He was versatile enough to do folk songs, blues, covers of old-time Rock n' roll songs, and some original material, all of them in his own unique style. Rivers's greatest success came in the mid and late 1960s with a string of hit songs (including "Seventh Son," "Poor Side of Town" and "Secret Agent Man") but he has continued to record and perform to the present.
In 1960, Rivers met fellow Louisianan, James Burton, the guitar player for Ricky Nelson. Burton later recommended one of Rivers's songs to Nelson, who went on to record it. In 1961, Rivers went to Los Angeles to meet Nelson, and ended up relocating there, working as a song writer and studio musician. In 1963, Rivers's big break came when he temporarily filled in for a jazz combo at Bill Gazzari's night club; the temporary gig became long-term due to positive customer response.
In 1964, Elmer Valentine then gave Rivers a one-year contract to open his new club, Whisky a Go Go, on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. The Whisky opened three days before The Beatles released "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and the British Invasion knocked almost every American artist off the top of the charts. But Rivers was so popular, producer Lou Adler decided to issue Johnny Rivers Live At The Whiskey A Go Go. The live album reached #12 on the charts and the single "Memphis" (a Chuck Berry cover) reached #2. Rivers made the successful transition from nightclub entertainer to chart-busting pop singer and had created the Go Go sound, part of a scene which included Go-Go dancers.
Into 1965, Rivers continued to record mostly live, Go Go style records including "Maybellene" (another Berry cover), which he followed "Mountain of Love", "Midnight Special", "Seventh Son" (written by Willie Dixon) e "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" (with Pete Seeger's), all of which were hits.
Rivers wanted to try something different and adopted a more idiosyncratic approach as from 1966. Characterized by his smooth, soulful voice, he produced hit portrayals as "Poor Side Of Town", which would be his biggest hit ever and his only number one record. Into another hit was "Secret Agent Man", the theme from Secret Agent television series (written by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri). He also started own record company, Soul City Records, where he won a Grammy Award as the producer of the 5th Dimension, which eventually recorded "Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In" and "Wedding Bell Blues", two number one hits on Rivers' label. Johnny is also credited with giving songwriter Jimmy Webb a major break when they recorded Webb's song "Up, Up, and Away". James Hendricks, one of the artists of that signed with Soul City, wrote "Summer Rain", a song that Rivers recorded and turned a hit.
Johnny Rivers continued to record more hits, including "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" and "The Tracks of My Tears" (cover of The Miracles), both top 10 in 1967. In 1968, Rivers released what many fans consider his best album, Realization, a number five album on the LP charts. The album was evocative of the psychedelic influences of the time and marked a subtle change in his musical direction, with more thoughtful types of songs, included such ballads as "Going Back to Big Sur".
In the 1970s, Rivers continued to record more songs and albums which were a success with music critics, but did not sell as well as some of his earlier hits. One of these albums, "L.A. Reggae" in 1972, reached the LP charts as a result of the top 10 "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" (a cover of Huey Smith & the Clowns). Anothers hits that time were "Blue Suede Shoes" (a cover of Carl Perkins), in 1973, which would reach the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Help Me Rhonda", in 1975 - a cover of The Beach Boys on which Brian Wilson helped with backup vocals. His last entry on the charts was "Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancing)", a top ten hit in 1977.
1980's until nowadays
Rivers continued recording into the '80's, although his recording career wound down somewhat. In spite of his music hasn't reached the best seller charts for quite a while, Rivers is still touring, doing 50 to 60 shows a year, increasingly returning to the blues that inspired him initially.
In 1998], Rivers reactivated his Soul City imprint and released Last Train to Memphis, his first new studio album in 15 years.
In early 2000, Johnny recorded with Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, and Paul McCartney on a tribute album dedicated to Buddy Holly's backup band, "The Crickets".
In all, Rivers had 9 top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and 17 in the top 40 from 1964 to 1977. In total, he has sold well over 25 million records.
Brown Eyed Handsome Man
Johnny Rivers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He was sitting in the witness stand
The judge's wife called up the district attorney
Said: You free that brown-eyed man
You want your job, you better free that brown-eyed man
Way back in history, three thousand years back
Every since the world began
For a brown-eyed handsome man
That's what the trouble was: brown-eyed handsome man
Flying across the desert in a TWA
I saw a woman walking across the sand
She been a-walkin' thirty miles en route to Bombay
To get a brown-eyed handsome man
Her destination was a brown-eyed handsome man
Milo Venus was a beautiful lass
She had the world in the palm of her hand
She lost both her arms in a wrestling match
To get brown-eyed handsome man
She fought and won herself a brown-eyed handsome man
Beautiful daughter couldn't make up her mind
Between a doctor and a lawyer man
Her mother told her: Daughter, go out and find yourself
A brown eyed handsome man
That's what your daddy is: a brown-eyed handsome man
Way back in history, three thousand years
Back every since the world began
There's been a whole lot of good women shed a tear
For a brown-eyed handsome man
That's what the trouble was: brown-eyed handsome man
Two, three count with nobody on
He hit a high fly into the stand
Rounding third he was headed for home
It was a brown eyed handsome man
That won the game; it was a brown eyed handsome man
Johnny Rivers's song Brown Eyed Handsome Man is a song about a man who is sitting in the witness stand, accused of being unemployed. The judge's wife calls up the district attorney and tells him to free the brown-eyed man if he wants to keep his job. The song references the fact that since the beginning of time, women have been attracted to brown-eyed handsome men. It tells the story of a woman who walks thirty miles to catch a glimpse of a brown-eyed handsome man, and another woman who loses both her arms in a wrestling match for him. The song concludes with a reference to a baseball game won by a brown-eyed handsome man.
