"This Diamond Ring" is a 1965 song written by Al Kooper, Bob Brass and Irwin Levine. The original demo was sung by Jimmy Radcliffe. It was first released as a single by Sammy Ambrose on Musicor #1061, then by Gary Lewis & the Playboys[1] on Liberty #55756. Lewis' version charted first, number 101 on the January 2, 1965, Billboard "Bubbling Under" chart. Both versions charted on January 9, Lewis still at number 101 and Ambrose at number 117. Ambrose dropped off the chart at that point, but Lewis made number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the next week (January 16) and his version continued to climb until it reached number 1 on February 20, 1965.

Gary Lewis & the Playboys version

"This Diamond Ring"
Single by Gary Lewis & the Playboys
from the album This Diamond Ring
B-side
  • "Hard to Find" (original B-side)
  • "Tijuana Wedding" (later pressings)
ReleasedJanuary 1965 (1965-01)
RecordedNovember 19, 1964 (1964-11-19)
StudioUnited Western Recorders, Hollywood, California
GenrePop rock
Length2:01
LabelLiberty
Songwriter(s)Al Kooper, Bob Brass, Irwin Levine
Producer(s)Snuff Garrett
Gary Lewis & the Playboys singles chronology
"This Diamond Ring"
(1965) 		"Count Me In"
(1965)

According to David Brackett, Lewis' vocals were heavily supported by Ron Hicklin's overdubs.[2] The session drummer was Hal Blaine,[3] Joe Osborn played bass[4] and Leon Russell played keyboards and arranged the music. The song was produced by Snuff Garrett.[citation needed] Lewis has denied claims that the Playboys did not play on the record, and says that not only was the band largely self-contained, but the Wrecking Crew session musicians only came to do overdubs or solos.[5]

Although it has been his biggest commercial success as a songwriter, Al Kooper has reportedly stated many times that he was unhappy with the record.[6] He originally hoped the song would be recorded by a group like The Drifters and based on the original demo of the song as recorded by Jimmy Radcliffe. Kooper would later re-visit the song, recording a funky version for his 1976 album Act Like Nothing's Wrong.

Charts

Chart (1965) Peak
position
Australia
6
Canada RPM Top Singles
3
US Billboard Hot 100[7] 1

Other versions

References

  1. ^ Gary Lewis & The Playboys, The Complete Liberty Singles, Collectors' Choice CCM-2013 (2009)
  2. ^ Brackett, David (1995/2000). Interpreting Popular Music, p.2-3. ISBN 0-520-22541-4.
  3. ^ Brackett (1995/2000), p.5.
  4. ^ Drabløs, Per Elias (3 March 2016). The Quest for the Melodic Electric Bass: From Jamerson to Spenner. Routledge. ISBN 9781317018377 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "This Diamond Ring". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  6. ^ Kooper, Al (2008). Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor (2nd ed.). Backbeat Books. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-8230-8257-5.
  7. ^ "Gary Lewis and the Playboys Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  8. ^ "Various – 14". Discogs.com. 1965. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
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