He reluctantly agreed to perform for a few nights in a stripped-down He moved to Los Angeles and began aiming for a career as aįate played its hand in 1963, however, when a friend who ran a restaurant in LosĪngeles appealed to Rivers for help when his house band, a jazz group, suddenly Of the established figures in the business who'd tried to give him variousīreaks over the years, including Alan Freed and George Goldner, had fallen on His belt and relatively little to show for it except the experience even a lot Years old and a veteran performer with six years' professional performing under Nelson and ending up on the album More Songs by Ricky. The stage, when a chance meeting with guitarist Jamesīurton led to one of his songs, "I'll Make Believe," finding its way to Ricky It was as a composer that Rivers experienced his first taste of success off of ![]() He made his living largely performing with the Spades and cuttingĭemos of songs for Hill & Range, primarily in Elvis Presley's style. Other early singles, recorded for Guyden, Cub, Era, or Chancellor, was Presley's version of Blackwell's "Don't Be Cruel" - nor any of Rivers' Neither this number - which sounds a lot like Elvis Rivers' official recording debut took place with an original song, "Baby Comeīack," on George Goldner's Gone Records label in 1958, arranged by renownedīlackwell. You that same year), and to a series of single releases under his new name. Johnny Presley had portrayed a character named "Deke Rivers" in the movie Loving May also have been influenced by the fact that Elvis This led to a change of name,Īt Freed's suggestion, to the less ethnic, more American-mythic Johnny Rivers (which The most influential disc jockey in the country. In 1957, he went to New York and wangled a meeting with Alan Freed, who was then Ramistella made his recording debut leading the Spades inġ956 with the song "Hey Little Girl," issued on the Suede label. Orleans-flavored R&B and rock & roll, especially Fats Domino, Larry Williams,Īnd Little Richard. In local groups and at age 13, he formed his own band, the Spades, playing New He was also good enough to start playing guitar Additionally, he got to seeĭomino and Jimmy Reed in person, and by the time he entered his teens, he Turn up on the airwaves at the dawn of the 1950s. Meanwhile, Ramistella also began absorbing the R&B sounds that were starting to Introduced him to the guitar at an early age, and he proved a natural on the His father, who played the mandolin and guitar, ![]() Born John Henry Ramistella on November 7, 1942, in New York, hisįamily moved to Baton Rouge, LA, in 1948, and it was there that his musical He had the misfortune of having been born a little too late toĬatch that wave, however, and took until the middle of the next decade to find Hawkins, with all of the verve and spirit of members of that first wave of Rivers was very much a kindred spirit to figures like Buddy Recordings and their success led to the launching, directly and indirectly, ofĪt least three record labels and a dozen other careers whose influence extended Singer/guitarist who made a name for himself as a straight-ahead rock & rollerĭuring the middle of that decade. Level, he was a rock star of the 1960s and a true rarity as a white American Rivers is a unique figure in the history of rock music. (64), United Artists, Atlantic et Epic Records. ![]() Son talent réside pourtant dans la composition, pour laquelle il est curieusement méconnu. ![]() À la fin des années cinquante sous son propre nom et bien que chanteur médiocre, il s'est spécialisé dans les reprises de morceaux célèbres.
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