#1: My Heart’s Symphony by Gary Lewis and the Playboys
City: St. John’s, NL
Radio Station: VOCM
Peak Month: April 1966
Peak Position in St. John’s ~ #1
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #13
Peak Position on UK Singles chart ~ #36
YouTube: “My Heart’s Symphony”
Lyrics: “My Heart’s Symphony”
Gary Lewis & the Playboys were a band formed in 1964 as Gary & the Playboys. The “Playboys” was dreamed up given Gary Lewis thought the tardiness of his bandmates cast them as less than serious musicians, and in a word – playboys. They auditioned for a job at Disneyland without telling Disney employees about Lewis’ celebrity father, Jerry Lewis. They were hired on the spot, audiences at Disneyland quickly accepted them, and the Playboys were soon playing to a full house every night. The orchestra bandleader Les Brown, who had known Jerry Lewis for years, told record producer Snuff Garrett that the younger Lewis was playing at Disneyland. After listening to the band, Garrett thought using Gary’s famous name might sell more records. He convinced the group to add “Lewis” into their name. So they became Gary Lewis & the Playboys.