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.
It's Too Late
Johnny Rivers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Johnny Rivers
I remember when I told you
I would try in every way
To hold you, and love you
And kiss you and keep you
Till my dying day
You just laughed
Said you found somebody new
Someone to make me
Forget about you
And now you tell me
That your new love
Isn't true
Like he should be
You say you're gonna forget him
And you're gonna come back to me
But things have changed
I got me somebody new
Someone to make me
Forget about you
I'm telling you
That it's too late
To say you're sorry
It's too late
To say you're mine
I have found myself a new love
And I'm gonna make her mine
It's too late
It's too late
Many days I tried to call you
Many nights I sat alone
Everyone knew that I loved you
But you had a love of your own
And now that he's gone
You think you can come back to me
I'm not the same fool
That I used to be
And you're gonna see
That it's too late
To say you're sorry
It's too late
To say you're mine
I have found myself a new love
And I'm gonna make her mine
It's too late
It's too late
To say you're mine
I remember when I told you
I would try in every way
To hold you, and kiss you
And keep you, baby
Till my dying day
But you just laughed, ha
Said you found somebody new
Someone to make me
Forget about you
And then you tell me
That this new love
Isn't true
Like he should be
You say that you're gonna forget him
And you're gonna come back to me
But things have changed
I got me somebody new
Someone to make me
Forget about you
I'm telling you
That it's too late
To say you're sorry
It's too late
To say you're mine
I have found myself a new love
And I'm gonna make her mine
It's too late
It's too late
To say you're mine
(2X)
In Johnny Rivers's song It's Too Late, the lyrics depict the story of a man who has moved on from a past love who had broken his heart. The man had promised his love that he would do everything to keep her, but she had laughed and found someone else. The man had tried to reach out to his love many times, but she was too busy with her own life. Later, when she realized that her new love was not at par, she sought to come back to the man apologizing and asking to be taken back.
However, the man had already moved on with a new love, and he is no longer a fool that he used to be. The repetitive chorus in the song 'it's too late to say you're sorry, it's too late to say you're mine' shows the man's strong resolve to leave his past love behind and be with his new love.
The lyrics of the song It's Too Late by Johnny Rivers reflects themes of heartbreak, regret, and finally moving on. The song is relatable to anyone who has experienced heartbreak and failed to reconcile with their past love.
Line by Line Meaning
I remember when I told you
I recall the time when I promised you
I would try in every way
I would put all my effort into
To hold you, and love you
To embrace and cherish you
And kiss you and keep you
And give you affection and protection
Till my dying day
For the rest of my life
You just laughed
You responded with amusement
Said you found somebody new
You declared that you found a new partner
Someone to make me
Someone who would help me
Forget about you
To forget about you as a romantic interest
And now you tell me
And now you inform me
That your new love
That your current significant other
Isn't true
is unfaithful or disappointing
Like he should be
Not living up to your expectations
You say you're gonna forget him
You say that you will leave him behind
And you're gonna come back to me
And you will return to me
But things have changed
But my circumstances have shifted
I got me somebody new
I found a new partner
Someone to make me
Someone who would help me
Forget about you
To forget about you as a romantic interest
I'm telling you
I'm informing you
That it's too late
That the opportunity has passed
To say you're sorry
To apologize for your actions
It's too late
It's too late
To say you're mine
To claim ownership of me
I have found myself a new love
I have discovered another person to love
And I'm gonna make her mine
And I will make her mine
Many days I tried to call you
For so long I attempted to contact you
Many nights I sat alone
So many nights I spent alone
Everyone knew that I loved you
Everyone was aware that I was in love with you
But you had a love of your own
But you were in a relationship with someone else
And now that he's gone
And now that he's no longer in the picture
You think you can come back to me
You believe you can return to me
I'm not the same fool
I am not the same naive person
That I used to be
That I was in the past
And you're gonna see
And you will realize
It's too late
That it's too late
To say you're sorry
To apologize
It's too late
It's too late
To say you're mine
To claim ownership of me
It's too late
It's too late
(2X)
Repeats the previous verses
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOBBY GOLDSBORO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@andersonmota8578
I remember when I told you
I would try in every way
To hold you, and love you
And kiss you and keep you
Till my dying day
You just laughed
Said you found somebody new
Someone to make me
Forget about you
And now you tell me
That your new love
Isn't true
Like he should be
You say you're gonna forget him
And you're gonna come back to me
But things have changed
I got me somebody new
Someone to make me
Forget about you
I'm telling you
That it's too late
To say you're sorry
It's too late
To say you're mine
I have found myself a new love
And I'm gonna make her mine
It's too late
It's too late
Many days I tried to call you
Many nights I sat alone
Everyone knew that I loved you
But you had a love of your own
And now that he's gone
You think you can come back to me
I'm not the same fool
That I used to be
And you're gonna see
That it's too late
To say you're sorry
It's too late
To say you're mine
I have found myself a new love
And I'm gonna make her mine
It's too late
It's too late
To say you're mine
I remember when I told you
I would try in every way
To hold you, and kiss you
And keep you, baby
Till my dying day
But you just laughed, ha
Said you found somebody new
Someone to make me
Forget about you
And then you tell me
That this new love
Isn't true
Like he should be
You say that you're gonna forget him
And you're gonna come back to me
But things have changed
I got me somebody new
Someone to make me
Forget about you
I'm telling you
That it's too late
To say you're sorry
It's too late
To say you're mine
I have found myself a new love
And I'm gonna make her mine
It's too late
It's too late
To say you're mine
@wandeiraparecido7252
Beautiful music, good singer, oh, I miss those times when there was music, good afternoon. Beautiful music, good singer, I miss the time when music existed
@wallacegeller2111
I was lead singer in a band 1965 and 1966. People said I sounded like Johnny Rivers. I won the best male singer award in a battle of the bands with me singing The 7th Son. Johnny's birthday is the same as mine.
@Johnboy33545
Christmas 2020, keep on rocking. I was listening to this in high school*class of 67). Happy Merry. I hope you're all safe and healthy.
@41bai
Nunca é tarde para ouvir Johnny!!! 💙💙💙
@paulohomci6398
COM CERTEZA!
@manoelmartins3703
Há 50 ANOS
SEMPRE CURTINDO ESSE SOM SEMPRE OUVINDO E CURTINDO SEMPRE OUVINDO E CURTINDO
SEMPRE CURTINDO ESSE SOM SEMPRE OUVINDO E CURTINDO SEMPRE OUVINDO E CURTINDO
09 01 2021
Goiânia
Go
BRAZIL
@elenaaltamirano9570
Zp0
@jschuler53
Hola Manoel Martins. Lo siento no hablo Espanol. I am a big Johnny River's fan. Never heard this song before. His You've Lost That Loving Feeling is the best.
@manoelmartins3703
@@elenaaltamirano9570
Gracias
Saludo desde Brazil
30 07 201
@moniqueboutiere2040
Ça, c'est du rythme, un vrai régal à écouter, à danser !!! 😊👍♥️💜💙🧡💚👍🙏🙏🙏