Tony Rivers

Tony Rivers and the Castaways were unusual, as an English band with a penchant for doing surf-harmony type numbers. Led by Tony Rivers, this group started out doing r&b-based material in the early 1960's. Originally signed to EMI's Columbia label, they covered songs by Jackie Wilson in their early days, and had a special penchant for recording songs from American artists, regardless of the idiom. As the decade progressed, they moved into more of a pop and harmony-based sound, recording songs like "She" and, in 1966, a single of their version of the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows." They jumped to Parlophone later that year, and then Immediate, where they stayed for one single, "Girl Don't Tell Me" b/w "Girl From Salt Lake City," then released a single through Polydor. They split up in 1968 when Rivers, with Ray Brown and Kenny Rowe, formed Harmony Grass, a more overtly psychedelic outfit. Singer Martin Shaer later wrote "Reggae Christmas," and subsequently became a major producer in Canada, in which capacity he was responsible for bringing a 16-year-old named Bryan Adams into the line-up of the band Sweeney Todd during the mid-1970's. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide