Collector's Choice
1998
Last Train To Memphis
About This Album
Johnny Rivers was about 15 years removed from the recording studio and nearly 20 from a hit when he cut this album between 1996 and 1998. During the '60s and early '70s, Rivers had been one of the most consistently successful American solo artists: his covers of previously proven R&B/blues, folk and rock/pop songs (Chuck Berry's "Memphis," Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son," Leadbelly's "Midnight Special") and new tunes written to order (P.F. Sloan's "Secret Agent Man," Jim Hendricks' "Summer Rain," Rivers' own "Poor Side of Town") were all quality stuff that have demonstrated proven staying power, and Rivers was able to maintain his career performing them for years. For his studio comeback, Rivers turned to Peter Guralnick's Elvis Presley biography, Last Train to Memphis, for inspiration. Having grown up in Baton Rouge, LA after a childhood move from New York, the southern sounds of rockabilly, blues, and country gave the young Rivers his musical foundation, and the tracks here, though not always conforming strictly to those genres or paying direct tribute to the region or the era, are certainly influenced by that earth-shifting music.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4 and 5)

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