Gary Lewis glad he chose music over following in his famous father's footsteps

When it comes to mid-1960s pop culture, there was no bigger movie comedian than Jerry Lewis. And there was no bigger band than the Beatles.

For Lewis’ oldest son, Gary, it meant there was a fork in the road. A natural performer, he was faced with a choice between following in his father’s footsteps or trying to be like the boys in the band from Liverpool whose music had become an inspiration.

Gary’s dad was at the top of his game in the early-to-mid-1960s, having churned out a string of hit films that included “The Nutty Professor,” “The Patsy,” “The Disorderly Orderly” and “Boeing Boeing.” But the Beatles had a few hits of their own and a fresh rock ‘n’ roll sound that the 18-year-old Lewis had taken an immediate liking to.

For Gary, an accomplished drummer at an early age, the choice turned out to be an easy one.

“I realized at a young age that if I tried to do what my dad did, I would never have my own identity and people would also sit back and say ‘well, let’s see if you’re as good as he is,’ ” said Lewis during a video chat from his home in California. “I decided I liked music a lot better than comedy. I didn’t have thoughts of getting a band together, but then the Beatles came out and I said, ‘That’s it. That’s for me. That’s what I want to do.’ ”

Soon, he and his musician friends formed the band Gary Lewis & the Playboys. Some 57 years after it all started, Gary Lewis and his band will be performing Wednesday at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. with Lou Christie as the opener.

Comedy, as it turns out, wasn’t the only thing in Lewis’ DNA. His mother was singer Patti Palmer, who performed with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and, according to Lewis, kept singing until she was eight months pregnant with him in 1946.

“I was hearing all that even before I was born,” said Lewis. “That’s where I got my love of music and when I was real young, my mom would always say, ‘Gary, come on over to the piano. Let’s sit down and sing a little bit.’ She was a great singer, and I would sing along with her growing up.”

Lewis started playing the drums at age 5 with the legendary percussionist Buddy Rich, his dad’s friend, giving Gary lessons during his frequent visits to the house over a seven-year period.

Once he formed his band, Lewis was a rare lead singer-drummer. It was Gary’s mother who financed the purchases of equipment as they believed Jerry Lewis would not support the band financially. When they first began booking gigs at places like Disneyland, Gary even kept it a secret that he was the famous comedian’s son, preferring instead to make it on his own.

Eventually, however, producer Snuff Garrett, who lived down the street from the Lewis family, became aware of the band. Figuring he could capitalize on the Lewis name, he got them a recording contract.

Few could have imagined just how successful this new American act would be. In 1965, at the height of the “British Invasion,” when the U.S. pop charts were dominated by long-haired English groups like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Dave Clark Five and Herman’s Hermits, a group of clean-cut American kids overtook them.

When Gary Lewis & the Playboys released the song “This Diamond Ring,” it shot to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1965, overtaking the Beatles’ chart-topping “Eight Days a Week.”

It was a stunning development if for no other reason than the fact Lewis and the band members had much shorter hair than their British counterparts, though not necessarily by choice.

“I was still living at home when I started recording, and my dad said, ‘OK, you like rock ‘n’ roll. That’s all right, but don’t grow your hair like those damn Beatles.’ I was still living at home, so I had to keep it short.”

Meanwhile the Top 10 hits kept on coming for Gary Lewis in 1965, including “Count Me In,” “She’s Just My Style,” “Everybody Loves a Clown,” “Save Your Heart For Me,” “Sure Gonna Miss Her” and “Green Grass,” several of which Lewis had co-written with the legendary Leon Russell.

Still, his dad never came around to liking what he was doing.

“He didn’t like rock ‘n’ roll. He always listened to big band 1940s music. That was his thing,” said Lewis.

Gary Lewis & the Playboys churned out more hits in 1966 and 1967. The only thing that seemingly could stop the group’s momentum was if Lewis, who was of prime draft age, ended up being sent to Vietnam, where the war was escalating.

That’s exactly what happened. In 1967 he was drafted by the U.S. Army. When the letter arrived, he was devastated but he didn’t try to get out of it.

“Everybody was trying to tell me, ‘Your dad can get you out of this. You can go to Canada or something,’ ” said Lewis. “But that just didn’t sit right with me. I thought to myself, ‘Elvis did it. I’ll do it. I’m drafted, I’m going. That’s all.’ ”

But while Lewis was overseas, the U.S. rock scene was changing. Young people in America were turning to a much harder, edgier sound created by artists like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and The Doors.

Gary Lewis & the Playboys toured for a while after Lewis returned from his Army duties. But the demand for them was no longer there.

“There was no work anymore,” he said. “Snuff Garrett said, ‘There’s no more market for you anymore.’ Wow, (it came) crashing down, you know?”

Lewis became depressed and turned to drugs. He began self-medicating with heavy doses of pills.

“I was trying to medicate because of fear. ‘What now? This is all I know.’ That was exactly the worst thing I could have done. It solved nothing.”

Lewis checked himself into a rehab facility and kicked his drug habit. He ended up buying a music store in California. He sold guitars and drums and gave lessons for 12 years.

Then one day in the early 1980s, he received a phone call from an agent who said there was renewed demand for ’60s artists like him.

“He said, ‘I can book you 60 to 100 dates a year,’ ” said Lewis. “I said, ‘If you can book them, I’ll play them.’ And since 1984 that’s what’s been happening.”

Lewis, who always sang in a relatively high range, said he can still hit the high notes.

“Not only can I still do it, but it’s strong and I’ve never had to drop a key ever. I think singing all the time just makes me stronger.”