By Penny Bancroft
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942) is an American retired musician. He achieved commercial success and popularity throughout the 1960s and 1970s as a singer and guitarist, characterized as a versatile and influential artist. Rivers is best known for his 1960s output, having popularized the mid-60s discotheque scene through his live rock and roll recordings at the Los Angeles nightclub Whisky a Go Go, and later shifting to a more orchestral, soul-oriented sound during the latter half of the decade. These developments were reflected by his most notable string of hit singles between 1964 and 1968, many of them covers. They include “Memphis“, “Mountain of Love“, “The Seventh Son“, “Secret Agent Man“, “Poor Side of Town“, “Baby I Need Your Lovin’“, and “Summer Rain“. Ultimately, Rivers landed 9 top ten hits and 17 top forty hits on US charts from 1964 to 1977.
On April 9, 2017, he performed a song, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, at the funeral for Chuck Berry, at The Pageant, in St. Louis, Missouri.
In 2019, Rivers announced his farewell tour. His last live performance was in July 2023 at Commerce Casino near Los Angeles.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
What is that wobbly little thing on the turkey’s beak called?
The snood is the flap of skin above a turkey’s beak, but don’t confuse it with the dewlap which is also wobbly. It connects the head to the neck, under the beak.
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Marie Curie (chemist) –
- Dean Jagger (actor) –
- Albert Camus (writer) –
- Billy Graham (evangelist) –
- Al Hirt (musician) –
- Barry Newman (actor) –
- Johnny Rivers (singer) –
- Joni Mitchell (singer) –
- Christopher Knight (actor) –
- Jeremy London (actor) –
- Jason London (actor) –
- Lorde (singer) –
Died
- Alfred Russel Wallace (naturalist) –
- Eleanor Roosevelt (U.S. First Lady) –
- Gene Tunney (boxer) –
- Steve McQueen (actor) –
- Howard Keel (actor) –
- Joe Frazier (boxer) –
- Roy Halladay (baseball player) –
Events
- Alexander Mackenzie became the second prime minister of Canada–
- In a cartoon by Thomas Nast, the elephant was first used to represent the Republican party–
- Last spike of the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia–
- The state of Colorado granted women residents the right to vote–
- Bette Davis became the first woman elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood–
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected for a fourth term–
- UN approved United Nations Emergency Force–
- Elston Howard won American League’s Most Valuable Player award–
- Magic Johnson announced his retirement from basketball because he tested positive for the HIV virus–
- The first female Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, was elected–
- A magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Vancouver Island, Canada–
Weather
- The “Galloping Gertie” bridge in Tacoma collapsed in a windstorm four months after its grand opening–
- 98-mph winds recorded at Block Island, Rhode Island–
- Thermometers in Islip, New York, read a toasty 77.4F.–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
