Johnny And The Hurricanes – Red River Rock

Organ, organ, and more organ! You also have some sax also but what a smooth instrumental. Instrumentals were big in the 50s and 60s. Walk Don’t Run, Sleep Walk and more were very popular. Whenever I hear this I think I’m walking about at a carnival at night.

The Hurricanes began as an Ohio combo formed in 1957 by a group of students from Toledo’s Rossford Catholic High. The leader of the group was saxophonist Johnny Paris, born John Pocisk.  Paris grew up listening to jazz greats until Bill Haley became popular using a combination guitar-sax backing. Paris formed the Orbits, a band that played on a few locally released recordings behind Mack Vickery.

Johnny and the Hurricanes had a huge following in Europe. Paris kept touring with different members up until 2005. Paris said that over 300 musicians played in the band in its fifty-year existence.

Red River Rock peaked at #5 in the Hot 100, #3 in Canada and #3 in the UK in 1959. They would have a #1 Canada hit the same year with “Beatnik Fly.”

Red River Rock

Just groove on the organ.

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

39 thoughts on “Johnny And The Hurricanes – Red River Rock”

  4. I recognized this cool instrumental right away based on just the title. I’m pretty sure I first heard “Red River Rock” on “my” Sunday night oldies radio show, I used to listen to when growing up in Germany.

    Assuming this may be your last post of 2022, I also would like to use this opportunity to commend you on yet another great year of blogging. You frequently write about artists who are entirely new to me or I’ve only heard of in passing. I also continue to be amazed how similar our music tastes are!

    Keep up the great work, Max! And I wish you and your family a happy and healthy new year!

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    1. Thank you Christian that means a lot to me…I really appreciate it. Yes we are similiar in taste! The same goes to you in the posts you do man. I wish you and your family a Happy New Year!

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    1. Phil I bought my first Beatles album at 8 years old in 1975 so I have always been behind my generation and stayed that way. I know more music from your generation than mine. You sir…grew up in the best generation for music…for me anyway.
      I do like that organ sound music had at that time.

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      1. Thanks Max. Our organ player used a Fafisa, which like the Vox organ was about the only two out there in the 60s. Vox had a cheesy sound, but Farfisa was worse. To fix that problem, he bought a used Leslie cabinet and it made the little beast sound like a Hammond B 3. Problem solved. The Animals, Dave Clark 5 and The Doors used the Vox organ.

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      2. Phil I saw a Leslie in this old music shop a few years ago….the cabinet ready for a guitar or organ. It was around $3000….I want one bad but whew. It was from that time period. It made a lot of the sound for the mid Beatles on….on guitar anyway.

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  6. Oh yeah, this one It is redolent of the late 50’s/early sixties. Rock solid beat, trilling organ, wailing sax, great guitar break. If that didn’t get the Betty’s and Veronica’s up and dancing their little cotton socks off nothing would? I recall hearing this at a 60’s themed party and it got the floor packed in no time. Damned near twisted my poor ol’ sciatic back out.

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    1. I can’t imagine twisting! My back would go also. I live by Schroeder’s saying…. “Musicians Don’t Dance”
      I remember going to clubs and parties….slow dancing yea I’ll do…but nothing mid tempo or over.

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      1. Nowadays, even more so than before, I don’t gyrate on the dancefloor no more. No frugging way no more, uh uh, nosireeBob. Too steal a line out of many an old cop/buddy action movie ‘I’m too old for that frugging stuff.’

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      3. Happy New Year. I feel good things for 2023. Do you have plans for tonight’s celebration? I plan on looking for a livestream on youtube. My kids are having a party at younger son’s house.

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      4. Bailey and Maria are going to a party tonight…us old folks are staying at home with my cousin Mark who is cooking and we are playing some Yahtzee lol.

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      7. It’s only 9 here but the neighbors have started letting off their arsenal of noise. Sounds like fireworks not guns but I’m sure the guns will start going off at some point as they always do. Good luck on the Yahtzee. Do you have a Yahtzee cup? Been years since I played it. Fun game.

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      8. I still can’t believe they are allowed to fire them off like that in a neighborhood.
        Oh Lisa….I posted about Yahtzee back in Feb of 2019…I would say…90 percent of the weekends since then….we have played. Mark, Jen, and me…we play 3 games a night for Friday and Saturday. Yes we have a regular cup and a felt cup because it’s quiet lol…it’s no telling how many games we have played. I’m pro lol

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      9. Well I would use the term neighborhood very loosely, I live in a rural area pretty much. It’s nice to know what you are going to be doing on the weekends. Where do you get your extra scoring sheets? Right now Wednesday is our (online) game night, the kids and I. The games we play are varied. The most recent one is Carcassonne.

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      10. I made a word document yahtzee copies. We combine 3 games and call that 1 game. So we have 3 boxes to get 1’s etc… If you ever want a copy of the documents…tell me…they are cool.

        Have a good time playing your game! Happy New Year Lisa!!!

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