"The River Is Wide" was a song written by Billy Admire and Gary Knight and was originally recorded by the Forum in 1967.

Background

The Forum

The record was first released in 1966 on the

Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

label.''Billboard'', July 8, 1967
Page 6 RIVER FLOWS ON THIRD TRY
/ref> It did not go anywhere and after being re-mastered and re-edited, it was released a second time in May 1967, this time on the

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label. Nothing happened the second time. Then

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

got hold of the master. The record then started to make some progress in the UK, which got the attention of a DJ in Seattle. He started playing it and it started attracting attention in Seattle. By July 1967, the record was at no. 88 in the ''Billboard'' charts. It finally got to no. 45.

Bobby Rydell

By May 1968,

Bobby Rydell Robert Louis Ridarelli (April 26, 1942 – April 5, 2022), known by the stage name Bobby Rydell, was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s he was considered a teen idol. His ...

had a version of the single out on the

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repea ...

label. It was produced by Dave Hassinger. The B side, "Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder", was arranged by Artie Butler.

The Grass Roots

It became a hit for American rock band

the Grass Roots The Grass Roots are an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums, two ...

. In April 1969, their version of "The River Is Wide" entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at no. 87, and by May, it had reached its peak position at no. 31. The song appeared on their studio album

Lovin' Things ''Lovin' Things'' is the fourth album by American rock group The Grass Roots. The album was originally released by Dunhill Records in 1969. The album charted at #73. It contained only two songs composed by the group. The album was intended to ta ...

, which was released the same year. It later appeared on the band's compilation albums '' More Golden Grass'' and '' Their 16 Greatest Hits'', which were released in 1970 and 1971 respectively.''Billboard'', October 24, 1970
Page 57 Billboard Album Reviews
/ref> The song has also been included on multiple subsequent compilations by the group. The single version does not contain the thunder present at the beginning of the LP version, and is also in a different

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

Releases

United States

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:River Is Wide 1966 songs 1967 singles 1969 singles The Grass Roots songs Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements