This Diamond Ring

This song was written by Al Kooper, Bob Brass, and Irwin Levine. They originally came together under publisher Hal Webman and his company We Three Music, though they eventually turned to freelancing songs they had written. During this freelance period, they sold "This Diamond Ring" to Aaron Schroeder for $300. They originally wrote it with The Drifters in mind. The Drifters turned the song down, so next Bobby Vee's producer Snuff Garrett picked it up. Bobby Vee didn't want it, but Garrett found a good home for the song in a new band he discovered on a visit to Disneyland: Gary Lewis & the Playboys. He played the demo for Gary, who loved the song. When it was issued as the group's first single, it became a huge hit in America, and the first of seven Top-10 hits for the group.

Some of the top Los Angeles session musicians played on this track. These were some of the same folks who played on records by The Beach Boys and The Monkees, but unlike The Monkees, the Playboys did play on their songs. Regarding the musicians who performed on this and other tracks by the band, Gary Lewis told us, "The Playboys played on every track we ever did, the Wrecking Crew did solos and overdubs. I sang every song myself and had a backup singer that sang only harmonies with me. My producer Snuff Garrett can back up everything I've told you, and so can Leon Russell, who was the arranger of everything I did." Some of the Wrecking Crew musicians Lewis refers to include Russell (piano), Tommy Alsup (guitar) and Hal Blaine (drums).

This song is a classic case of lyrical dissonance: the upbeat melody belies the melancholy lyrics, as the once shimmering diamond ring now represents a love that is lost. Despite the rather obvious meaning, Lewis tells us that people still misinterpret the song. "A lot of people love 'This Diamond Ring,' but they think it's a getting together song," says Lewis. "They say to me, 'Hey, we got married because of 'This Diamond Ring.'' I say, 'Really?' I mean, it's a breakup song."