Johnny Rivers, Baton Rouge March 20 2009

[AtPontchartrain]

http://www.hootenannypower.com/images/489_rivers.trimmed.jpg

Tickets are at:

http://manshiptheatre.org/events/event-dates/200/

[ibjamn]

Johnny was one of my must sees at fest year before last & I loved his performance!

But, I would go just to see Duke Bardwell. Long story, but we go back to 1966!

[AtPontchartrain]

Here is Duke circa 1965 helping the other Greek Fountains hold up a column:

http://media.2theadvocate.com/images/music+greeks+032406.jpg

[ibjamn]

Here is Duke circa 1965 helping the other Greek Fountains hold up a column:

http://media.2theadvocate.com/images/music+greeks+032406.jpg

OH good lord!!!!! LOL!!!! Dat's the Greek Fountain Riverfront Band allright....

I have their album, The Greek Fountain Riverfront Band Takes Requests. (Whew, what a mouthful!!) Back when Luther wore his hair in a pompadour. ;)
Funny, but true. Duke has a twin sister named Tulane!

[AtPontchartrain]

This deal is tonight.

Johnny Rivers will be playing on the stage where he first saw Elvis perform, ca. 1957. The local paper tells us:

Rivers recalls country comic Minnie Pearl being the show’s emcee and Little Jimmy Dickens among the other acts. Tickets were about $2 and the show’s sponsors included cigarette and flower companies. Guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black were Presley’s only accompaniment.

“In the middle of the show,” Rivers said, “Minnie Pearl says, ‘Here’s a new rockabilly sensation, the Hillbilly Cat, Elvis Presley!’ And he comes out in a pink suit and all the people around us started laughing at him. He looked like a clown jumping around on stage before he even started singing. He started into, ‘Well, that’s all right, mama,’ and I looked at my friend and said, ‘That’s that song from the radio that we really like!’ ”

After the show, Rivers went backstage and watched the performers packing up.

“Elvis had a pink Cadillac that was pulling a trailer. They were packing up the guitar, amp and the big standup bass and talking about cars. I’m standing there with my buddy going, ‘This guy is really cool!’ Little did we know.”

....
“My dad played guitar and mandolin, so we always had them around the house, but I had never heard any R&B stuff in New York,” he said. “It was like culture shock when I got to Baton Rouge. You turn on the radio and there’d be all this black music, gospel, all that New Orleans R&B stuff, and the records from Del Rio and Houston, Texas. All these artists and labels that I’d never heard of, like Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson and Ray Charles.”

A few years after seeing Presley at Baton Rouge High, Rivers formed his first band, the Spades, and made his first recordings, cut at Cosimo Matassa’s studio in New Orleans...

http://www.2theadvocate.com/entertainment/41524527.html

[Staxsun]

Wish I could be there. I've seen him several times, and he's a great performer.