what Frank is listening to #22 – GARY LEWIS & THE PLAYBOYS – More Golden Greats – (Liberty) – 1968
OK, I originally listened to Gary Lewis only because I love his dad, Jerry Lewis. Now, after listening to some of his hits I can't understand why he was so generally dismissed by music critcs. There are probably a number of reasons but I suspect one may be because he was the offspring of someone famous, and didn't have to do the "hard yards"…. why this logic doesn't extend to the son of a diplomat singing left wing slogans, or a London school of economics dropout who cant get no satisfaction, probably reveals more about the critics than the artists.
The children of Hollywood offspring may have had it "easier" but they also had all the infrastructure of the West Coast music industry at their disposal anyway … and that, in part, is what makes Gary Lewis, Nancy Sinatra, Dino Martin (son of Dean), Desi (son of Lucille Ball) from Dino Desi and Billy, Ricky Nelson (son of Ossie and Harriet Nelson), and the legendary Kim Fowley (son of character actor Douglas Fowley) sound so good.
Most of Gary's albums that I have heard follow the same pattern: one half originals (some written by him) and one half covers of recent(ish) hits. Regardless, whether original or cover, Lewis seemed to have hit after hit and I suspect that is beause the records are well recorded, tightly played, pop rock. Also, importantly there is a consistent musical personality throughout all.
Look at this album: This is a compilation of hits, "More Golden Greats" – the first "Golden Greats" came out in 1966 (that one had all his really big hits – he had one #1 and another 9 top 10s in a 2 year period !)
The songs are written by:
Glen D Hardin (later Elvis pianist and a legendary session man)
Leon Russell (all round legend)
Ron Dante (later of the Archies)
Sonny Bono ( fresh from working with Phil Spector)
Jack Nitzsche ( rock maverick who possibly makes Spector look normal)
Don Nix ( southern white bluesman)
produced variously by legends:
Snuff Garrett
Leon Russell
(and Lewis himself.)
The tracks:
- My Heart's Symphony: #13 (1966) – a big MOR medium paced ballad in the "Jay and the Americans" style
- Where Will the Words Come From: #21 (1967) – pop rock
- You Don't Have to Paint Me a Picture: #15 (1966) – pop rock (with lotsa horns)
- Sealed With a Kiss: #19 (1968) a hit for both Bobby Vinton and Bryan Hyland – this song is always good ….(maybe not always …. not the Jason Donovan version produced by Stock Aitken Waterman)
- Ice Melts in the Sun: (1966) – pop rock
- Needles and Pins: (1966 ) -The Searchers hit written by Sonny Bono and Jack Nitzsche – another great song regardless of who does it.
- You're Sixteen: (1966) The Johnny Burnette hit – the rockabilly ballad classic- without any of the rough edges or regional accents.
- Down on the Sloop John B: (1966) The Beach Boys hit – a reasonable facsimile of the hit.
- Girls in Love: #39 (1967) – pop rock
- The Loser (With a Broken Heart): #43 (1967) – pop rock
- Jill: #52 (1967) – big ballad with slight trippy overtones (not unexpected – arranged by Jack Nitzsche)
- Lies: – a very early Beatles-y track … though for 1966 about two years too late
Gary had a limited vocal range and was a bit gawky looking – like some sort of uber nerd but what he had was sass and good backing. He does what he does best, allows his voice to be pushed into the background or chorused with backing vocals or a multitude of instruments. The result is a romantic, lush pop rock with lyrics that are very mid-60s California – fun, sun, happy and optimistic.
Trivia: Gary was drafted into the army in1967 for 2 years, went to Vietnam in active combat and came back addicted to percodan (morphine).
Post army: his hit making period was over.
I like 60s pop … I'll keep this.
He still tours:
Sound:
other hits:
(originally posted: 03/05/2009)
