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.
Hey Joe
Johnny Rivers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey Joe, I said where you goin' with that gun in your hand, oh
I'm goin' down to shoot my old lady
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
Yeah, I'm goin' down to shoot my old lady
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
Huh! and that ain't cool
Huh hey hoe, I heard you shot your mama down
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your lady down
You shot her down in the ground yeah!
Yeah!
Yes, I did, I shot her
You know I caught her messin' round messin' round town
Huh, yes I did I shot her
You know I caught my old lady messin' 'round town
And I gave her the gun
And I shot her
Alright
Shoot her one more time again baby!
Yeah!
Oh dig it
Oh alright
Hey Joe,
Where you gonna run to now where you gonna go
Hey Joe, I said
Where you gonna run to now where you gonna go
I'm goin' way down south
Way down to Mexico way
Alright
I'm goin' way down south
Way down where I can be free
Ain't no one gonna find me
Ain't no hang-man gonna
He ain't gonna put a rope around me
You better believe it right now
I gotta go now
Hey, Joe
You better run on down
Goodbye everybody
Hey hey Joe
The lyrics of the song Hey Joe by Johnny Rivers are about a man who is going to shoot his old lady because he caught her cheating on him. The song opens with the singer, Joe, being questioned about where he is going with a gun in his hand. Joe replies that he is going down to shoot his old lady because he caught her messing around with another man. This situation isn't cool, and as the song progresses, Joe admits to shooting his woman after catching her with another man.
The lyrics of the song then tell the story of Joe running away to Mexico, where he believes he will be free and won't be found by anyone. Joe doesn't want to be hanged and believes that this is the best option for him. The song ends with a goodbye to everyone as Joe decides to flee to Mexico.
The tone of the song is somewhat ambiguous, leaving the interpretation of the song to the listener. Some people interpret the song as being supporting the use of violence as an appropriate response to infidelity, while others believe the song is a commentary on toxic masculinity.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun of your hand
Joe, why are you carrying that gun?
Hey Joe, I said where you goin' with that gun in your hand, oh
I'm asking again, why are you carrying that gun?
I'm goin' down to shoot my old lady
I'm going to kill my girlfriend/wife.
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
I found out she's having an affair.
Yeah, I'm goin' down to shoot my old lady
Yes, I'm really going to kill her.
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
I'm sure that she has been unfaithful to me.
Huh! and that ain't cool
And that's not acceptable or okay.
Huh hey hoe, I heard you shot your mama down
I heard you killed your mother, Joe.
You shot her down now
You actually shot her and she's dead.
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your lady down
I heard you killed your girlfriend/wife, Joe.
You shot her down in the ground yeah!
You shot her and she's now lying dead in the ground.
Yes, I did, I shot her
Yes, I did it, I killed her with my gun.
You know I caught her messin' round messin' round town
I caught her cheating on me with other men in our town.
Huh, yes I did I shot her
Yes, it's true that I shot her, no need to ask again.
You know I caught my old lady messin' 'round town
I knew my girlfriend/wife was unfaithful and having affairs with others in town.
And I gave her the gun
I handed her the gun myself.
And I shot her
And then I shot her with that same gun.
Where you gonna run to now where you gonna go
Now that you've killed her, Joe, where are you planning to run away?
I'm goin' way down south
I'm planning to go south, far away from here.
Way down where I can be free
I'm going far enough to escape and be free from consequences of what I've done.
Ain't no one gonna find me
I'm sure that no one would ever discover my whereabouts.
Ain't no hang-man gonna
No officer of the law will be able to apprehend me.
He ain't gonna put a rope around me
I won't be caught and hanged for what I've done.
You better believe it right now
This is the hard truth and you should take it seriously, right now.
I gotta go now
I need to hurry and leave immediately.
Hey, Joe
Hey, Joe.
You better run on down
You need to hurry and run away, Joe.
Goodbye everybody
I'm saying goodbye to everyone here.
Hey hey Joe
Hey Joe.
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Billy Roberts
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
mikee758
I think this is a very 'overlooked' album certainly one of the very best releases of the late sixtees and Johny Rivers best for me.
Joseph Ethridge
yeah, what Mikee said... : )
Fernanda Martins
Indeed
Elias Oviedo
mikee758 Ninguna duda totalmente de acuerdo contigo
Duff Gordon
Take this - sargeant pepper!
Firstname Lastname357
DUFF GORDAN:
I AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT! I was 10 years old in 1967, and when Sgt. Pepper came out, I said "HOW STUPID! IT'S an album by the WORLDS MOST POPULAR MUSICAL GROUP, PRETENDING THAT THEY ARE THE MOST POPULAR MUSICAL GROUP IN A MAKE-BELIEVE WORLD!"
I'VE bought SEVERAL Beatles albums 'in my life'😁... BUT... I've NEVER bought Sgt. Pepper!
REALIZATION by Johnny Rivers IS MUCH BETTER!!! When someone does a cover of your song (POSITIVELY 4th ST. by Bob Dylan!) and your official statement about it is "THIS IS EXACTLY THE WAY I WANTED THIS SONG TO SOUND!" , THAT IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT OF ALL!
WHITER SHADE OF PALE IS EXCELLENT! HEY JOE! WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE!
"REALIZATION" IS AN underrated MASTERPIECE!!!!!!!!!!
Rick Creighton
This is one great song from one of the greatest albums of all time. River's pinnacle album in my opinion.
Allen Strange
Listened to this album in 1968, still love it over the past 51 years! Awesome recording from song one to the last!
Glen Friesner
Heard this album 50 years ago and still listen to it a couple of times a week. Just can't go wrong With Johnny
eoj2495
Totally new direction for Johnny Rivers in 1968. If I recall right, the songs segued into each other beautifully... this was (still is a) great album.