Poor Side of Town

"Poor Side Of Town"
Single by Johnny Rivers
from the album "Changes"
B-side	"A Man Can Cry" (non-LP track)
Released	1966
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	3:48 (album) 3:03 (single)
Label	Imperial 66205
Writer(s)	Johnny Rivers Lou Adler

"Poor Side of Town" is a song by Johnny Rivers that reached No.1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and on the RPM Canadian Chart in November 1966.

Song

It was a very important record for Johnny Rivers and represented a change from the musical style (characterized by a Go Go sound), that provided him with his early hits and acclaim. With "Poor Side of Town", Rivers moved into the pop-soul style.

The melody is a soulful version of California-based pop, with some strong folk elements as well. Marty Paich provided the song's string arrangement.

There are two versions of the song. The single edit version fades out earlier, in order to avoid repetition, due to its length, following the repeated lyric line: "Oh with you by my side". The longer version goes on, finishing up the verse, and following the repeated guitar riff, repeats the sung introduction of the scatting, before the song fades out.

In his 2006 live album Eels with Strings: Live at Town Hall, Mark Oliver Everett (better known as Eels) recorded an acoustic version of the song backed by a mini orchestra.

Cover

In 1983, country music singer Joe Stampley covered Poor Side of Town which was a track release as a single from the Backslidin' album.

Nick Lowe also recorded a cover on his album The Convincer in 2001.

Personnel

• Lead Vocals by Johnny Rivers.
• Background Vocals by The Blossoms: Darlene Love, Fanita James, and Jean King.
• Hal Blaine, drums
• Written by Johnny Rivers and Lou Adler.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics