Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Johnny Rivers' Shadows on the Moon Offers Fresh New Acoustic Music
There are voices that have followed us through our lives. We've heard them on our car radios as we've raced through the decades of our childhood. They have played like a soundtrack for our lives through the beaches, valleys, deserts and prarie roads we've traveled on our way to our present. Johnny Rivers carries such a voice. So much so, when he sings, we sit up and listen. We take notice because of our common history. When he first emerged in the mid-sixties at his now legendary engagements and live recordings at the Whiskey A-Go-Go, he created a tour de force that helped to break down the wall between pop and folk music. With recordings like Where Have All The Flowers Gone, Midnight Special and Memphis he did what it took The Byrds five people to do; bring folk-rock to the musical stages of L.A. in the mid-sixties.
There are voices that have followed us through our lives. We've heard them on our car radios as we've raced through the decades of our childhood. They have played like a soundtrack for our lives through the beaches, valleys, deserts and prarie roads we've traveled on our way to our present. Johnny Rivers carries such a voice. So much so, when he sings, we sit up and listen. We take notice because of our common history. When he first emerged in the mid-sixties at his now legendary engagements and live recordings at the Whiskey A-Go-Go, he created a tour de force that helped to break down the wall between pop and folk music. With recordings like Where Have All The Flowers Gone, Midnight Special and Memphis he did what it took The Byrds five people to do; bring folk-rock to the musical stages of L.A. in the mid-sixties. His music played against the backdrop of merging of folk, rock and blues during the era of The Summer of Love when you were as likely to see Lightening Hopkins and Dave Van Ronk in Hollywood as you were to see The Doors or Otis Redding. Rivers absorbed these diverse forms of roots music into his own hybrid style which has carried his own folk-influenced trademark blues-rock style years beyond his last chart success.
For the last 25 years he's been underrated and largely unnoticed by the music industry he helped to establish back in the early 60s. So Rivers went his own way, recording blues, jamming in Memphis, reviving sometimes lost musical forms like blue-eyed soul, rockabilly, and country blues. He has remained a concert draw touring around the world to capacity audiences.
His new release, Shadows of the Moon went quietly into release in September. The CD brings Rivers to a place of textured folk/acoustic, world music, melodic jazz strains and straight forward lyric driven songs.
This is an album of dimension and vision lacking in much of today's mainstream music. Through every moment of this musical journey and while 'journey' is a much overused term today, to be sure, this album is more a journey than a concept, it is Rivers' voice that leads the way. With a still youthful and assured quality in his voice, he provides the musical avenue we walk with a set of well-crafted songs uncommon to mainstream records today. There is a clear and soulful mandolin, played by Rivers himself, as well as, bass fiddles, steel guitars, dobro and drums which lay levels and texture of pure acoustic music.
As well-crafted as the music is, Shadows on the Moon is matched by strong material from songwriters like Michael Georgiades (former partner of Bernie Leadon of The Eagles), Jack Tempchin (Peaceful, Easy Feeling, Slow Dancin Swaying to the Music, and Jimmy Webb (well, you know Jimmy Webb-I hope). The first six songs of the album are penned by Georgeiades, a long underrated songwriter. These songs add a concept of cloaked messages about the passage of a generation and the pull toward spirituality. Most significant of these songs are Hard Heart, Somebody to Love and the title track Shadows on the Moon. Hard Heart powerfully addresses the excesses and insensitivity of the political, ethical and moral shortcomings of the Bush years in a clever way cloaked in a love song. Somebody to Love is a prayer for the need love in the world.
The last six songs focus on the personal journey through love, renewal and redemption. Songs like Walk in the Rain and Beautiful World, speak of daily personal joys, that become more precious as we grow older while the time passes. The beauty of songs like Slips Away and Where Words End by Jimmy Webb bring home the answer to the problems posed on the first six songs sometimes dealing with the disillusionment of the past. These songs point to the need to come home to our own lives, aside from a collective ideal, to find virtue and fulfillment there. A bonus track The American Dream, adds humor to the album and gives the listener a lighter look at the recent economic crisis.
While this album brings together a diversity of writing styles, instrumentation which clearly produces a feel of modern folk-rock, it never loses its pop sensibility of appealing arrangements and accessible production which can play as just a feel good listen or allow a deeper listen into the insights of the writing and the soulful vocal Johnny Rivers brings to each song in his own unique way.
Finally, the driving force and cohesive thread which runs through the album's concept, material and music is Rivers' distinct, familiar voice calling our memories back to the magic times we lived through but, never allowing us the comfort of nostalgia instead, through some fine acoustic music, skillful songwriting, and that one-of-a kind voice, challenges us to find our life and passion in today's turbulent world.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Johnnie Johnson
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Johnnie Johnson with special guest Johnny Rivers
and Butch Wax & the Hollywoods
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
At Petersen Automotive Museum
Johnny Rivers poses with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top at the 4th Annual Cars & Stars Gala to celebrate 50 years of Rock & Roll June 14, 2001 at Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA. The new exhibit 'The Cars and Guitars of Rock ''N'' Roll' did showcase more than 30 cars, 75 classic and custom guitars, historical jukeboxes and assorted memorabilia.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Johnny Rivers
When Bob Dylan names your version of one of his songs as his favorite of the more than 25,000 covers done over the past 40-plus years, that's pretty high praise.
