Johnny Rivers had been around since the early 60's, but it was this song, "Secret Agent Man," that put him at the top of the charts and the beginning of a truly varied and distinguished career for the rest of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s and beyond. The song peaked for two weeks at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on Cash Box Top 100 from April 23 to May 6, 1966. One of my other favorite Rivers tunes, one of many great hits by him, came in 1977 when "Swayin' To The Music (Slow Dancin')" hit the airwaves in the summer. The lead guitar solo on "Secret Agent Man" is at least as legendary as the 1960 version of "Walk, Don't Run" by The Ventures. Both were the first guitar solos I ever learned (oh yeah, and "Day Tripper" by The Beatles too), but nowhere as good as the guys that played them. Rivers makes it look easy, but to do it RIGHT is anything but. In this video you'll see another guitar player who will play lead guitar riffs while Rivers sings, but when the big solo comes it is Rivers that wails the notes out, regaining his composure fast enough to resume the vocal. Some scenes from Sean Connery as James Bond and the TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. also appear in this otherwise synchronized music video of a live televised performance by Johnny Rivers at Hollywood Palace on May 6, 1966.

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