#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.

Gary Lewis was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1945 with the given name Gary Harold Lee Levitch. His mother intended to have his first name as Cary, after the actor Cary Grant. But a clerical error gave him the name Gary, and so it was. Lewis’ father, Jerry Lewis, was known as “the King of Comedy.” His father made his debut with Dean Martin on television in 1948 on Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town. From 1949 to 1953, Jerry Lewis was half the act with Dean Martin on The Martin and Lewis Show on the radio. And Martin and Lewis starred in sixteen films between 1949 and 1956. Gary Lewis received a set of drums when he was fifteen years old.

John West was born in 1939 in Uhrichsville, Ohio. He played the organ and cordovox.

The debut single was “This Diamond Ring”. In the studio, Gary Lewis’ vocals were added twice to give more volume and sound fuller. The group appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in January 1965. This gave them needed exposure and the single shot to number-one on February 20, and remained on top of the Billboard Hot 100 afor two weeks. In Canada, the song topped the pop charts in Edmonton, Hamilton, Montreal, North Bay (ON), Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg. It was also a Top Ten hit in Australia and New Zealand.

The followup single, “Count Me In”, stalled at #2 in the USA behind “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” by Herman’s Hermits. It was also a Top Ten hit in Canada and New Zealand. A third release, “Save Your Heart For Me”, topped the pop chart in Canada and the Easy Listening chart in the USA. It was also #2 on the pop chart in the USA and #4 in New Zealand. “Everybody Loves A Clown”was written by Gary Lewis as a gift for his father, Jerry Lewis’ birthday.

“She’s Just My Style” rounded out the year with the band scoring their 5th Top Five hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. The single was a nod to the Beach Boys and got as close to the surf sound as Gary Lewis & the Playboys ever did.

By the end of 1965, the lineup of the band changed. Bass guitarist Carl Radle had joined the band on the second album, A Session with Gary Lewis and the Playboys. This album featured “Count Me In” and “Save Your Heart For Me”. Radle was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1942.

Guitar player Tom Tripplehorn joined the band in 1965. He was born in 1944 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Drummer Jim Keltner was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1942.

In 1966, Gary Lewis & the Playboys continued their streak of Top Ten hits in the USA with “Sure Gonna Miss Her” and “Green Grass”. The latter became their second number-one hit in Canada. While “Sure Gonna Miss Her” topped the pop chart in Montreal.

The third single effort for Gary Lewis & the Playboys in 1966 was “My Heart’s Symphony”.

“My Heart’s Symphony” was written by Gary Hardin. Born in Wellington, Texas, in 1939, Gary Hardin was drafted into the United States Navy when he graduated from high school. He got an honorable discharge in 1959. He joined a house band at the Palomino Club in North Hollywood. He ended up backing country music recording artists like Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Buck Owens and others. He was also made an honorary member of the Crickets after Buddy Holly died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959.

In 1964, Hardin became a member of the Shindogs, the featured band on Shindig!, a variety music show on the ABC TV from 1964 to 1966. The series house band, the Shin-diggers (later renamed the Shindogs), also featured Glen Campbell, Billy Preston, Delaney Bramlett, and Leon Russel, among others. An early episode was taped in Britain with The Beatles as the guests. The series featured other bands including the Who and the Rolling Stones. As a Shindog, Gary Hardin got to back Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Bo Diddley, Lesley Gore, Sonny and Cher, and many pop stars of the day.

In 1970, he was a member of The First National Band that backed former Monkees’ bandmate Michael Nesmith. That year Hardin was invited to join the TCB Band (Taking Care of Business Band) that backed Elvis Presley. He remained with Elvis’ band from 1970 to 1976. This included being in the band when Elvis did his Aloha From Hawaii TV special on January 14, 1973. It was watched by 1.5 billion people across 36 nations. From 1979 to 1980, Glen Hardin was part of The John Denver Band and in the recording studio for three of Denver’s albums. This included John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together. He moved on to join Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band on three of her albums in the early 1980s. Among his highlights that decade, Glen Hardin counts playing piano for Roy Orbison’s TV special on January 3, 1988, A Black and White Night. Hardin toured in Sweden with the Cadillac band in 2007 and 2008. He performed at the Orpheum in Graz, Austria, in January 2020. Hardin is currently 87 years of age, having recently had a birthday in April 2026.

