Episode #: 228: Michael Rivers (Johnny Rivers)

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Michael Rivers, son of rock n’ roll icon Johnny “Secret Agent Man” Rivers. Retired and in great health at age 82, Johnny Rivers has lived many lives as one of the groundbreaking musicians in the LA music scene since the early sixties. From session man to Sunset Strip headliner to #1 recording artist to the Monterey Pop Festival, record label owner and publishing mogul and beyond, Johnny Rivers has met and worked with everybody. From Alan Freed to Elvis Presley, from Roger Miller to PF Sloan, from Rickey Nelson to John Phillips, Johnny Rivers knew everyone.

Michael was kind enough to join us as a guest today to give us a first-hand look into his father as both a dad and a celebrity. From having a charge account at the flagship Sunset Strip Tower Records to falling asleep in a booth at the ultra-exclusive On The Rox club above the famed Roxy nightclub on the Strip, Michael went with his dad everywhere. From recording sessions on Hollywood Blvd. to dinners at the Strip’s most iconic vegetarian restaurant The Source, Michael was taken everywhere with his divorced dad, even places kids couldn’t usually go. Not many of us remember the smell of the AMPEX tape machine at United Western Recorders in Hollywood like it was yesterday, but Michael can.

We discuss how Johnny Rivers biggest hit, the theme song to the aforementioned “Secret Agent Man” came about to what it was like touring with his dad as first a tour manager and then a drummer in the 80s on Summer break. We also hear about how Johnny was a prudent businessman who bought property in Beverly Hills and Big Sur in the 1960s which he still owns to this day. If Gazzari’s on the Sunset Strip, The Whisky A Go-Go and an unmade sequel to Easy Rider are up your alley, hang on, this episode is just around the corner. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.