The In Crowd - Ramsey Lewis Trio

Ramsey Lewis was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Ramsey Lewis Sr. and Pauline Lewis. He began taking piano lessons at the age of four. Lewis would eventually join a jazz group called the clefs. He later formed the Ramsey Lewis Trio with drummer Isaac "Red" Holt and bassist Eldee Young. They eventually joined up with Chess Records. By 1966, Lewis was one of the nation's most successful jazz pianists and the Trio's 1965 hit single "The In Crowd" reached No. 5 on the US pop charts, and the album of the same name reached No. 2. Mod is a subculture that began in London and spread throughout Great Britain and elsewhere, eventually influencing fashions and trends all over the world. Focused on music and fashion Mod has its roots in a small group of stylish London-based young men in the late 1950s who were termed modernists because they listened to modern jazz. However the Mods musical taste spread to also include soul, rhythm and blues, ska, and later their own groups such as The Who, and Small Faces. Mods chosen form of transport were Italian motor scooters either the Lambretta or Vespa. The original mod scene was associated with amphetamine-fuelled all-night dancing at clubs and bank holiday scooter runs to seaside resorts.
Photographs courtesy of Brits in the 50's 60's 70's face book group.

[briandubois-gilbert]

Before it was fashionable to be preppy, hip, cool—there was the “in-crowd”. Great jazz piece.