Gary Lewis was born in 1946. His mother Patti thought that Cary Grant was a terrific actor, and wanted to name her oldest son Cary. The hospital where Gary Lewis was born made a mistake when they recorded his name as "Gary" instead of "Cary". And thus, to this day his name has always been Gary Harold Lee Lewis. Gary's family members, however, still poke fun at what was supposed to be his original name.

For his fourteenth birthday in the summer of 1960 Gary was given a set of drums. Four years later he formed a group in the Los Angeles area with guitarists David Walker and Al Ramsey, lead guitarist David Costell, keyboard player John West, and Gary himself on drums and vocals. They called themselves Gary Lewis and the Playboys and eventually began playing at Disneyland. West Coast record producer Snuff Garrett signed them to a contract with Liberty Records.

Garrett suggested to Gary Lewis that he have his famous father, comedian Jerry Lewis, use his connections to get the group a guest appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The arrangements were made and after their performance on nationwide television in January, 1965, the group became literally an overnight sensation. Their song This Diamond Ring shot up to #1 and the pressing plants ran 24 hours a day but could not keep up with the demand for the record.

In 1965 Gary himself was Cash Box magazine's "Male Vocalist of the Year", winning the honor over other nominees Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. He was the first and only artist during the 1960's to have his first seven releases reach Billboard magazine's Top 10 on the Hot 100 chart. In the Philippines during this time, they were considered "America's Answer to the Beatles" and spanning a two week period sold out the 18,000 capacity Arianeta Coliseum for 24 perfor-mances. Along with his appearances on various popular television shows including "American Bandstand", "The Joey Bishop Show", and "The Tonight Show", Gary accumulated an impressive five appearances within two years on the "Ed Sullivan Show".

This Diamond Ring

Count Me In

Save Your Heart For Me

She's Just My Style

Everybody Loves A Clown

Sure Gonna Miss Her

Green Grass

Following his last appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show", Gary was drafted and less than one month later, on New Years Day in 1967, he officially entered the Army for a two year period where he served in combat. Proving his dedication and his love for music, Gary spent his time on leave in the studio recording two more singles. In the remaining time that Gary was out of the country his record company released "Sealed With A Kiss", a track for the "Everybody Loves A Clown" session, and it became yet another of Gary's Top 20 Hits

Gary Lewis fared better than the offspring of other stars who had taken a run at rock-and-roll. He was a talented singer, songwriter and musician. His party songs sold well in the mid-60's at the height of Beatlemania, but the psychedelic mood that prevailed in the following years made his style of music out of vogue.

In the mid 1970's he scored two Top 10 hits in England with "My Heart's Symphony" and "Count Me In". More recently, an arrangement of Gary's hit, "She's Just My Style", was used in an Oldsmobile television advertisement from 1988-1989. Gary has also proved successful at endorsements such as those he has done for products by Kellogg's and Coca-Cola.

Gary Lewis now lives in Florida and tours with a group known as Gary Lewis and the Playboys. The present lineup of Gary Lewis and the Playboys includes Gary Lewis on guitar, Rich Spina on keyboards, Billy Sullivan on guitar, Paul Sidoti on bass, and Michael Hudak on drums. All but the drummer help with vocals.

Gary still plays the drums and sings and he gives an energetic, inspired performance.It's plain to see that He really enjoys his music.

Gary Lewis and the Playboys now