Rockin' Pneumonia - Boogie Woogie Flu (Johnny Rivers) (LP 3641 - 3642)

Johnny Rivers L.A. Reggae (CD, United Artists Records, 1972) *** 

Johnny Rivers Blue Suede Shoes (CD, United Artists Records, 1973) ***  

Genre: Pop, rock

Places I remember: HMV

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Rockin' Pneumonia - Boogie Woogie Flu (L.A. Reggae)

Gear costume: Brown Eyed Girl (L.A. Reggae)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: Johnny Rivers was big in the sixties, but I only came across him in the seventies when his brand of rock'n'roll reached me via those highlighted songs, both covers. 

Both of these albums come from the early seventies. They contain some great vibrant covers, but they were not quite of the time, so they didn't sell well. They are certainly worth finding as they are good fun! When I put them on recently, Jacky and I danced around the lounge to Blue Suede Shoes!

Where do they all belong? Respect to Johnny Rivers - he has only just retired from touring (in 2023). 

It belongs to P F Sloan (Rumer) #99

Devo Secret Agent man/ Red Eye (Warner Brothers Records, WBS 49028, 1979)

I can never think of Devo without thinking of Woody Boyd on Cheers in this episode (go to the 40 sec mark). 



They have, of course, become an old group now, but there was a time when they were at the cutting edge of rock music.
 
Unfortunately, compared to their early stuff, this single sees them more as a mainstream rock outfit. It comes from their Duty Now For The Future album which was received with less than glowing reviews at the time.

The song itself is written in part by P F Sloan (you'll maybe recognise the name from a superb song by Rumer...

)

Secret Agent Man was written for an early sixties TV show. Many artists have had a go at it: Mel Torme, Johnny Rivers and Devo are obviously among them. Johnny had the big hit with it in 1966 (I include it for comparison and coz it's the best version for my money)

It's both a catchy song and a catchy version.

Hidden gem: The B side is also on the album so no rarity value. It's also a catchy song with a catchy chorus but, like so many songs chosen for B sides - it's true home is on a B side.