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JOHNNY RIVERS
In
, when the British Invasion was in full
swing and American rockers were hard to spot
on the pop charts, Johnny Rivers was one of the
rst to regain a foothold. In fact, that’s when he
made his rst top- single, “Memphis”—right
in the midst of Beatlemania. Over the next four
years, Rivers cut another six top- records, in-
cluding his rst number-one when, against the
advice of his label, he added a balled to his rep-
ertory. In a sense, his formula for success was
not dissimilar to the Brits’; vintage American
rock and R&B played with a simplicity that give
it a modern edge. And the Southern tone in Riv-
ers’ music was unabashedly authentic; though
he was born in New York, he grew up in Baton
Rouge. By junior high and barely in his teens,
Rivers began sitting in with a number of local
bands and also led his own,
e Spades, which
toured out to Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, and
Alabama. In
, a er a brief return to New
York, he cut his rst solo single, “Baby Come
Back,” and the following year he began working
in Nashville cutting demos for other songwrit-
ers a er making another two singles of his own
there. Rivers relocated to Los Angeles in the
early ’ s a er one of his songs was recorded by
Ricky Nelson; he cut a few more singles, includ-
ing a cover of “Long Black Veil,” but primarily
worked as a writer and producer.
at is, until
Bill Gazzari’s club needed a ll-in band when
the house jazz trio le . Rivers’ rock combo was
a huge hit, and he was soon connected with his
longtime producer, Lou Adler, and Elmer Val-
entine, who o ered Rivers a contract to open
his new Whiskey a Go Go club on the Sunset
Strip in January
. A month later, River cut
his Brit-busting live, debut album at the Whis-
key and rocketed up the charts. His later top-
hits included “Mountain of Love,” “Secret Agent
Man,” “Poor Side of Town,” “Baby I Need Your
Lovin’,” “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie
Woogie Flu,” and “Swayin’ to the Music (Slow
Dancin’).” Johnny Rivers is making his Ravinia
debut.
JIMMY WEBB
Jimmy Webb is an American songwriter, com-
poser, and singer known for his varied but keen
connection to music. Not many artists can say
they premiered a classical nocturne and had a
rap hit with Kanye West (“Do What You Gotta
Do” on
Famous
) in the same year, but Webb’s ca-
reer is full of such surprises. Since his rst plat-
inum-seller, “ e Worst that Could Happen,”
Webb has made numerous hits, including “Up,
Up, and Away,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,”
“Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston,” “All I Know,”
and “MacArthur Park,” and has also become a
leader and mentor in the industry as a cham-
pion for songwriters. Webb is the only artist to
have received Grammy Awards for music, lyr-
ics, and orchestration, and his numerous acco-
lades also include the Ivor Novello International
Award (
), the Academy of Country Music’s
Poet Award (
), and being named one of the
top songwriters of all time by
Rolling Stone
(
). He was the youngest person ever induct-
ed into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and he
later served as its chairman, from
to
.
Webb has also served as the vice-chairman of
ASCAP. His songs have been recorded by some
of the greatest voices of all time, including Frank
Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, Isaac
Hayes, Art Garfunkel, Linda Ronstadt, Michael
Feinstein, and Judy Collins, as well as bands like
R.E.M. Webb continues to write and record,
having released solo albums since the
s
while also writing for other artists. His latest
two CDs,
Just Across the River
and
Still Within
the Sound of My Voice
, feature duets with Billy
Joel, Jackson Browne, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson,
JD Souther, Glen Campbell, Lucinda Williams,
Mark Knop er, Brian Wilson, Lyle Lovett, and
Keith Urban, among others. Webb also actively
tours with a variety of concert programs, such
as “An Evening with Jimmy Webb,” a humor-
ous master class of songs and stories; “Jimmy
Webb: e Glen Campbell Years,” a multimedia
celebration of his friend and collaborator; and a
pops concert. In October
, Webb premiered
his Nocturne for Piano and Orchestra (Noc-
turne for “Le y”). Jimmy Webb is making his
Ravinia debut.
STEVE KESSLER
Steve Kessler, the bandleader, composer and
cofounder of the Saturday June Band, has been
entertaining in the Midwest for
years. His
performing credits include stints with Ooze
Magazine, the Pace, Fred Winston Band, and
Chariot (which also featured Eddie Vedder).
Kessler and Saturday June Band have performed
at Chicagofest, Taste of Chicago, Arlington Race
Track, Navy Pier, the Park West, Ravinia, and
Notre Dame, Northwestern, and Marquette
Universities, as well as for the Chicago White
Sox and the Chicago Bulls. His bands have
shared the bill with such artists as Steve Good-
man, the Turtles, the Stranglers, X, the Outlaws,
and the Kings. In addition, his guitar and vocal
credits include playing live with Hound Dog
Taylor and recording with Richie Havens.
Chi-
cago
Magazine labeled his band “One of the
good ones,” and Kessler has been described as a
“strong musician and solid composer” by James
Diener, A&R VP at J Records (Alicia Keyes, Lu-
ther Vandross). He is currently recording his
second album.
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