Secret Agent Man (Johnny Rivers Song)

"Secret Agent Man" is a song written by P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. The most famous recording of the song was made by Johnny Rivers for the opening titles of the American broadcast of the British spy series ''Danger Man'', which aired in the U.S. as ''Secret Agent'' from 1964 to 1966. Rivers's version peaked at #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #4 on the Canadian RPM chart, one of the biggest hits of his career. Numerous covers and adaptations have been recorded since then with the song becoming both a rock standard and one of Johnny Rivers's signature songs.

History

According to composer P.F. Sloan, the American television network that licensed ''Danger Man'', CBS, solicited publishers to contribute a 15-second piece of music for the opening of the U.S. show to replace the small section of the British theme, an instrumental by Edwin Astley entitled "High Wire", which started each episode. CBS executives were worried the show might not be successful without a "hummable" theme song. Sloan wrote the guitar lick and the first few lines of the song, with Barri (Sloan's songwriting partner) contributing to the chorus. This fragment was recorded as a demo by Sloan and Barri, submitted to CBS, and, to Sloan's surprise, picked as the show theme, which led to Sloan and Barri writing a full-length version of the song. The original demo of the song used the "Danger Man" title, as shown by the surviving demo of the song, which Sloan sang. When the show's title was changed, the lyrics were also changed. The full version of "High Wire", which plays over the episode credits following the "Secret Agent" titles, was retained.

In 1965, surf rock band The Challengers recorded a version for their album ''The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'' that features vocal harmonies, horns, and vibraphone. This would be the first commercial release of the song, though it was never released as a single and consequently didn't garner much attention.

Sloan and Barri's publisher/producer, Lou Adler, also produced and managed Johnny Rivers, so Rivers was chosen to add the vocals for the TV show. Rivers claimed he came up with the opening guitar riff that was inspired by the "James Bond Theme", although the lick is clearly heard on Sloan's demo version. Chuck Day, the father of Mama Cass' daughter, also claims to have come up with the opening of Secret Agent Man.

Rivers's original recording was merely the show theme, with one verse and one chorus. Later, after the song gained in popularity, Rivers recorded it live, with two more verses, and the chorus repeated twice more. The live version was recorded in 1966 at the Whisky a Go Go, but not released until after a few studio production touch-ups were done by Adler shortly after. The song evokes secret agents both musically (making use of a memorable guitar riff) and through its lyrics (which describe the dangerous life of a secret agent). The lyric; "they've given you a number and taken away your name" referred to the numerical code names given to secret agents, as in "007" for James Bond, although it also acts as the (unintentional) setup to the "continuation" of ''Danger Man'', the cult classic ''The Prisoner''.

Chart

Personnel

Musicians

* Johnny Rivers – vocals, electric guitar
* Chuck Day – bass guitar, guitar
* Mickey Jones – drums
* Larry Knechtel – organ
* Joe Osborn

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