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Posted By: Jim Liddane on: 08/28/2008 19:05:33 EDT
Subject: RE: A note about Gary Lewis' 8/24/68 entry

Message Detail:
Gary Lewis & The Playboys meant nothing in Europe - but I did like a lot of their singles, "Green Grass", "She's Just My Style" and " "Save Your Heart for Me" to name but three.

Re Gary Lewis drumming - he did not drum on the records, but to be fair, in those days, very few bands who did not have private access to a studio, played on their own hits simply because the way the labels worked.

Snuff Garrett was expected by Liberty to produce three tracks in one three-hour session.

It was far faster to write arrangements, and use studio musicians capable of reading arrangements, than to use group members.

On "This Diamond Ring" for example, the drumming was by Hal Blaine - not Gary Lewis. The guitarist was Tommy Allsupp who had played with Buddy Holly & The Crickets, and Leon Russell was on piano.

The lead vocals are by Ron Hicklin, with two vocal mixes by Gary Lewis overdubbed, so that it is difficult to work out what is what. Sounds a bit muddy, but it still works.

None of the Playboys played on the record, and indeed, none sang, apart from the overdubs Gary did on top of Ron Hicklin's vocals.

Ron of course, was a lot of people in the 60's (apart from being Ron!). He was at one stage the Ray Charles Singers, the Monkees, The Union Gap, The Raiders (of Paul Rever fame), the Partridge Family etc.

Of course, this was not new. In the 50's the Crickets vocals were performed on record by one group called The Picks, and a second called The Roses, who actually toured and sang on stage with the Crickets during a 1958 mid-west tour, while lots of bands and vocal groups appeared at the session only to have their photo taken for the album cover - the album already having been recorded by somebody else.

By the way, if you like radio jingles, you will know all about the station IDs done by Pams.

Well Ron featured on those too - yet he never had a hit record himself although he sang on quite literally, hundreds.

Believe it or not, he is still around - one of his more recent vocals jobs was on a Harry Connick album.

As regards "live" albums - a lot of the 50's and early 60's "live albums" such as The 4 Seasons Live and Bobby Vee Live On Tour, were faked up in a studio.

(Cleverly enough, when Snuff Garrett faked up the Bobby Vee "live" album, none of the tracks used had Bobby double-tracked - and he sounded excellent simply because he always had a good voice anyway).

However, Capitol Records specialised in genuine live albums, and if you want to hear what some of the 50's/60's acts really sounded like - the following albums are both genuine - and of superb quality - and done in front of live audiences mainly in Los Angeles.

Beachboys - Live Concert
Lettermen Live On Campus
Four Preps - Campus Confidential
Four Preps On Campus
Four Preps - Campus Encore
Kingston Trio - College Concert

But there were some great groups who sounded just as good live as on record which is I love looking at the YouTube videos of some of the 50's and 60's acts at their reunion concerts, just to realise how good they obviously were then, and in many cases still are.

People like The Tokens, The Cascades, the Velvets, the Belmonts etc - all of whom sound pretty good forty years later, and anybody who saw the 4 Seasons live in rhe 1960's, and even the revamped group in he 70's, will tell you that they often improved on the records.

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