Chad Thorne Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 So I got a wild hair last evening and downloaded a bunch of Johnny Rivers songs off LimeWire, realizing suddenly how much I've always enjoyed his records. On several tunes there are lead breaks that sound fairly consistent in style, tone, etc. from one to the next. Does anybody know if Johnny himself played those, or if he had a regular guitar player he always used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Ellwood Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 When I saw him he played all of his own lead and was great..he played a red 335 Gibson. http://www.thestringnetwork.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillydor Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Well if you refer back to your Feb 1969 issue of Guitar Player (which I'm sure you have close at hand for reference) you would learn a thing or two about Johnny Rivers. Like this "He finishes smoothing out a tricky run to a new song he will play that day, and then he comes over to talk with you..." Does that sound like he uses a (quote) 'regular guitar player' huh? Sheesh...call yourself a Guitar Player fan? He does admit though "...my mind has progressed technically, but my fingers can't do what my head wants." As for the accompanying photos of Johnny in the '69 GP issue, my verdict is: "Best sideburns ever!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanner Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 i always loved the Johnny Rivers stuff- it seemed like he was on the radio alot back in the 60s... one song-when i hear it-i get wet- 'POOR SIDE OF TOWN' what a beautiful song-w/ vibrato guitar and girl group backing vocals-its a tearmaker fer me... there are some songs/records i never bought(this is one of them) 'cause i knew i would overplay them and they would lose their luminescence... love his guitar playin too. when he covered ChuckBerry it never seemed-whiteboy-he seemed to own it. s AMPSSOUNDBETTERLOUDER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Thorne Posted July 14, 2006 Author Share Posted July 14, 2006 "'POOR SIDE OF TOWN' what a beautiful song-w/ vibrato guitar and girl group backing vocals-..." "Lit-tle play-thing, doo-wah..." Yup, it's one of the songs I downloaded. What got me started was hearing "Seventh Son" on the radio. There's a great entry about JR on Wikipedia, LOTS of stuff I didn't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Iverson Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 And I still love playing "Summer Rain". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudcat Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 "Secret Agent Man" looms large in the pantheon of songs that directly influenced my guitar playing style. (I'm dead serious.) Mudcat's music on Soundclick "Work hard. Rock hard. Eat hard. Sleep hard. Grow big. Wear glasses if you need 'em."-The Webb Wilder Credo- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingerstyle_Jim Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 I have 4 or 5 vinyl lp's of him all recorded "Live at the Whisky A Go Go" and they're all great to listen to. No earth-shattering innovations or virtuosity displays, just good old singalong rock'n'roll, mostly covers of current hits of the time. He didn't write much but his contribution to the overall pop music world of that era stands strong on these recordings alone. The songs he wrote and co-wrote just add to the story. Jim My SoundClick Page My New Music Project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Thorne Posted July 14, 2006 Author Share Posted July 14, 2006 Originally posted by Mudcat: "Secret Agent Man" looms large in the pantheon of songs that directly influenced my guitar playing style. (I'm dead serious.) +1. (Along with "Wipeout".) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicalhair Posted July 15, 2006 Share Posted July 15, 2006 Johnnie Rivers has always been very cool! check out some comedy I've done: http://louhasspoken.tumblr.com/ My Unitarian Jihad Name: Brother Broadsword of Enlightened Compassion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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