However, Dylan offered that assessment of Johnny Rivers' recording of "Positively 4th Street," on Secret Agent Man: The Ultimate Johnny Rivers Anthology 1964-2004, which displays his prowess interpreting such disparate sources as Chuck Berry, Motown, The Beach Boys, Pete Seeger, and Leadbelly.
To date, Rivers has reached the top 40 17 times, with nine singles hitting the Top 10. The list includes hits like "Summer Rain," "Baby I Need Your Lovin'," and the achingly beautiful "Poor Side of Town."
The artist born John Rastemella in New York on July 4, 1942, has had a remarkable career that started years before the public became aware of him in '64. Rivers had been drawn to the guitar before rock and roll became a national sensation. As a boy, he was influenced by his father and uncle performing traditional songs.
"I would just sit and stare at them," said Rivers. "And eventually, my dad bought me a $20 Stella guitar."
The first artist to make an indelible impression on Rivers was Elvis Presley, whom the 13-year old witnessed performing at the local high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
"My buddy and I decided we'd catch this country music show, and in the middle (comedienne) Minnie Pearl, who was the host, says, 'And here's this new sensation with his new song that's creatin' a big stir... The Hillbilly Cat, Elvis Presley.' He comes walking onstage with Scotty (Moore) and Bill (Black), and they're setting up Scotty's amplifier, while he's kind of jumping around. He was wearing a pink suit and white buck shoes, and people started laughing. He's up there twitching around, he's got pimples all over his face. His hair's all greasy, and I'm thinking, 'This is the coolest guy I've ever seen,'" Rivers recalls with a big laugh.
Two years later, at the age of 15, Rivers had already begun his recording and performing career. On a school Christmas vacation, he ventured to New York to stay with his aunt. At that time, the country's most famous disc jockey, the legendary Alan Freed, had a nightly radio show broadcast over the equally legendary station, WINS, whose studios were located in Manhattan's Columbus Circle. One evening, standing outside, shivering in the snow while waiting for Freed to make his grand entrance, the self-assured youngster approached him and said, "Mr. Freed, I have a band in Baton Rouge called the Spades, and we have a record on the radio down there.' I just handed it to him, and he couldn't believe it. It was like something out of an Alan Freed movie!"
Freed soon secured him a contract with Gone Records, and convinced the teenager to change his name to Johnny Rivers. Nothing much happened in terms of chart success, but Rivers continued performing, using his 1957 Stratocaster.
"I wasn't much of a lead guitarist then," he admits. "And the Strat wasn't really a good rhythm guitar. It was better for things like blues."
One day, Rivers was walking down Manhattan's Canal Street, when he spotted a shiny red Gibson ES-335 in a music store's window. He went in and had the store owner hook it up. "I loved its big, fat rhythm sound with the humbucking pickups."
Too short on cash to purchase it, he discovered the proprietor was willing to swap it for $50... and his Stratocaster.
While the red Gibson has been Rivers' trademark, he laments with a laugh. "Little did I know then that model Strat would become one of the most collectible guitars in the world."
Rivers spent another five years recording for various labels, cutting $25 demos for singers like Presley and Rick Nelson. However, it wasn't until late '63 that he started attracting a following, playing at an L.A. restaurant called Gazzari's. At the time, Rivers was backed only by a drummer, and he began seeking a bass player. An acquaintance told him, "We know this one guy who's a disc jockey, but he also plays a pretty good bass.' A few days later, this guy comes in, and we ran through some songs."
On the night they were supposed to debut, the bassist came in after they had already finished their first set. "I fired him on the spot. Years later, he put this group together - Sly and The Family Stone!" recalls Rivers, with a big chuckle.
The bass slot was filled by Joe Osborne. However, despite attracting big crowds that included Hollywood luminaries, Rivers was becoming disillusioned by his meager $150 a week salary. He soon switched to the more profitable Whiskey A Go Go. Producer Bones Howe recorded six shows there, and Rivers soon hit the charts with a revamped version of Chuck Berry's "Memphis."
The long run of hit singles ended after 1977's "Slow Dancin'."
"I made some really great records after that, but I didn't have the proper machine behind them," he says. "So I struggled along and put stuff out on my own label, Soul City, with independent distribution. It was really tough."
Rivers turns 65 this year, but don't expect the still-very-in-demand performer to even consider cutting down his work schedule. "I try to take care of my health," says Rivers, who doesn't look that much different than in his heyday four decades ago. "I don't do drugs. I drink very little, and I run two to three miles every day to keep my weight down. I try to lift weights three times a week, nothing radical, but just enough to stay in shape."
And to keep his guitar chops finely tuned, Rivers practices at home with an Epiphone Emperor Joe Pass model. He explains. "The neck is a lot fatter than my 335, so it gives me a little workout to keep my fingers from cramping up onstage. There's a lot of playing to do when you're doing rhythm and lead on everything."
At: https://www.vintageguitar.com/features/artists/details.asp?AID=3281
Monday, August 2, 2010
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - 1973
Johnny Rivers performs live in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1973 (Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns)
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