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.
Mountain Of Love
Johnny Rivers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The way I feel is a doggone pity
Teardrops fallin' down a mountainside
Many times I've been here, many times I've cried
We used to be so happy when we were in love
High on a mountain of love
Night after night I'm a-standing here alone
Prayin' that you're lonely and you come here too
Hoping just by chance that I'll get a glimpse of you
Tryin' hard to find you, somewhere up above
High on a mountain of love
A mountain of love, a mountain of love, you should be ashamed
We used to be a mountain of love
But you just changed your name
Way down below there's a half a million people
Somewhere there's a church with a big tall steeple
Inside a church there's an altar filled with flowers
Wedding bells are ringin' and they shoulda been ours
That's why I'm so lonely, my dreams gone above
High on a mountain of love
A mountain of love, a mountain of love, you should be ashamed now
Used to be a mountain of love
But you just changed your name
Way down below there's a half a million people
Somewhere there's a church with a big tall steeple
Inside a church there's an altar filled with flowers
Wedding bells are ringin' that shoulda been ours
That's why I'm so lonely, dream gone above
High on a mountain of love
High on a mountain of love
High on a mountain of love
High on a mountain of love
High on a mountain of love
The lyrics to Johnny Rivers's song, Mountain of Love, tell the story of a heartbroken person standing on a mountain, looking down on a city. The singer expresses his sadness over a lost love and wishes that things had turned out differently between them. He reminisces about happier times, when they used to be in love and were high on the "mountain of love." The tears falling down the mountain symbolize the pain and sadness he's experiencing. The lyrics convey a sense of longing, sadness, and regret for what could have been.
The singer stands on the mountain every night, weeping his heart out until dawn. He hopes that his former love is also lonely and might come to the mountain, where he can catch a glimpse of her. He hasn't been able to move on from the relationship and is still trying to find her "somewhere up above." The image of the church with the wedding bells ringing represents the hopes and dreams the singer once had for their future. But those dreams are gone now, and he is left standing on the mountain of love, feeling sad and alone.
Line by Line Meaning
Standing on a mountain looking down on a city
I am standing atop a mountain and gazing down upon a city below.
The way I feel is a doggone pity
I feel quite sad and pitiful.
Teardrops fallin' down a mountainside
My tears are streaming down the mountainside.
Many times I've been here, many times I've cried
I have visited this mountain many times in the past and have cried every time.
We used to be so happy when we were in love
When we were together in love, we were very happy.
High on a mountain of love
We were happily in love, as if on top of a mountain.
Night after night I'm a-standing here alone
Every night, I stand here alone.
Weepin' my heart out till cold gray dawn
I cry until the cold gray dawn.
Prayin' that you're lonely and you come here too
I pray that you are also lonely and will come to this mountain.
Hoping just by chance that I'll get a glimpse of you
I hope to catch a glimpse of you by chance.
Tryin' hard to find you, somewhere up above
I am searching hard for you, even in the mountains above.
A mountain of love, a mountain of love, you should be ashamed
Our love was like a grand, towering mountain, and you should feel guilty for letting it fall apart.
Way down below there's a half a million people
Far beneath me are five hundred thousand people.
Somewhere there's a church with a big tall steeple
There is a church somewhere with a big, tall steeple pointing to the sky.
Inside a church there's an altar filled with flowers
Inside the church, there is an altar adorned with beautiful flowers.
Wedding bells are ringin' and they shoulda been ours
The sound of wedding bells can be heard, and they should have been ringing for us.
That's why I'm so lonely, my dreams gone above
This is why I feel so alone, it's like my dreams are up in the clouds.
High on a mountain of love
This feeling of love was so high and mighty, like a mountain.
High on a mountain of love
Once we felt so deeply in love, just like being high on a mountain.
High on a mountain of love
The feelings of love were so strong and high, just like on top of a mountain.
Lyrics © MORRIS MUSIC, INC.
Written by: Harold Kenneth Dorman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Hayden Brackett
Standing on a mountain looking down on a city
The way I feel is a doggone pity
Teardrops fallin' down a mountainside
Many times I've been here, many times I've cried
We used to be so happy when we were in love
High on a mountain of love
Night after night I'm a-standing here alone
Weepin' my heart out till cold gray dawn
Prayin' that you're lonely and you come here too
Hoping just by chance that I'll get a glimpse of you
Tryin' hard to find you, somewhere up above
High on a mountain of love
A mountain of love, a mountain of love, you should be ashamed
We used to be a mountain of love
But you just changed your name
Way down below there's a half a million people
Somewhere there's a church with a big tall steeple
Inside a church there's an altar filled with flowers
Wedding bells are ringin' and they shoulda been ours
That's why I'm so lonely, my dreams gone above
High on a mountain of love
A mountain of love, a mountain of love, you should be ashamed now
Used to be a mountain of love
But you just changed your name
Way down below there's a half a million people
Somewhere there's a church with a big tall steeple
Inside a church there's an altar filled with flowers
Wedding bells are ringin' that shoulda been ours
That's why I'm so lonely, dream gone above
High on a mountain of love
High on a mountain of love
High on a mountain of love
High on a mountain of love
High on a mountain of love
Carl Looney
This man can SING AWESOME 😎🥃👏
Hero3128
Let's give the background singers their due credit too. They are awesome.
avidrocker
woo hoo hoooooo!!!
Carleton Candis
The Bloosems
Douggg1000
What makes Johnny Rivers songs so great besides his incredible singing, is each musical note is so clear, volume perfectly match to the vocals..
Laura Lennon
Since I was a little girl I have absolutely loved this song.......and many others by Johnny Rivers! It was great music to grow up with!!❤️❤️
Chrissycakes 4
Me too❤
Pat Downs
Rivers had a knack for sounding good no matter what he sang.
Jay Hobbs
You know that's right
Joanna DeMore
♥️♥️♥️🕊💎🌻