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| Johnny
Rivers |
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| Born: Nov 7 , 1942 in New York, NY |
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| Johnny Rivers was among the most successful yet underrated solo acts
of the 1960s, reeling off a lengthy series of rock favorites
which together sold over 30 million copies; distinguished throughout
by his reedy vocals and soulful guitar leads, Rivers body of
work is characterized by a rare consistency and versatility
which stretches from his earnest yet rousing covers of R&B classics
to his later, self-penned hits. Born John Ramistella in New
York City on November 7, 1942, Rivers was raised in Baton Rouge,
LA, the region's indigenous swamp-blues sound strongly influencing
his own musical identity. After picking up the guitar at age
eight, as a teen he performed with the local group the Spades,
making his first recordings in 1956; a year later, while in
New York, he met famed disc jockey Alan Freed, who suggested
he change his surname to Rivers. Freed proved instrumental in
landing the singer a contract with the Gone label, which soon
issued his debut solo single "Baby Come Back"; relocating to
Nashville, Rivers focused on songwriting, with Ricky Nelson
recording his "I'll Make Believe" in 1960. |
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| Rivers eventually settled in Los Angeles, where he began headlining
at the newly-opened Whisky-a-Go-Go; as Hollywood's best and
brightest began filling the audience, the venue emerged as one
of the area's hottest nightspots, and earned its star attraction
a rabid following among Tinseltown clubgoers. Signing to the
Imperial label in 1964, he issued Johnny Rivers Live at the
Whisky-a-Go-Go, just missing the top of the pop charts with
a cover of the Chuck Berry classic "Memphis"; another Berry
cover, "Maybelline," followed months later, and just before
Thanksgiving, Rivers returned to the Top Ten with his reading
of "Mountain of Love." Here We a-Go-Go Again! followed, and
over the years Rivers repeatedly returned to the club to record
his albums; most of his early hits were covers, including a
smash 1965 rendition of Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son" as well
as hit performances of the traditional "Midnight Special," Pete
Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," and Buck Owens'
"Under Your Spell Again." |
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| Rivers reached his commercial apex in 1966, beginning the year with
his electrifying theme to the hit television spy thriller Secret
Agent Man and closing it out with his lone number one hit, the
elegiac "Poor Side of Town" (which he co-wrote with Lou Adler).
That same year he discovered the Hi-Fi's, a black vocal group
which he signed to his Soul City label; rechristened the Fifth
Dimension, they went on to score a series of pop hits, including
several authored by another Rivers discovery, the great Jimmy
Webb. In the meantime, the singer returned to the Top Ten in
1967 with a pair of Motown covers, "Baby I Need Your Lovin'"
and "The Tracks of My Tears"; however, after the subsequent
"Summer Rain," Rivers disappeared from the Top 40 for the remainder
of the decade, despite the critical acclaim awarded to LPs like
1968's self-produced Realization. After covers of Van Morrison's
"Into the Mystic" and James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" failed
to catch on, he returned to his roots, cracking the Top Ten
in 1972 with his rendition of the Huey "Piano" Smith perennial
"Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu." |
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| Although a cover of the Carl Perkins chestnut "Blue Suede Shoes" cracked
the Top 40 in the spring of 1973, Rivers' again fell off the
charts for over two years, finally resurfacing in 1975 with
his reading of the Beach Boys' "Help Me Rhonda," complete with
Brian Wilson on backing vocals. "Swayin' to the Music (Slow
Dancin')," from 1977, was Rivers' last Top Ten hit, and his
recording career ground to a halt with the release of the 1983
album Not a Through Street. He nevertheless continued his busy
concert schedule for the remainder of the decade, increasingly
returning to the blues which served as his initial inspiration;
upon reactivating his Soul City imprint, in 1998 Rivers released
Last Train to Memphis, his first new studio album in 15 years.
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