The Music of Johnny Rivers

The story of Johnny Rivers needs to be told, but not like this. Thin on facts and/or new information and often lame in the telling, this piece barely skims the surface of a truly wondrous career. A well-done and presented bio may finally open the doors to the Rock Hall for this most deserving artist. Hopefully, one will show up before it all becomes a moot point. An autobiography, maybe, Johnny??

The author clearly likes Johnny Rivers’ music, but offers little insight into Rivers’ long, distinguished career. The book is a quick but difficult read, which was badly in need of an editor. For the most part, it is poorly written, and the text is littered with grammatical, syntax and spacing errors. It also repeats information for no discernible reason, often within one or two pages.Some releases are overlooked or given only a drive-by mention. Others are missing important factual background. For example, the author fails to mention Rivers’ opposition to the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon’s presidency, and is unaware that “Come Home America” was the designated A-side of the lead single from “L. A. Reggae,” with “Rockin’ Pneumonia” relegated to the B-side. The latter became a much deserved hit only when DJs began playing it, forcing UA to re-promote it as the A-side. Similarly, the “Last Boogie in Paris” album was initially issued only in Europe, but the author states that the LP made its way into the shops on Varese, which did not even exist then. In fact, the LP was not released in the States at the time. The author also views UA’s “Wild Night” album, consisting of older tracks recorded for UA and released as a “cash-in” album after Rivers’ return to the charts with “Help Me Rhonda” on Epic, as a contemporary “new album,” but then finally speculates it might not have been a new effort. He also notes Brian Wilson sang backing vocals on Rivers’ version of “Help Me Rhonda,” but does not mention how significant that was at the time, as it marked the return of the then-reclusive Brian to a recording studio. The author also refers to two Epic albums, while Rivers only recorded one LP for the label.Fans of Rivers’ music who can tolerate the sloppy writing and numerous errors will find a few interesting things in this book, but for the full story, we’ll need to wait for Rivers’ autobiography, which he had planned for publication in 2007 but which has yet to appear.

Interesting information