The Rivieras

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The Rivieras was a rock group, formed in the early 1960s in South Bend, Indiana, United States.

The Rivieras featured Marty Fortson (born 1945) vocals and guitar; Doug Gean (born 1951) playing the organ; second guitarist Joe Pennell and drummer Paul Dennert. Fortson left the group for the Marines after recording "California Sun". The band's manager, Bill Dobslaw, was the lead vocalist on recordings of subsequent lesser hits.

The Rivieras was one of the later groups in the U.S. playing classical rock and roll. The group had their greatest hit in 1964 with "California Sun". It reached #5 in the main U.S. pop chart. In fact, "California Sun" was one of the last songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart before the "British Invasion".

Both personal reasons and drastical changes in pop music led to a split-up of the group in 1966.