was a prolific studio musician, playing organ on the Bob Dylan song "Like a Rolling Stone", French horn and piano on the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and lead guitar on Rita Coolidge's "The Lady's Not for Sale", among many other appearances. Kooper also produced a number of one-off collaboration albums, such as the Super Session album that saw him work separately with guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. In the 1970s Kooper was a successful manager and producer, recording Lynyrd Skynyrd's first three albums. He has also had a successful solo career, writing music for film soundtracks, and has lectured in musical composition.
The Wrecking Crew was a loose collective of Los Angeles–based session musicians whose services were employed for a great number of studio recordings in the 1960s and 1970s, including hundreds of top 40 hits. The musicians were not publicly recognized in their era, but were viewed with reverence by industry insiders. They are now considered one of the most successful and prolific session recording units in music history.
Carol Kaye is an American musician. She is one of the most prolific recorded bass guitarists in rock and pop music, playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning over 50 years.
Gary Lewis & the Playboys were a 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. The original demo was sung by Jimmy Radcliffe. It was first released as a single by Sammy Ambrose on Musicor #1061, then by Gary Lewis & the Playboys on Liberty #55756. Lewis' version charted first, number 101 on the January 2, 1965, Billboard "Bubbling Under" chart. Both versions charted on January 9, Lewis still at number 101 and Ambrose at number 117. Ambrose dropped off the chart at that point, but Lewis made number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the next week and his version continued to climb until it reached number 1 on February 20, 1965.
Instant Replay is the seventh studio album by the Monkees. Issued 11 months after the cancellation of the group's NBC television series, it is also the first album released after Peter Tork left the group and the only album of the original nine studio albums that does not include any songs featured in the TV show.
Thomas Lesslie Garrett known as Snuff Garrett or Tommy Garrett, was an American record producer whose most famous work was during the 1960s and 1970s.
Joseph Osborn was an American bass guitar player known for his work as a session musician in Los Angeles with the Wrecking Crew and in Nashville with the A-Team of studio musicians during the 1960s through the 1980s.
Gary Lewis is an American musician who was the leader of Gary Lewis & the Playboys.
The Ron Hicklin Singers were a group of Los Angeles studio singers contracted and organized by Ron Hicklin. They are mostly known as the real singers behind the background vocals on The Partridge Family recordings.
The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper is a double album recorded at the Fillmore West venue; the album is a successor to the studio album Super Session, which included Stephen Stills in addition to Bloomfield and Kooper, and had achieved commercial and critical success earlier in 1968.
The Wrecking Crew is a 2008 American documentary film directed by Denny Tedesco, son of guitarist Tommy Tedesco. It covers the story of the Los Angeles–based group of session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, famed for having played on numerous hit recordings throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. The film premiered at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival.
Tennessee Moon is the twenty-third studio album by Neil Diamond. Released in February 1996, it is the product of a collaboration with various country music songwriters and performers. A companion television special entitled Under a Tennessee Moon was aired on ABC. The album was certified gold by the RIAA.
Act Like Nothing's Wrong is the seventh solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Al Kooper, recorded and released in 1976.
"Sure Gonna Miss Her" is a song written by Bobby Russell and was recorded by Gary Lewis & the Playboys. The song reached #9 on The Billboard Hot 100 in 1966.
Essar is a 1984 album by American singer Smokey Robinson. It was produced and arranged by Robinson with Reginald "Sonny" Burke. The album was released on the Motown sub-label Tamla. The album's title is a pun on the initials of Robinson's name.
A Session with Gary Lewis and the Playboys is the second studio album by American band Gary Lewis & the Playboys, and was released in 1965 on Liberty Records, LRP-3419. It is the second of three charting albums released by the band in 1965, and it was the band's highest charting album reaching number 18 on the Billboard 200. Two singles from this album, "Count Me In" and the Brian Hyland cover "Save Your Heart for Me" both reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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.
