Song 394: This week’s playlist track is Without a Word of Warning by Gary Lewis and the Playboys, written by Gary Lewis, Leon Russell and Tommy “Snuff” Garrett, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I decided to post a Gary Lewis number this week as a roundabout tribute to his father Jerry, who died in August of 2017. I knew very little about the father's comedy, but the son's music made a major impression quite early in my songwriting fixation. As I mention in the Song 303 post (about Green Grass), at the point when that 45 teased my ears, along with Monday, Monday and a few other spring 1966 hits, I ceased to even pretend to resist the devil's music. Not long after, I picked up the acoustic guitar my mother gave me and wrote 8 songs in my first week of fretboard obsession. My appreciation for Lewis & crew grew as his discography did, and I added a couple of his singles to my stash, but I didn't have this one, which was evidently the b-side of Save Your Heart for Me. I did get to hear it on a regular basis, though, thanks to its inclusion in a greatest hits LP owned by a family who I spent a lot of time with during my final 2 years of HS. I played pool with all of the 6 siblings in their basement, but it was the eldest daughter (the one my age) who I imagined I heard at night calling me, wanting me and needing me by her side. True to the background music that I treasured, at some point, Without a Word of Warning she tore all my dreams apart.
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