At the Whisky à Go Go

At the Whisky à Go Go
Live album by Johnny Rivers
Released	February 1964
Recorded	Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Pop, rock and roll
Length	34:48
Label	Imperial
Producer	Lou Adler
Johnny Rivers chronology
At the Whiskey à Go Go (1964) Here We à Go Go Again! (1964)

Johnny Rivers at the Whisky à Go Go (shown as "At Whisky-A-Go-Go" on the original label) is a live album and is the debut album from American rock and roll singer/songwriter/guitarist Johnny Rivers.

The album was released in February 1964, just as The Beatles and the British music invasion was getting into full swing. Rivers was asked to open the legendary Whisky a Go Go nightclub in Los Angeles starting January 15, 1964 ^[1] and during that run he recorded the album. With the help of producer Lou Adler, Johnny helped introduce the "Go Go sound" to rock and roll. The album reached #13 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart,^[2] (#12 on the The Billboard 200)^[3] and became Johnny's first gold album. The album also gave Rivers his very first big hit, a cover version of Chuck Berry's 1959 hit "Memphis". Rivers's version went to #2 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart in the summer of 1964, and became his first gold single.

Johnny Rivers at the Whisky à Go Go would be the first of five albums that Rivers would record live at the nightclub, and is not to be confused with Johnny Rivers Live at the Whisky à Go Go, an entirely different album which was released in Germany.

Track listing

1. "Memphis" (Chuck Berry) (2:44)
2. "It Wouldn't Happen With Me" (Raymond Evans) (3:30)
3. "Oh Lonesome Me" (Don Gibson) (2:37)
4. "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" (Lloyd Price) (3:00)
5. "Whiskey a Go Go" (Johnny Rivers) (3:57)
6. "Walking the Dog" (Rufus Thomas) (3:51)
7. "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" (Chuck Berry) (2:36)
8. "You Can Have Her (I Don't Want Her)" (Bill Cook) (3:20)
9. "Multiplication" (Bobby Darin) (2:51)
10. "Medley: La Bamba" (Traditional; arranged by Johnny Rivers) / "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Russell) (6:22)

Personnel

• Tay Uhler - guitar
• Joe Osborn - bass
• Joe Sample - piano
• Eddie Rubin - drums
• Bones Howe - engineer
• Wally Heider - remote engineer

References

1. ↑ Ragogna, Mike. "From Whisky A Go Go to the Royal Studios: Conversations with Johnny Rivers...". Huffington Post. Retrieved 19 November 2015. 
2. ↑ "Discography 1964-1969". Johnny Rivers Official Site. Retrieved 20 November 2015. 
3. ↑ "Johnny Rivers at the Whiskey A-Go-Go - Awards". ALLMUSIC. Retrieved 20 November 2015.