Brian Lee With Joe Rivers

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When you say"Over The Mountain, Across The Sea",you have to think of Johnnie And Joe. Pictured to the left of me is Joe Rivers,1/2 of the famous duo. Now here's a guy that can almost look me straight in the eyes! Johnnie and Joe had the one huge hit on the Billboard pop and R+B charts, and also scored on the R+B charts with "I'll Be Spinning and "My Baby's Gone On On', which was the flip side of "Over The Mountain". Johnnie and Joe recorded a bunch of records between 1957 and 1964.They continued to record sporadically even into the 80's on the Ambient Sound label. If you can hear Joe today with his new partner, you would think the clock turned back to 1957. They sounded fantastic.



Here is the first issue of Johnnie And Joe's first record, on the New York based J+S records. "Feel Alright" and "I'll Be Spinning" is a great two sider and overall sold well. Issued in October of 1956 on J+S, it was then distributed by Chess (Below) starting in November because Zell Sanders couldn't afford to press it, once it took off. A great two-sider of different styles.

This is the debut record for Johnnie and Joe, on the second label, Chess. "Feel Alright" was the intended smoking "A" side, but it ended up taking the back seat to "I'll Be Spinning". The 78 RPM is shown above.



This is the 45RPM which is much more common. As much as I love their big hit, this is probably my favorite record, with both sides being so enjoyable.

Here is a true first pressing of "Over The Mountain, Across The Sea". It is the Promo and has record number 1664 which is the "correct" first pressing number. Check out the flip where "Babs" must have been short for the intended spelling of "Baby's". All the promos I have seen have the X on them. Also, this has the Washington Ave address.



Here is the Chess 78 of Over The Mountain. Quite a few of these were pressed for the big hit, though in 1957, the overall numbers of 78's were declining. Chess records took over the distribution and pressing from J+S, as it was a small liable and would have been hard pressed to finance several hundred thousand copies being made.

Johnnie And Joe's biggest hit on Chess,"Over The Mountain,Across the Sea".This was originally released on the New York based J+S records in 1957, as shown two records above. The flip, "My Baby's Gone On, On". This was a good side that actually charted on the national R+B charts for awhile.

This is a slightly later pressing of the big hit. Chess records began putting their logo on the left side of the label a few months after the original silver top label was pressed up for Johnny and Joe in 1957.



The black label began in 1963, which shows their was still demand for the disc.The fact that it entered the top 100 charts for two weeks in 1960 certainly added to it's popularity.

This is actually a 2nd pressing of the J+S single of "Over The Mountain It was issued in 1962, and this time with the same number as the Chess issue (1654). Flip side of the J+S second press."My Baby's Gone On On" The original had double horizontal lines across the label, plus it used the incorrect record # of 1664, as shown in the first pictures above.

The third release for Johnnie and Joe was again on the J+S label. "It Was There" backed with "There Goes My Heart" was another nice two sided effort for the duo. This disc was not released on Chess. The 78 RPM version is shown. J+S did not release too many Johnnie and Joe 78's

This is the more common 45 RPM record. I may be wrong, but i thought Rex Garvin wrote the flip, and it is credited to "Harvin". Label owner Zell Sanders has writing credits on "It Was There".

Issued on Chess and J+S in November of 1957, "I Was So Lonely" was the plug side, while "If You Tell Me You're Mine" was the flip. The disc didn't really do much for the duo, and was their last platter for 1957.

Johnny And Joe made a quick, one record stop at George Goldner's Gone label. "Who Do You Love" was the plug side and is a a typical ballad for the duo. The flip, "Trust In Me" is a rocker, with a great instrumental break. This record, as you may have noticed uses the spelling "Johnny". This was the only record released by Goldner for the duo, and it originally was pressed by J+S, #1605/1606 - March 1958.

From 1958, a Chess only release called "Why Did She Go". It is a nice record backed with "Why Oh Why". Zell Sanders has writing credits on both sides of the disc, which was actually the duo's second issue for 1958.

