During the recording of the group's first hit, "This Diamond Ring", the
record's producers only allowed
Gary Lewis to sing and play an instrument
(his drums); the rest of the instruments were played by studio
musicians, and although the other band members did do backup vocals,
other singers were hired and their voices added to the mix, and another
singer was added to Lewis' vocal tracks to make it sound fuller.
Consequently, very little of The Playboys is actually heard on the
record, and much of what listeners assume is Lewis' voice actually
belongs to another singer. In fact, when the band appeared on
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) to play the song, Lewis sang with a pre-recorded track; the other band members just pretended to play their instruments.
