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"Poor Side of Town"
#1 weeks: 1
weeks: 1966-11-12
genre: rock and roll
artist: Johnny Rivers
writers: Johnny Rivers, Lou Adler
lengths: 3:48 (album), 3:03 (single)

"Poor Side of Town" is a song by Johnny Rivers, that reached number one on the BillboardHot 100 and on the RPMCanadian Chart on November 1966.

It was a very important record for Johnny Rivers and represented a change of his initial music (characterized by a Go Go sound), that provided him with his early hits and acclaim. With "Poor Side of Town", Rivers moved into the pop-soul style.

The melody is a soulful version of California-based pop, with some strong folk elements as well. Marty Paich provided the song's string arrangement.

In his 2006 live album Eels with Strings: Live at Town Hall, Mark Oliver Everett (better known as Eels) recorded an acoustic version of the song backed by a mini orchestra.