“My Heart’s Symphony” reached #1 in St. John’s (NL), Little Rock (AR), New Smyrna Beach (FL), and Atlanta, #2 in Syracuse (NY), #3 in Buffalo, and Indianapolis (IN), #4 in Honolulu, #5 in Milwaukee (WI), Chattanooga (TN), Greensboro (NC), and Denver, #6 in Cleveland, and Miami, #7 in Lowell (MA), Winnipeg (MB), London (ON), and Lansing (MI), #8 in Manchester (NH), Dayton (OH), Saginaw (MI), Pensacola (FL), and Omaha (NE), #9 in Washington DC, Tuscaloosa (AL), and Roanoke (VA), #10 in Cincinnati (OH), Corpus Christi (TX), and Davenport (IA), and #11 in Seattle and Penticton (BC).

The followup, “(You Don’t Have to) Paint Me a Picture”, reached #7 in South Africa, and #9 in Canada. But it stalled at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band’s tenth single release, “Where Will the Words Come From”, was the first not to crack the Top 20 in the USA. However, it climbed to #8 in Canada. These two singles, plus “My Heart’s Symphony” appeared on Gary Lewis & the Playboys sixth studio album (You Don’t Have To) Paint Me a Picture. 

In January 1967, Gary Lewis was drafted into the United States Army. During his two years of service with the Eighth Army, he spent two months at the Saigon Airport in South Vietnam, and the remainder of the time in South Korea.

Gary Lewis & the Playboys final chart success was with a cover of the Brian Hyland hit from 1962, “Sealed With A Kiss”. It reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968. Their fifteenth and final single to crack the Hot 100 was in 1969 with a cover of the Cascades 1963 chart-topper “Rhythm of the Rain”. Gary Lewis & the Playboys’ cover stalled at #63.

In 1971, Gary Lewis moved to the San Fernando Valley and taught drumming lessons. In 1974, with Bill Cowsill (lead singer of the Cowsills) he attempted to have success with a band called Medicine. It was not a success. He became involved with nostalgia tours with a new lineup that didn’t include any of the members from the peak of the band’s success in 1965-66.

Carle Radle joined a psychedelic rock band called Colours. He joined Delaney, Bonnie & Friends in 1969, and was in the recording studio for “Only You Know And I Know” with Dave Mason. He was later in the recording studio for Dave Mason’s version of the song. Carl Radle was also one of the “friends” on the Delaney and Bonnie hit “Never Ending Song of Love”.

Later that year Radle joined Eric Clapton’s backing band Derek and the Dominoes. Radle was in the recording studio for the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. He was in the recording studio for Clapton’s hits “After Midnight” and “Layla”; And later on Clapton’s number-one hit in 1974 “I Shot The Sheriff”, as well as “Cocaine”, “Lay Down Sally”, and “Wonderful Tonight”.

In addition, Carl Radle was simultaneously in the recording studio and touring for awhile with George Harrison. This included on the 1970 album All Things Must Pass. Radle was on bass guitar for “My Sweet Lord”, “Isn’t It A Pity”, and “What Is Life”. In addition, Carl Radle was in the backing band for the August 1, 1971, recording of the live album: The Concert for Bangladesh, and later on Harrison’s 1975 album Extra Texture. Carl Radle also played in the studio on six of Leon Russell’s albums between 1971 and 1975. Five of these were studio albums and one was live. This included Carl Radle playing bass guitar on Leon Russell’s hit singles “Tight Rope” and “Lady Blue”.

Radle was on a brief tour with Joe Cocker in March-April 1970. The live concerts at Filmore East in New York City on March 27-28. Music from these concerts was made into a live album titled Mad Dogs & Englishmen. Three singles were released titled “Cry Me A River” and “The Letter”. It included live performances of other songs Cocker had released on his first two studio albums: “Feeling Alright” and “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window”. He was with Art Garfunkel for his Angel Clare album and the hit single “All I Know”. Radle was additionally in the studio for albums with J.J. Cale, Freddie King, The Staple Singers, Sérgio Mendes, Rita Coolidge, Donovan, and others. Carl Radle died at the age of 37 from a drug overdose.

