Jerry Lewis Telethon and Gary Lewis and the Playboys

So it's the Labor Day Weekend and I'm off on Monday. Hurrah. I'll still do the blog though. I was going to take it off but actually, it being Labor Day, it reminded me of the
Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. We used to watch it growing up cause it was kind of interesting. They had good guests and for some reason it was interesting to watch. Nowadays it's interesting for totally different reasons. Including how big is Jerry's head going to be. I think it is okay now, but one year it was gigantic. Literally. As big as a watermelon.

Love him or hate him, Jerry Lewis is still an American icon. He's been in show business since the 40s. And at one point, along with Dean Martin, was the biggest act in Hollywood. Not very many people can say that. I know the telethon is sometimes hard to watch, but it is occasionally good to switch on from time to time. Over the years, they have raised more than a billion dollars.

My father used to work at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas and the telethon used to be on at the hotel. He used to get tickets and I went one time. The funny thing is that I don't think I saw Jerry Lewis. I would remember seeing him. I do remember seeing Ed Mcmahon. And I remember seeing Rick Springfield sing Jessie's Girl. I remember him practicing because he couldn't get the guitar riff right. My mother was feeling sorry for him, but I thought it was funny. One thing I remember without a doubt is watching the Solid Gold Dancers perform. That I remember. They were awesome. Solid Gold was a TV program that was around in the 80s that featured the dancers and a countdown of the weeks top ten, along with guest performers.

I keep getting sidetracked because the main reason for this blog is to discuss Gary Lewis and the Playboys. He was on a few years ago. One of his biggest hits is This Diamond Ring. That is one of the songs I would like to do a podcast on. I did email the bands management, Rick Saphire, but did not get a response. It's an interesting story in it's own right, but a big reason is that Gary is one of Jerry's kids. A real one. With Jerrys DNA. It would be awesome to interview both at the same time. Jerry actually helped Gary at the beginning of his career. Including getting the band on the Ed Sullivan Show. Several talented people helped record the single, including Leon Russell, who also co-wrote it. And Hal Blaine on drums. Hal has been in more Rock and Roll hits than just about any other drummer.

I just think it would be interesting to hear the story of how the band got hot from the perspective of both Jerry and Gary. It's also interesting that in 1965 Gary Lewis was Cash Box Magazine's "Male Vocalist of the Year," and two years later, he was drafted into the U.S Army. Imagine that happening now. Young celebrities, men and women, getting drafted into service. That would be awesome actually. One can only dream.