The Rivieras

Yes, you're gonna hear songs by the original artist before they became hits by someone else.

And right now, we're up to January 1964 and The Rivieras hit number five with a surf tune called California Sun.

But oddly, the song was originally recorded and released by a New Orleans R&B singer named Joe Jones in 1961.

You may recognize the name Joe Jones and voice from his number three hit, You Talk Too Much.

[instrumental music]

There you go, Louisiana man singing about the California sun.

That was Joe Jones with California Sun, a number 89 hit, uh, for him in 1961, but it was the Rivieras that made it a classic in 1964.

Joe Jones died in 2005 at the age of 79.

We had Teenagers Getting High by them.

And then we had the Ramones covering California Sun by the Rivieras off It's Alive.

There wasn't much room in the turnaround at the start or the end for changing songs, but by God, you did it, Kev.

Oh, God, I'm there.