Poor Side of Town
{{short description|1966 single by Johnny Rivers}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Poor Side of Town
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Johnny Rivers
| album = Changes
| B-side = A Man Can Cry
| released = August 1966{{cite web |last1=Rivers |first1=Johnny |title=Poor Side Of Town |url=https://www.45cat.com/record/66205 |website=45cat.com |access-date=12 April 2021}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length =
- 3:48 (album version)
- 3:03 (single version)
| label = Imperial
| writer =
| producer = Lou Adler
| prev_title = (I Washed My Hands in) Muddy Water
| prev_year = 1966
| next_title = Baby I Need Your Loving
| next_year = 1967
}}
"Poor Side of Town" is a song by Johnny Rivers that reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the RPM Canadian Chart in November 1966.{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.6822.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - November 21, 1966}} The song marked a turning point in Rivers' career that saw him move away from his earlier rock and roll style toward pop ballads.
Song
Johnny Rivers would recall of "Poor Side of Town": "I don’t know what inspired it…It was not from any personal experience, because I was living in Beverly Hills." Although he'd describe it as "an easy song to write", {{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2015/05/18/rocker-johnny-rivers-on-his-hits-appearance-on-letterman/?sh=539543081dec|title = Rocker Johnny Rivers on His Hits, 'Secret' Appearance on Letterman|website = Forbes}} Rivers would say the song: "took…about five months to write…I kept writing little bits and pieces of it."Morning Call 13 November 2015 "Johnny Rivers Music Has Taken Him Slow Dancin' Through the Decades" by John Moser pp. Go1, Go2 With the parent album of "Poor Side of Town": Changes, Rivers shifted from southern rock to an orchestral pop sound with a string-&-brass arrangement by Marty Paich who had orchestrated the recent Top 5 hits by the Mamas & the Papas, the LA Phil musicians who had played on the Mamas & Papas tracks also playing on Changes.
The single edit of "Poor Side of Town" reduces the coda of the album track, which following the repeated lyric line: "Oh with you by my side" continues, finishing up the verse, and following the repeated guitar riff, repeats the sung introduction of the scatting, before the song fades out.
Charts
| class="wikitable"
!Chart (1966) !Peak |
| Canada RPM{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.6822.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - November 21, 1966}}
|align="center"|1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100
|align="center"|1 |
Cover versions
- The 5th Dimension recorded the song for the 1967 album, Up, Up and Away.
- Al Wilson released a version of the song as a single from his 1968 album, Searching for the Dolphins. It reached No. 75 in the U.S. and No. 54 in Canada in 1969.{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5890.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - February 3, 1969}}
- Beverly Bremers released a version of the song on her 1972 album, I'll Make You Music.[https://www.discogs.com/Beverly-Bremers-Ill-Make-You-Music/release/3348778 Beverly Bremers, I'll Make You Music] Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- Joe Stampley released a version of the song as a single from the 1983 album, Backslidin'.
- Lynn Anderson recorded a version of the song on her 1980 album Even Cowgirls Get The Blues
- Nick Lowe released a version of the song on his 2001 album, The Convincer.
- Mark Oliver Everett (better known as Eels) recorded an acoustic version of the song backed by a mini orchestra on his 2006 live album, Eels with Strings: Live at Town Hall.
- The Heart Beats' version appears on The Complete '60s Masters released in 2023.
Personnel
- Lead vocals and guitar by Johnny Rivers.
- Piano by Larry Knechtel
- Bass by Joe Osborn
- Drums by Hal Blaine
- Background vocals by The Blossoms: Darlene Love, Fanita James, and Jean King.
- Written by Johnny Rivers and Lou Adler.
- Produced by Lou Adler.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Allmusic | class= song| id=mt0027506236| label= Poor Side of Town | accessdate= 19 May 2016 }}
{{Johnny Rivers}}
Category:Beverly Bremers songs
Category:Songs written by Lou Adler
Category:Song recordings produced by Lou Adler
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Category:Imperial Records singles
{{1960s-single-stub}}