Johnny Rivers - 1968 - Summer Rain

Summer Rain/Memory Of The Coming Good/Carpet Man/Tunesmith


Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella, November 7, 1942, New York City) is an Italian-American rock 'n' roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His repertoire includes pop, folk, blues, and old-time rock 'n' roll. Rivers charted during the 1960s and 1970s but remains best known for a string of hit singles between 1964 and 1968, among them "Memphis" (a Chuck Berry cover), "Mountain of Love", "The Seventh Son", "Secret Agent Man", "Poor Side of Town" (a US #1), "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" (a Motown cover), and "Summer Rain".

Johnny Rivers is a unique figure in the history of rock music. On the most obvious level, he was a rock star of the 1960s and a true rarity as a white American singer/guitarist who made a name for himself as a straight-ahead rock & roller during the middle of that decade. Just as important behind the scenes, his recordings and their success led to the launching, directly and indirectly, of at least three record labels and a dozen other careers whose influence extended into the 1970s, 1980s, and beyond. 

 "Summer Rain" is a song written by Jim Hendricks and performed by Johnny Rivers on his 1968 LP Realization. Of his several dozen releases, it is considered his eighth greatest hit internationally. The song reached No. 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, No. 10 on the U.S. Cash Box Top 100, No. 10 in Canada in early January, 1968 and number 13 in Australia. "Summer Rain" is a song about lifelong love during "the summer of (casual) love." It was released in the winter, remembering the previous summer. The song twice references Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles album which was released during the middle of that year.
 Rivers continued releasing material into the 1980s (e.g., 1980s Borrowed Time LP), although his recording career was winding down. He is still touring, however, performing 50 to 60 shows a year. Increasingly he has returned to the blues that inspired him initially.

In 1998 Rivers reactivated his Soul City Records label and released Last Train to Memphis. In early 2000, Rivers recorded with Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and Paul McCartney on a tribute album dedicated to Buddy Holly's backup band, the Crickets. Johnny Rivers career total is 9 Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and 17 in the Top 40 from 1964 to 1977, he has sold well over 30 million records.