Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers
Johnny Riversis an Italian-American rock 'n' roll singer, songwriter, legendary guitarist, and record producer. His repertoire includes pop, folk, blues, and old-time rock 'n' roll. Rivers charted during the 1960s and 1970s but remains best known for a string of hit singles between 1964 and 1968, among them "Memphis", "Mountain of Love", "The Seventh Son", "Secret Agent Man", "Poor Side of Town", "Baby I Need Your Lovin'", and "Summer Rain"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth7 November 1942
CountryUnited States of America
One thing will lead to another and somebody will come up with a riff or a line or something we build from.
I think my favorite album was probably Realization.
I was working at this club in downtown L.A. from four to eight at night, just Eddie Rubin, the drummer, and I.
James was back there on a vacation, ... He was one of my favorite guitar players. I had written this song ('I'll Make Believe') that everyone said sounded like a good song for Ricky Nelson. I gave it to James. He took it back to Los Angeles and then called me and said, 'Hey, that song you gave me, I played it for Ricky and he likes it. He's gonna record it.' I went, 'Wow.' That was a big deal at the time because Elvis was in the Army and Ricky was the top guy.
I think after 1970 or so, after I sold Soul City, I took off for awhile and didn't do too many gigs.
After that initial success, every chance we got we'd hire that remote recording truck and just record stuff at the Whisky because it was so inexpensive.
I learned some chords and I started watching anybody I could, once I really got into it.
I loved playing and I was actually working two jobs.
I've got a Fender Concert amp from the '60s, the one Joe Osborn used. He played his bass through it.
Even Woodstock turned out to be a disaster. Everybody was stuck in the mud and people got sick.
About two months into the Whisky, I borrowed some money and rented a remote recording truck.
The web site and the Internet are a whole new ball game.
It was a trio - Eddie Rubin was playing drums, Joe Osborn on bass. And that's when we got approached on the idea of the Whisky A Go-Go.
Performing live, that's the ultimate thing. That's where it starts and that's where it ends. It's all about playing music.