#21
Born to Run
~ Bruce Springsteen ~
Gary Lewis had put together a band secretly funded by his mother because she believed the great Jerry Lewis would not support his son’s work. Gary was playing at Disneyland when bandleader Les Brown caught their act and asked producer Snuff Garrett to take them under his wing. Garrett actually lived just down the block but had no idea that Jerry’s boy had another life.
Garrett tried to make Gary a better drummer, having Buddy Rich, no less, tutor him, but Gary’s gifts were limited. So was his voice. Snuff had to over-dub him to be heard. Despite all this, Gary’s band managed to find a number of hits in the 1964-66 period. This was one of their better ones, penned by Garrett, Lewis and the legendary Leon Russell.