Sure Gonna Miss Her by Gary Lewis & the Playboys

Album: Greatest Hits (1966)

Charted: 9

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Songfacts®:

The sixth of seven consecutive Top 10 hits for Gary Lewis & the Playboys, this one was written by Bobby Russell, who also wrote "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" and "Honey." Russell's songs could be heartwrenching, but Lewis delivered this one in a more lighthearted manner, making it sound like he wasn't too worried about losing the girl.

Lewis told Songfacts that his producer, Snuff Garrett, gave him a lot of leeway when it came to how he sang the songs. "Snuffy was always happy with my interpretation of songs," said Lewis. "He never told me sing something a certain way. He never did. He was totally happy with however I sounded. My voice, to me now, it sounds like an inexperienced voice. And it was. But I hit the notes, I had a real good memory for listening to a demo, and I just put my feeling behind the song. And Snuff was always happy with that."
The Playboys played on all Gary Lewis & the Playboys songs, but the elite West Coast studio musicians were brought it for overdubs and solos. This track features guitar work by the famous session player Tommy Tedesco.
The first recorded version of this song was by The Chellows, which was a studio group that put out cover versions of hit songs at discount prices. Released in 1965 on the Hit Records label, it was issued as the B-side to The Chellows version of "Bye, Bye Baby" by The Four Seasons. Bobby Russell, who wrote the song, sang lead on this version.

Comments: 2

Lou from Hollywood, CaBobby Russell, who wrote Sure Gonna Miss Her, Honey, Little Green Apples, etc....did NOT write He Ain't Heavy. That was co-written by Bob Russell, who was quite a bit older than Bobby and who died in 1970, the very year He Ain't Heavy became a big hit. They were not related.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 27th 1966, Gary Lewis & the Playboys performed "Sure Gonna Miss Her" on the CBS-TV program 'The Ed Sullivan Show'...
On that exact same day it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #87; and on April 3rd it peaked at #9 (for 1 week) and also spent 9 weeks on the Top 100...
R.I.P. bassist Allan Ramsay (1943 - 1985) and Gary Lewis, born Gary Harold Lee Levitch, will celebrate his 69th birthday in five months on July 31st (2014).

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