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.
Dang Me
Johnny Rivers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ain't nothin' but a fool'd live like this;
Out all night, n' running wild;
Woman setting home with a month-old child.
Dang me,
Dang me;
They ought to take a rope and hang me;
Woman wouldja' weep for me?
Just sitting 'round drinking with the rest of the guys,
Six rounds bought, n' I bought five;
Spent the groceries and half the rent;
Like fourteen dollars and 27 cents.
So dang me,
Dang me;
They ought to take a rope and hang me
High from the highest tree,
Woman wouldja' weep for me?
They say roses are red, and violets are purple;
Sugar's sweet and so is maple surple.
I'm the seventh out of seven sons;
My pappy was a pistol, I'm a son of a gun.
I say dang me,
Dang me;
They ought to take a rope and hang me
High from the highest tree,
Woman wouldja' weep for me?
In Johnny Rivers' song "Dang Me," the singer paints a picture of a reckless, irresponsible life. He is sitting high, getting ideas, but reflects that he is nothing but a fool to live this way. He stays out all night, running wild, while a woman he has left behind is home with their month-old child. The singer goes on to describe a night of drinking with his friends, during which he spends all the money he has on alcohol, leaving him unable to pay his bills. Despite his irresponsible behavior, the singer seems to find humor in his misfortunes and jokes that they should hang him from the highest tree.
On a deeper level, the lyrics of "Dang Me" reflect the societal pressures and expectations that men faced during the 1960s. The singer's narrative of reckless behavior and disregard for his partner and child plays on the idea of the "man-child," a cultural figure of the era that portrayed men as immature, reckless, and unwilling to take responsibility for their actions. At the same time, the lyrics also reflect the pressures of masculinity and the difficulty that many men faced in balancing societal expectations with personal desires and impulses.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, here sitta' high, gettin' ideas,
I'm just hanging out, thinking up stupid stuff
Ain't nothin' but a fool'd live like this;
No one in their right mind would do what I'm doing
Out all night, n' running wild;
I've been partying and causing trouble all night
Woman setting home with a month-old child.
Meanwhile, my partner is home alone with our month-old baby
Dang me,
Damn me
Dang me;
Damn me
They ought to take a rope and hang me;
I deserve to be punished severely
High from the highest tree,
They should hang me in public
Woman wouldja' weep for me?
Would anyone even care if I got what I deserved?
Just sitting 'round drinking with the rest of the guys,
I'm just hanging out, getting drunk with my buddies
Six rounds bought, n' I bought five;
I've already spent a lot of money on drinks
Spent the groceries and half the rent;
I've also spent money we needed for food and rent
Like fourteen dollars and 27 cents.
I don't even have that much money left
They say roses are red, and violets are purple;
People say some things are just obvious
Sugar's sweet and so is maple surple.
Like how sugar and maple syrup are both sweet
I'm the seventh out of seven sons;
I'm the youngest of seven boys
My pappy was a pistol, I'm a son of a gun.
My dad was wild, and I'm just as bad
I say dang me,
I say damn me
Dang me;
Damn me
They ought to take a rope and hang me
I deserve to be punished severely
High from the highest tree,
They should hang me in public
Woman wouldja' weep for me?
Would anyone even care if I got what I deserved?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Roger Miller
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind