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.
Walk Myself on Home
Johnny Rivers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been waiting in here all night, for you to meet me,
I've been waiting in here all night, all alone.
But it looks like by now, you ain't never gonna show,
so, I guess that I'll just walk myself on home.
Oh, I spend all my time just waiting on you,
I should know by now, that you're just leading me on,
so, I guess that I'll just walk myself on home.
CHORUS:
I'm walkin' home, I'm all alone,
you know I'm walkin home, I ain't got nobody, of my own.
I've been waiting here since eight, and now it's ten,
I've been playing your little game, since I don't know when.
I'm gonna find me a little girl, who won't make me wait so long,
so, I guess that I'll just walk myself on home.
I'm walkin' home, I'm all alone,
you know I'm walkin home, I ain't got nobody, of my own.
I've been waiting here since eight and now it's ten
I've been playing your little game since I don't know when
I'm gonna find me a little girl who won't make me wait so long
So, I guess that I'll just walk myself on home.
So, I guess that I'll just walk myself on home.
So, I guess that I'll just walk myself on home.
The lyrics of Johnny Rivers’s song “Walk Myself on Home” are about waiting for someone who never shows up, feeling disappointed, and eventually deciding to leave and go home alone. The singer has been waiting in a place for hours, and the other person hasn’t shown up, leaving them feeling abandoned and frustrated. The singer is giving up on waiting for the other person to come and is deciding to find someone else who would value them more.
The song speaks to themes of loneliness, disappointment, and longing for someone who truly cares. The singer feels like they are wasting their time waiting for someone who doesn’t show up, and they are tired of being treated poorly. The chorus of the song emphasizes the singer’s loneliness and feeling of being alone. It’s a powerful song about moving on from someone who isn’t treating you well and finding someone who will.
Overall, “Walk Myself on Home” is a beautifully written song with powerful lyrics that convey the emotions of the singer perfectly. It’s a relatable song that anyone who has ever been left waiting by someone can understand and appreciate.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been waiting in here all night, for you to meet me,
I have been patiently waiting for you to show up all night in this place.
I've been waiting in here all night, all alone.
I have been waiting here all by myself all night.
But it looks like by now, you ain't never gonna show,
so, I guess that I'll just walk myself on home.
It seems like you won't be coming at any point, and therefore, I have decided to walk home on my own.
Oh, I spend all my time just waiting on you,
I'll never know why you treat me the way you do.
I dedicate my time only waiting for you, and I wonder why you treat me so poorly.
I should know by now, that you're just leading me on,
so, I guess that I'll just walk myself on home.
I should have figured out by now that you are only trying to fool me into thinking that you will show up, and therefore, I have decided to go home alone.
I'm walkin' home, I'm all alone,
you know I'm walkin home, I ain't got nobody, of my own.
I am walking home alone with no one beside me and no one to call my own.
I've been waiting here since eight, and now it's ten,
I've been playing your little game, since I don't know when.
I have been waiting for you since eight, and now it's ten, and it seems like you are playing a game which I can't identify when it began.
I'm gonna find me a little girl, who won't make me wait so long,
so, I guess that I'll just walk myself on home.
I am determined to find a girl who does not make me wait this long, and therefore, I have decided to go home alone.
So, I guess that I'll just walk myself on home.
Therefore, I have made up my mind that I will go home on my own.
So, I guess that I'll just walk myself on home.
Once again, I have decided to go home alone.
Contributed by Oliver A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.