Johnny Rivers "Here We A Go-Go Again!" 1964 + "Mountain Of Love" 1966 - 7"/45rpm - mono

Rivers' next few singles, with the exceptions of "Mountain of Love" and "Seventh Son" -- which made the Top Five and Top Ten, respectively -- didn't do quite as well, but all performed very respectably. As important as his singles were in keeping him on the radio and before the public, his albums during this period were extraordinary. Rivers proved himself exceptionally prolific and versatile, releasing seven more albums through the end of 1967. Most of these were recorded live at the Whisky a Go-Go, which remained his home base for many years and his favorite concert venue. And all of the albums after his debut were carefully calculated -- the performances displayed great spontaneity and rate among the best pure rock & roll documents of their era, but Rivers and Adler were also careful to choose songs that all translated well on vinyl...
...He ranged freely between classic songs by Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard and then-current hits and album cuts by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and even covers of Sam Cooke material. Other albums made room for electric versions of folk and blues numbers and his versions of '60s soul material and all of these albums sold very well by the standards of the day, climbing into the Top 50 and occasionally much higher.
For Rivers' studio recordings, Adler assembled a core band of top talent, drummer Hal Blaine, pianist Larry Knechtel, and Joe Osborn on bass, who together went on to become one of the top studio bands in Los Angeles, backing the Mamas & the Papas, Scott McKenzie, and other Adler-produced acts as well as playing on many of the records of the Carpenters, among many others...
trax:
01 Maybellene 02 Dang Me 03 Hello Josephine 04 Hi-Heel Sneakers 05 Can't Buy Me Love 06 I Got a Woman 07 Baby, What You Want Me to Do 8 Midnight Special 09 Roll over Beethoven 10 Walk Myself on Home 11 Johnny B. Goode 12 Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On

"Mountain Of Love" 1966 - 7"/45rpm - mono
...It was out of the success of Rivers' Liberty recordings that Adler was able to found Dunhill Productions, initially as a management, production, and publishing company, which soon after became Dunhill Records, one the most successful independent labels of the mid-'60s, with artists including Barry McGuire, the Mamas & the Papas, and the Grassroots. Within two years of its founding, Adler had sold the new company to ABC Records for millions of dollars, which allowed him to form Ode Records, which, in turn, became the home of Carole King. - by Bruce Eder
trax:
01 Mountain Of Love 02 Moody River