Johnny Rivers

Alan's publishing company was in the Brill Building, and of course, the Brill Building was where all the songwriters hung out because that's where all the publishers were.

The first amp I had back in the '50s was a small Fender.

Even Woodstock turned out to be a disaster. Everybody was stuck in the mud and people got sick.

I think after 1970 or so, after I sold Soul City, I took off for awhile and didn't do too many gigs.

What I really remember is that people camped out everywhere, and the fact everybody expected it might turn into a big nightmare with all sorts of hassles because back in those days everybody was smoking pot and taking acid.

Guys like Otis Blackwell and Bobby Darin, and all the guys who were writing songs for Elvis at the time, just hanging around, writing songs, talking about music.

The first time I went to New York, I met Alan Freed.

The web site and the Internet are a whole new ball game.

I loved playing and I was actually working two jobs.

When I came back to California in the early '60s I was hanging out with Jimmy Bowen, Phil Spector, and I wanted to be a record producer and work with other artists.

After that initial success, every chance we got we'd hire that remote recording truck and just record stuff at the Whisky because it was so inexpensive.

About two months into the Whisky, I borrowed some money and rented a remote recording truck.