Welcome to Boomtown America
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Welcome to Boomtown America. The only place on the web designed by and for Baby Boomers and ALL our passions and interests.
Our music mix is unique. It was created by radio professionals who went beyond a 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s “oldies” mentality. We have created nothing less than a mix of ROCK & ROLL’S GREATEST HITS – everything from the dawn of rock right up through today!
Our Challenge to You: Listen when you’re working or relaxing. Take a couple of days to experience the incredible depth and variety of music we offer. If you like what you hear (and we know that you will), PLAY IT FORWARD!
Invite 2 of your friends or family members to give it a listen in the same way. Spread the word. The Baby Boomers have a home on the Internet – Boomtown America!
1974: After spending years apart, Marty Balin is talked into going onstage with his old band (once known as Jefferson Airplane -- now called Jefferson Starship) at San Francisco’s Winterland ballroom. It goes well and Marty officially rejoins the band for their super-successful Red Octopus album.
If you think “catfishing” online is bad (that’s someone pretending to be someone else), we now have people scamming other people with the fake promise of a puppy.
If you’re looking for a fur buddy, beware anyone offering to sell you a dog over the internet, especially if they’re asking you to buy gift cards and read the numbers to them over the phone.
The experts say you’re better off visiting a local shelter. Not only will you get a real dog, but you can make sure you and your new best friend hit off before you take him or her home.
Everybody knows you need to walk 10,000 steps a day to maximize your personal health, right? Wrong. Turns out that “10,000 steps” figure did not come from any scientific study. It was made up by somebody in the marketing field because it sounded good.
Recent scientific studies of approximately 17,000 women showed only 4,400 steps provided a health benefit, while the maximum benefit came at 7,500 steps.
Imagine it you had 9 top 10 records, 17 songs in the Top 40 and founded your own record label where you discovered such acts as the 5th Dimension. Now, imagine all that and you’re still not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!
Then you must be imagining that you’re Johnny Rivers.
Rivers is a New York boy who was born John Ramistella. While still a kid, his family moved to the Louisiana where Johnny took his last name from the Mississippi River. He struggled for years to get a foothold in the recording business, eventually traveling from Louisiana to L.A.
Nothing happened until Johnny was signed to a year’s contract at the Whiskey A-Go-Go nightclub. Johnny opened for the club’s traveling roster of headliners. Soon, Johnny was packing crowds in on his own. He finally achieved his breakthrough with a version of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis.” Legend has it that Johnny stole the arrangement from Elvis Presley after Presley played him a demo of the song that King was planning on releasing. For that time forward, apparently, Rivers was persona non grata around Presley.
Rivers followed up his first hit with many more, most of them covers of rock & soul classics like “Baby, I Need Your Lovin’,” “Maybellene,” and “Midnight Special” interspersed with new tunes like “Poor Side of Town” and “Summer Rain.” He scored one of the biggest hits of his career when he was asked to sing the American theme song to a British spy TV series. When Danger Man starring Patrick McGoohan was imported into the U.S., producers decided to rename it Secret Agent. Most Baby Boomers can still sing the lyrics to that theme by heart.
Rivers then became one of the first rock stars to form his own label - Soul City Records. One of the first acts he signed became the labels biggest success - the 5th Dimension. Rivers also gave songwriter Jimmy Webb one of his first breaks by encouraging the 5th Dimension to record Webb's tune "Up, Up & Away."
Rivers had his final 2 hits in the early 70s – a cover of “Rockin’ Pneumonia & the Boogie Woogie Flu” and “Slow Dancing (Swayin’ to the Music).”
Rivers continued recording into the 1980s, but without much success. He still tours to this day – doing some 50 to 60 shows a year.
As for the reason he’s not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? You’ll have to ask the selection committee.
It's been awhile since we looked in on our friends in Mayberry. Here's how they're doing:
Our trivia question is temporarily out of service
