"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.[2] The song marked a turning point in Rivers' career that saw him move away from his earlier rock and roll style toward pop ballads.
| "Poor Side of Town" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Johnny Rivers | ||||
| from the album Changes | ||||
| B-side | "A Man Can Cry" (non-LP track) | |||
| Released | August 1966[1] | |||
| Genre | Baroque pop, orchestral pop | |||
| Length | 3:48 (album) 3:03 (single) | |||
| Label | Imperial 66205 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Lou Adler | |||
| Johnny Rivers singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
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", [3] Rivers would say the song: "took…about five months to write…I kept writing little bits and pieces of it."[4] 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.[4]
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
| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 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. in 1969.
- Beverly Bremers released a version of the song on her 1972 album, I'll Make You Music.[5]
- 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
External links
- Poor Side of Town at AllMusic. Retrieved 19 May 2016.