35 Quotes by Johnny Rivers

In early '57, I bought a Fender Telecaster.

I play my old songs but I have to keep playing new ones. That's what keeps you going.

But I always loved songs with great lyrics.

I'd gone through periods where I didn't work live performances for probably seven or eight months at a time.

A lot of young artists don't realize that it is a business. But the acts who survive over the years are the ones who take care of the business end of performing. Mick Jagger does it, so does Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan. They know how to sell and promote themselves and their music. They understand the financial end of this business.

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

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

And all I was doing was playing all those funky blues tunes and rock and roll songs I'd played with my band back in Baton Rouge in the '50s.