Johnny Rivers | |
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 Rivers performing in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Henry Ramistella |
| Born | (1942-11-07)November 7, 1942 (age 82) New York City, U.S. |
| Origin | Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1956–2023 |
| Labels | |
| Website | johnnyrivers |
Johnny Rivers (bornJohn Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942)[1] is an American retired musician. He achieved commercial success and popularity throughout the 1960s and 1970s as a singer and guitarist, characterized as a versatile and influential artist.[2] Rivers is best known for his 1960s output, having popularized the mid-60s discotheque scene through his liverock and roll recordings at theLos Angeles nightclubWhisky a Go Go, and later shifting to a more orchestral,soul-oriented sound during the latter half of the decade.[2][3] These developments were reflected by his most notable string of hit singles between 1964 and 1968, many of them covers. They include "Memphis", "Mountain of Love", "The Seventh Son", "Secret Agent Man", "Poor Side of Town",[a] "Baby I Need Your Lovin'", and "Summer Rain".[4][5] Rivers had a total of nine top-ten hits and 17 top-forty hits on the US charts from 1964 to 1977.[3]
Born John Henry Ramistella in New York City, Rivers is of Italian descent. His family moved from New York toBaton Rouge, Louisiana. Influenced by the distinctiveLouisiana musical style, Rivers began playing guitar at age eight, taught by his father and uncle. While still in junior high school, he started sitting in with a band calledthe Rockets, led byDick Holler, who later wrote several hit songs, including "Abraham, Martin and John" and thenovelty song "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron".[4][5]
Ramistella formed his own band, the Spades, and made his first record at 14 while he was a student atBaton Rouge High School.[4] Some of their music was recorded on the Suede label as early as 1956.[6]
On a trip to New York City in 1958, Ramistella metAlan Freed, who advised him to change his name to "Johnny Rivers" referencing theMississippi River that flows through Baton Rouge.[4] Freed also helped Rivers get several recording contracts on the Gone label.[5] From March 1958 to March 1959, Johnny Rivers released three records, including "Baby Come Back" (a non-Christmas version ofElvis Presley's "Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)"), none of which sold well.[4]
Rivers returned to Baton Rouge in 1959 and began playing throughout theAmerican South alongside comedianBrother Dave Gardner. One evening inBirmingham, Alabama, Rivers met Audrey Williams,Hank Williams' first wife. She encouraged Rivers to move toNashville, Tennessee, where he found work as a songwriter and demo singer. Rivers also worked alongsideRoger Miller. By this time, Rivers had decided he would never make it as a singer and songwriting became his priority.[4][5]
In 1958, Rivers met fellow LouisiananJames Burton, a guitarist in a band led byRicky Nelson. Burton later recommended one of Rivers's songs, "I'll Make Believe," to Nelson, who recorded it. They met in Los Angeles in 1961, where Rivers subsequently found work as a songwriter andstudio musician. His big break came in 1963 when he filled in for a jazz combo atGazzarri's, a nightclub in Hollywood where his instant popularity drew large crowds.[4][5][7]
In 1964,Elmer Valentine gave Rivers a one-year contract to open at theWhisky a Go Go onSunset Strip inWest Hollywood.[4][7] The Whisky had been in business just three days whenthe Beatles song "I Want to Hold Your Hand" entered theBillboard Hot 100.[5] The subsequentBritish Invasion knocked almost every American artist off the top of the charts but Rivers was so popular that record producerLou Adler decided to issueJohnny Rivers Live at the Whisky a Go Go,[4] which reached No. 12. Rivers recalled that his most requested live song then was "Memphis",[8] which reached No. 2 onCash Box on 4–11 July 1964[9] and also on theHot 100 on 11–18 July 1964. It sold over one million copies and was awarded agold disc.[10] According toElvis Presley's friend and employee, Alan Fortas, Presley played atest pressing of "Memphis" for Rivers that Presley had made but not released. Rivers was impressed and much to Presley's chagrin, Rivers recorded and released it even copying the arrangement.[11] Rivers's version far outsold theChuck Berry original from August 1959, which stalled at No. 87 in the US.[12]
Rivers continued to record mostly live performances throughout 1964 and 1965, includingGo-Go-style records with songs featuringfolk music andblues rock influences including "Maybellene" (another Berry cover), after which came "Mountain of Love", "Midnight Special", "Seventh Son" (written byWillie Dixon) plusPete Seeger's"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", all of which were hits.[4][13]
