Rivers flows with
his own musical
vision
Johnny Rivers
By Tim Ryan
in concert Saturday
Star-BulletinEven if you weren't living in Los Angeles in 1964, it's likely you heard about the Whisky A Go-Go.
Though the British Invasion was in full swing and American rockers were tough to find on U.S. pop charts, Johnny Rivers was the first to regain a Yankee foothold.
Some 34 years after his opening night at the Whisky, Rivers is still playing his "funky, southern sort of blues stuff" and will make his first public performance in Hawaii at the Blaisdell Concert Hall Saturday.
"Memphis," "Secret Agent Man," "Poor Side of Town," "Seventh Son," "Baby I Need Your Lovin' " and "Tracks of My Tears" were just some of the songs that helped establish Rivers and strengthen the U.S. presence in the pop and rock music world.
"Most American artists were trying to conform to the British invasion, trying to be the Beatles; I didn't," Rivers says in a phone interview from his L.A. home. "I stayed true to my funky, southern blues sort of thing. It was honest, people liked it.
"It's never slowed down for me," Rivers said. "Classic rock stations play my stuff constantly and I work as often as I want, about 80 performances a year."
He has just completed his first studio album in 15 years, "Last Train to Memphis." The first single, "Down at the Hosue of Blues," should start getting radio play next month.
Music has always been his life.
"I've never done anything else," he said. "A newspaper route in Baton Rouge I had lasted about six weeks, long enough to save money to buy an electric guitar.
"My dad and uncle used to get together and play these old Italian folk songs on mandolin and guitar. There was always a guitar around the house."
John Henry Ramistella, 55, was born in New York City, then moved with his family to Baton Rouge, La. As Rivers started playing guitar, he began listening to R&B on late-night radio.
"At Baton Rouge Junior High, Fats Domino, Jimmy Reed and guys like that used to play at our dances," Rivers remembered.
By junior high, Rivers was sitting in with various local bands, and in 1956 he formed his own band, The Spades, playing Fats Domino, Little Richard and Bobby Bland tunes. Then when Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis hit, the Rivers' band started playing "a little touch of rockabilly."
Rivers got his name in 1957 from popular New York DJ Alan Freed, who liked the young man's work.
"We were talkin' about where I grew up on the Mississippi River and somehow Rivers came out of that."
Rivers recorded "Baby Come Back" in 1958, then in 1959 "Your First and Last Love" and "You're the One.' " None were hits.
In 1963, Rivers moved on to Los Angeles and the trendy Gazzari's club with jazz drummer Eddie Rubin. Huge crowds started visiting the club, including stars like Steve McQueen and Natalie Wood. Rivers was getting $150 a week.
One visitor was Elmer Valentine, who was opening an L.A. version of the Paris Whisky A Go-Go club on the Sunset Strip. He signed Rivers to a year's contract.
"We opened Jan. 15, 1964, and three days later The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" hit the the charts," Rivers said. "But the crowds followed us from Gazzaris."
Soon Rivers released his first live album.
"Back in those days musicians didn't use gimmicks," he said. "You didn't punch in a word with a machine if you messed up. You had the talent or you didn't. That's why even today I still prefer live performances. What you hear is what you get."
Johnny Rivers
In concert: 8 p.m. Saturday