The song has a number of themes, including the power of attraction and the unfairness of the justice system. The judge's wife uses her power to free the brown-eyed man, even though he may be guilty. The song also references the fact that women have been attracted to brown-eyed handsome men throughout history, emphasizing the universality of this preference.
Line by Line Meaning
Arrested on charges of unemployment
He was arrested for being jobless
He was sitting in the witness stand
He was in the stand, under trial
The judge's wife called up the district attorney
The judge's wife contacted the prosecutor
Said: You free that brown-eyed man
She demanded to release the man with brown eyes
You want your job, you better free that brown-eyed man
She threatened his career unless he did as she demanded
Way back in history, three thousand years back
Since the dawn of civilization, thousands of years ago
Every since the world began
From the very beginning of time
There's been a whole lot of good women shed a tear
Many deserving women cried their eyes out
For a brown-eyed handsome man
For a charming man with brown eyes
That's what the trouble was: brown-eyed handsome man
The reason for the calamity was his brown eyes and charm
Flying across the desert in a TWA
Travelling by TWA across the desert
I saw a woman walking across the sand
He spotted a woman walking on the sand
She been a-walkin' thirty miles en route to Bombay
She had walked thirty miles to reach Bombay
To get a brown-eyed handsome man
To get a man with brown eyes who was also charming
Her destination was a brown-eyed handsome man
Her sole goal was to find and meet a charming man with brown eyes
Milo Venus was a beautiful lass
Milo Venus was a beautiful woman
She had the world in the palm of her hand
She possessed everything she wanted
She lost both her arms in a wrestling match
She sustained severe injuries, losing both arms while wrestling
To get brown-eyed handsome man
In her desire, she went to great lengths to gain the attention of a charming man with brown eyes
She fought and won herself a brown-eyed handsome man
Despite her injuries from a wrestling match, she succeeded in winning the affection of the desired brown-eyed man
Beautiful daughter couldn't make up her mind
A beautiful daughter was in a dilemma
Between a doctor and a lawyer man
She couldn't decide between a doctor and a lawyer
Her mother told her: Daughter, go out and find yourself
Her mother advised her to seek
A brown eyed handsome man
An attractive man with brown eyes
That's what your daddy is: a brown-eyed handsome man
Her father is also a famous, charming man with brown eyes
Two, three count with nobody on
The count was at two balls and three strikes with no runners on base
He hit a high fly into the stand
He hit a high pop fly ball that landed in the stands
Rounding third he was headed for home
He was running past the third base towards home plate
It was a brown-eyed handsome man
The man who hit the home run was a charming man with brown eyes
That won the game; it was a brown-eyed handsome man
The home run scored by the charming man with brown eyes won the game for the team
Contributed by Annabelle B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Renita Howlingwolf
Johnny Rivers deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!
Jude Nowak
I think awards should be given where there is talent…not necessarily on the presenting personality. I also think Rivers should have been indicted into the Rock-and-Roll hall of fame. I was there when Johnny Rivers was the only R&R band to play decent dance music. Regards, Jude.
Jane Durrell
He'll never be indicted due to how he treats and has treated people. Google him, his divorce, how he stole Elvis' song, etc. Rivers is the most permanently disgruntled, cranky and unpleasant man - with an EXPLOSIVE temper - than I've ever known and I've known a few. If you want to know what he's like just ask around Big Sur where he's owned about 200 acres surrounding Ventana resort since about 1967....locals will tell you what he's like....not beloved by any means. JR will never get it, blaming others always with no insight into self.
Kathy Muncy
Fab! One of the most talented, yet underrated, rockers of all time!
Vandotavares Tavares
Johnny Rivers , sencasional , único voz inconfundível
Gary Robertson
One of my all time favorite singers.
Alicia Ferraro
Si habré bailado estos temas. Lo mejor de mí adolescencia. ❤
Ruth Boykin
Love this song, cause I love a brown eyed handsome man!
Tommy Autry
The absolute best !!!
Ashley Nevius
The blue eyed soul king!