1958 release by Johnnie And Joe, "Darling". A good two sider by the pair. It has a Slightly different title "My Baby's Gone" then Chess 1654,and it's a completely different song. This is the third of four records in 1958, and it only came out on Chess.

The only release for 1959 on any label, here is the J+S recording of , "Red Sails In The Sunset". The record numbers were just a bit confusing, but this did come out in 1959. The flip side, "Where did she go?" is pretty decent. It actually appeared earlier as Why Did She Go on Chess 1693 (above on this page), but with added strings. Notice the spelling on both sides as JOHNNI and Joe.

A nice ballad by Johnnie And Joe, "I Adore You". A bit more pop sounding then most of their early releases. This was issued in 1960. A mid tempo outing by the pair was on the flip called, "I Want You Here Beside Me". Still with that pop sound style, it was probably influenced by the switch to ABC records. The promotional copy is shown

This is the stock copy on ABC. Zell Sanders and Rex Garvin are still writing the songs, and producing credits now show Sid Feller,, a stalwart for ABC. This was issued in 1960.



Their second and final record for ABC was "Why Do You Hurt Me So", written by Joe Rivers. "Your Love" was on the flip, and this was the end of their relationship with ABC.

This is the stock ABC issue. Rex Garvin not only has writer credits on the flip, but was involved with writing many songs for Johnnie And Joe.

Partly based on "Over The Mountain" popularity and getting into the top 100 for a second time, "Across The Sea" was pressed in November of 1960 and was very similar to "Mountain". "You Said It And Don't Forget It" was on the flip. This record was first issued on the J+S label.

Jumping ahead to 1963, this is the first of two records for the Omega label. "Speak Softly Angel" and "We Get That Feelin" did not burn up any charts. Notice that Teacho Wilson was producing Johnny And Joe on this obscure label.

One of two 1963 issues for J+S, "The Devil Said No Gone With Your Bad Self" and You Can Always Count On Me" They seem later than 1963, and are interesting to listen to.

From 1964 , Johnny And Joe waxed one for the Tuff Label. Tuff was well established with the Jaynetts and the Corsairs. Produced by Abner Spector, "Here We Go Baby" and "That's The Way You Go" were two good efforts.

Here is the stock yellow copy of the pairing.



From about 1965, the Lana label, known for issuing unreleased takes of artists big hits, pressed this record. "Over The Mountain Across The Sea" was the "A" side and the flip has "Shortening Bread. This is the only source I have for Shortening Bread.

From 1968, "You're The Loveliest Song I Ever Heard" was the "A" side, and "Let Your Mind Do The Walking" is on the flip. Rex Garvin has writing credits on both sides along with being the producer.

From 1970, J+S released the first of two additional Johnnie and Joe records, and they would be the last for the duo, on the label. "False Love Has Got To Go" appears to be a different version than the 1958 J+S record from 12 years earlier. "Jamaica- Our Thing" was on the flip and sounds just like you might imagine it.

From 1982, Johnnie and Joe got back together and issued an album for the Ambient Sound liable. Their single had the same song on both sides if you got the promotional issue. "Kingdom Of Love" is the side that was pushed.



But wait, there's more! If you got the stock copy, besides "Kingdom Of Love", you get their version of Tossin' Turnin'(Yearnin' Burnin' For Your Love). Released in 1982 and both sides were featured on the Johnnie and Joe LP issued at the same time.

This is a brand new CD of Johnnie and Joe material. Labeled as the J+S years, you will find mostly the J+S, zell, and some Chess label material. Also included is an Omega release, and a couple of unreleased sides. It is a solid collection for Johnnie and Joe fans, done in the typical high quality that ACE is known for. There are many label pictures, sheet music and fine liner notes. I am proud to have contributed a small amount of material for this release. You can learn more about it by clicking to the ACE music site. If you do purchase the CD, take special note to see the discography in the back of the booklet. It sorts out one of the toughest and most complicated record labels I know of.J+S did not release records sequentially, some were issued on just J+S, some just on Chess, and some on both labels. It's a great collection and I recommend it!