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In 1963, Rivers began working with writersP. F. Sloan andSteve Barri on a theme song for the American broadcast of a British television seriesDanger Man, starringPatrick McGoohan. At first Rivers balked at the idea but eventually changed his mind. The American version of the show, titledSecret Agent, went on the air in the spring of 1965. The theme song was very popular and created public demand for a longer single version. Rivers's recording of "Secret Agent Man" reached No. 3 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart in 1966.[14] It sold a million copies also winning gold disc status.[10]
In 1966, Rivers began to recordballads that featured background vocalists. The albumChanges included the song "Poor Side of Town" which he wrote and co-produced and became his biggest chart hit and his only No. 1 record. He also started his own record company,Soul City Records, which includedthe 5th Dimension. The group's recordings of "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" and "Wedding Bell Blues" became No. 1 hits for the new label. In addition, Rivers is credited with giving songwriterJimmy Webb a major break when the 5th Dimension recorded his song "Up, Up and Away".[5] Rivers also recorded Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix". It was covered byGlen Campbell, who had a major hit with it.[15]
Rivers continued to record more hitscovering other artists, including "Baby I Need Your Lovin'", originally recorded by theFour Tops, and "The Tracks of My Tears" bythe Miracles, both going Top 10 in 1967. In 1968, Rivers put outRealization, a No. 5 album that included the No. 14 pop chart single "Summer Rain", written by a former member ofthe Mugwumps,James Hendricks. The album included some of thepsychedelic influences of the time, like the song "Hey Joe" with a two-minute introduction and marked a change in Rivers's musical direction with moreintrospective songs including "Look to Your Soul" and "Going Back toBig Sur".[16]
In the 1970s, Rivers continued to record more songs and albums that were successes withmusic critics but did not sell well.L.A. Reggae (1972) reached the LP chart as a result of the No. 6 hit "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu," a cover version of theHuey "Piano" Smith and the Clowns song. The track became Rivers's third million seller, which was acknowledged with the presentation of a gold disc by theRecording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.) on January 29, 1973.[10]
ReviewingL.A. Reggae inChristgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981),Robert Christgau said, "there are modernization moves, of course—twoget-out-the-vote songs (just whatGeorge needs) plus the mysterious reggae conceit plus a heartfelt if belated antiwar song—but basically this is just Johnny nasalizing on some fine old memories. 'Rockin' Pneumonia' and 'Knock on Wood' are especially fine."[17]
Other Hot 100 top 40 hits from that time period were 1973's "Blue Suede Shoes" (originally recorded in 1955 byCarl Perkins)[6] and 1975's "Help Me Rhonda" (originally a No. 1 hit forthe Beach Boys), on whichBrian Wilson sang back-up vocals.
Rivers's last Top 10 entry was his 1977 recording of "Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancing)," written byJack Tempchin and originally released by Funky Kings. Rivers's last Hot 100 entry, also in 1977, was "Curious Mind (Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um)," originally released byMajor Lance and written byCurtis Mayfield. In addition, Rivers recorded thetitle song for the late night concert-influenced TV showThe Midnight Special.[16] His career total is nine Top 10 hits on theHot 100 and 17 in the Top 40 from 1964 to 1977.
Rivers continued releasing material into the 1980s (e.g. 1980'sBorrowed Time LP), garnering an interview withDick Clark onAmerican Bandstand in 1981,[18][19] although his recording career was winding down. Around this time, Rivers turned to Christianity.[20]
In 1998 he reactivated his Soul City Records label and releasedLast Train to Memphis. In early 2000, Rivers recorded withEric Clapton,Tom Petty andPaul McCartney on a tribute album dedicated toBuddy Holly's backup band,the Crickets.[21]
He is one of a small number of performers whose names are listed as thecopyright owner on their recordings. Most records list the recording company as the owner of the recording. Others includeMariah Carey,Paul Simon,Billy Joel,Pink Floyd (from 1975'sWish You Were Here onward),Queen,Genesis (though under the members' individual names and/or the pseudonym Gelring Limited), andNeil Diamond. The practice began with theBee Gees and their $200 million lawsuit againstRSO Records, the largest successful lawsuit against a record company by an artist or group.[22]
On June 12, 2009, Johnny Rivers was inducted into theLouisiana Music Hall of Fame.[4] His name has been suggested many times for induction into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame, but he has never been selected. Rivers, however, was a nominee for 2015 induction into America's Pop Music Hall of Fame.
On April 9, 2017, he performed a song, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, at the funeral for Chuck Berry, atThe Pageant, inSt. Louis, Missouri.
In 2019, Rivers announced his farewell tour.[23] His last live performance was in July 2023 at Commerce Casino near Los Angeles.[24]