Jim Keltner began working at a music shop in Pasadena in 1968. He was in a band MC Squared with ex-members of The Back Porch Majority. They appeared that year on Playboy  magazine television show Playboy After Dark with Hugh Heffner where they played two songs. On September 13, 1969, Keltner was with John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band for a live performance in Toronto. From the concert came the live album Live Peace in Toronto 1969. In 1971, Keltner was in the studio for Yoko Ono’s album Fly, and the John Lennnon/Yoko Ono and Plastic Ono Band album Some Time in New York City. That year he was also in the studio for Carly Simon’s album Anticipation. From the album came the hit single title track “Anticipation” and “Legend In Your Own Time”. In 1973, Keltner was in the studio on George Harrison’s album Living in the Material World. This included for Harrison’s number-one hit “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)”. Later that year he was in the studio for John Lennon’s album Mind Games which included the hit title track single. Keltner was also in the studio for Bob Dylan’s album Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid. The album included the hit single “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”.

In 1974, he was on drums for John Lennon’s Walls and Bridges album. This included the hits “Whatever Gets You Through The Night” and “#9 Dream”. In the mid-70s, Jim Keltner was in the studio for Gary Wright’s hit single “Dream Weaver”, Steely Dan’s “Josie”, and Randy Newman’s “Short People”, “How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved By You)” by James Taylor, “Here You Come Again” for Dolly Parton, and Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can’t Have You”.

In the 80s, Jim Keltner was in the studio for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “Refugee”. Keltner played drums on both albums released by the 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, playing under the pseudonym, Buster Sidebury. He was also on Roy Orbison’s final album, Mystery Girl. This included for the hit singles “You Got It” and “She’s a Mystery to Me”. In 1989, Jim Keltner toured with Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band. He was also in the studio for the Beach Boys recording of their number-one hit song “Kokomo”.

Between 1972 and 2011, Jim Keltner was with Ry Cooder on eleven studio albums. Keltner has also been variously on tour or in the recording studio for Crowded House, Pink Floyd, Sheryl Crow, Brian Wilson, Neil Young, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, the London Metropolitan Orchestra, jazz musician Bill Frizell, baroque pop singer Fiona Apple, Simon & Garfunkel, T-Bone Burnett, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lucinda Williams, The Pretenders, B.B. King, Boz Scaggs, Bruce Cockburn, Cher, Jimmy Cliff, Leonard Cohen, Judy Collins, Rita Coolidge, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (2000), Jann Arden, Sara Bareilles, Don Henley, Frankie Valli, Bill Withers, Diana Krall, Gladys Knight, The Manhattan Transfer, Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell on Turbulent Indigo, Carol Bayer Sager, and Aaron Neville, to name a few. Bob Dylan biographer Harold Sounes has called Jim Keltner “the leading session drummer in America.”

Tom Tripplehorn continued to perform in concert and died in 2019 at the age of 75.

John West retired from the music industry and lives a private life.

As of 2025, Gary Lewis and the Playboys (with Gary Lewis as frontman) were still touring the world on their own and occasionally with other popular acts of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. The group performs on cruise ships, at casinos, festivals, fairs, and corporate events. The musicians backing Gary Lewis were all new.

Gary Lewis & the Playboys appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show on four occasions. Other recording artists that joined them on the show include Tony Bennett, Connie Francis,Woody Herman & His Orchestra, The Chad Mitchell Trio, Sophie Tucker, Petula Clark, Nancy Sinatra, Jerry Vale, The Supremes, and opera baritone Robert Merrill. Gary Lewis & the Playboys also appeared on American Bandstand, Shindig!, The Sally Jessy Raphael Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Hullabaloo, The Mike Douglas Show, The Rosey Grier Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Clay Cole Show, The Lloyd Thaxton Show, Hollywood A-Go-Go, Shivaree, Upbeat, Where the Action Is, Wolfman Jack and other TV shows.

VOCM 590-AM St. John’s (NFLD) | September 1967