Album: Greatest Hits (1965)
Charted: 2
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Songfacts®:

  • Composed by the songwriter Glen Hardin, this was the second hit for Gary Lewis & the Playboys, following up their #1 debut "This Diamond Ring." Hardin was a member of The Crickets, who like Gary Lewis & the Playboys, were signed to Liberty Records. Hardin spent much of the '70s playing piano and working up arrangements on songs for Elvis Presley. He later recorded with Emmylou Harris and John Denver.
  • When we spoke with Gary Lewis, he explained that his producer Snuff Garrett was always looking forward, and made sure the group wasn't a one-hit wonder with "This Diamond Ring." Said Lewis: "We always had things in the can. We always did. When we went into a recording session, it wasn't just to record what would be the next hit. We always recorded about four songs and put them in the can and Snuffy would listen to them with Leon Russell. They'd make whatever decisions, because I gave Snuffy total control of everything, because I didn't know what I was doing. I was too young and I didn't know anything about the business yet. So he'd have us record four or five songs at one time and complete them all and just have them in the can. Then he would put out what he wanted to put out." (From the Songfacts Gary Lewis Interview.)
  • This was one of many '60s hits that the Los Angeles studio pros, later known as The Wrecking Crew, played on. The Playboys played on all their records, but the session musicians did overdubs and solos.
  • The week of May 8, 1965, when "Count Me In" reached it's peak position on the Hot 100, Gary Lewis & the Playboys were the only American act in the Top 10. The chart topper was "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" by Herman's Hermits.

Comments: 2

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn this day in 1965 {May 2nd} "Count Me In" peaked at #2 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart, and they were the only American act on that week's Top 10...
    #1. "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" by Herman’s Hermits
    #2. "Count Me In" by Gary Lewis and the Playboys
    #3. "Ticket To Ride" by The Beatles
    #4. "Game of Love" by Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders
    #5. "I'll Never Find Another You" by The Seekers
    #6. "I Know A Place" by Petula Clark
    #7. "Silhouettes" by Herman’s Hermits
    #8. "I'm Telling You Now" by Freddie and the Dreamers (Tower)-9 (1)
    #9. "The Last Time" by The Rolling Stones
    #10. "Cast Your Fate To The Wind" by Sounds Orchestral
    But the Yanks recovered the following week when The Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, the Righteous Brothers, and Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs moved into the Top 10, making it five American, four British, and one Australian act occupying the Top 10 positions...

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn April 24, 1965, the '1965 Shower of Stars' tour made a stop at the Memorial Auditorium in Utica, NY; the concert started at 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon and a ticket cost $2...
    One of the acts* on the bill were Gary Lewis and the Playboys, at the time their "Count Me In" was at #11 on Billboard's Top 100 chart, two weeks later it would peak at #2 {for 2 weeks} and it spent a total of eleven weeks on the Top 100...
    Between 1965 and 1969 the group had fifteen records on the Top 100 chart, seven made the Top 10 with one reaching #1**, "This Diamond Ring", for two weeks in 1965...
    Gary Lewis, born Gary Harold Lee Levitch, will celebrate his 72nd birthday in three months on July 31st {2018}...
    *Other acts on the tour were Gene Pitney, Chad & Jeremy, Bobby Goldsboro, Vic Dana, the Crystals, Brian Hyland, and Bill Black's Combo...
    ** Gary Lewis & the Playboys just missed having two more #1 records when both the above "Count Me In" and "Save Your Heart For Me" peaked at #2.
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