‘Everybody Loves a Clown,’ ‘She’s Just My Style,’ and 15 ear candies co-written by Gary Lewis
Gary Lewis, an endearing rail-thin nerd with a flair for singing feel-good, piano-arranged pop, fended off the British Invasion under the guidance of producer Snuff Garrett, arranger Leon Russell, and the West Coast session players enshrined as the Wrecking Crew. The eldest child of slapstick innovator Jerry Lewis was a 19-year-old drummer and rhythm guitarist gigging with the Playboys at Disneyland when debut single “This Diamond Ring” flew all the way to number one in February 1965. Eight further consecutive A-sides earned Lewis Top 15 Billboard bragging rights. The Playboys, whose membership counted future Derek and the Dominos bassist Carl Radle and John Lennon percussionist Jim Keltner, mostly handled Lewis’ live dates and basic tracking sessions.
What’s long been shunted aside is Lewis’ songwriting. Wrongly dismissed as a Hollywood brat who didn’t have to pay his dues, Lewis actually put his nose to the grindstone. He is credited as a co-lyricist on 17 occasions, including two of the band’s all-time earworms — the deceptively upbeat “Everybody Loves a Clown” and “She’s Just My Style” where the narrator is sure he’s found his soulmate in spite of her bewildering obliviousness. And props to tight garage rocker “Malibu Run” and sincere tribute “I Saw Elvis Presley Last Night,” lost…
