Little Bit of Nashville in North Hollywood : Rhythm Riders Remind Audiences of Their Roots in the South, Midwest

First things first. This ain’t the Grand Ole Opry and we’re not listening to Loretta Lynn or Randy Travis. Or Buck Owens or Hank Williams Jr.

We’re not in Nashville. We’re in the Little Nashville, the country and Western club in North Hollywood.

Who would know the difference? Certainly not the Rhythm Riders, the house band, which for the last decade has tried to transport audiences back to their Midwestern and Southern roots. Every Wednesday through Sunday night, the group charms audiences with both original compositions and familiar country tunes like Randy Travis’ “All My Ex’s Live in Texas,” and Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces.” The band’s repertoire includes Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley songs.

“If the audience comes here for acid rock, they can forget it,” laughed Johnnie White, 63, lead singer/steel guitar player/club owner. “There are a lot of country fans in the Valley. Many were born in the Midwest and moved out here. And if they like to dance, we’ve got the beat for them.”

On a recent Saturday night, most of the audience--a typical weekend night crowd is 200--took his advice. The dance floor was packed with couples who were alternating between slow embraces and faster two-steps. Lead guitarist Calvin Davidson said that flexibility is why the band feels so comfortable at the Little Nashville.

“We’ve played other clubs that cater to the two-step and the 10-step dance crowd and you have to play the current hit material,” Davidson said. “Here it’s more relaxed. You can play original rock ‘n’ roll too.”

Some of the Little Nashville patrons eschew the dance floor and opt for pool, darts or conversation in the dark, smoky club. Or they order a meal from the steak-and-potatoes menu.

White first started the Rhythm Riders in 1946 in Memphis. But his show business career has included stints as a nightclub singer in Chicago and Detroit and as a radio and television host in Iowa and South Dakota. On one half-hour country and western variety television show, White said, he sang, introduced other performers and showed one-hour Western movies in 15-minute segments.

“We didn’t have the time to do the whole thing in one day,” he said, so the 15-minute movie portions would air on four successive days.

In the early 1950s, White learned that another group had copyrighted the Rhythm Riders’ name, so he renamed the band “Johnnie White and the Sons of the West.” He kept that name until last year, when he heard radio station KCSN play one of his old songs that had been recorded by the original group. White decided then to return to the Rhythm Riders’ name.

In 1977, after six years nonstop on the road in the Midwest White figured that it was time to settle down. His daughter had moved to California and he wanted to be near her. So he bought a club.

He changed its name from Dubby’s to the Little Nashville. He brought his band with him, although none of those members are part of the current lineup. (Besides White and Davidson, the band includes John Stevenson on bass guitar, Roy Perkey on fiddle and Nicky Ortiz on drums). Only White remains from the original group.

For a lot of fans, White said, that’s enough.

“So many people come in here and ask whether that could possibly be the same Johnnie White from South Dakota and Iowa,” White said. “They remember me from the road. It’s like reliving the old days.”

That goes for Perkey as well. At 64, he’s been playing fiddle for a half-century. “This is all I do and I love it,” he said.

The other band members do studio work and have played in other groups. The quintet only rehearse when they have to learn a new song. White does the majority of the singing, blending his soothing voice with the band’s lively guitar arrangements. Occasionally guest vocalists will join in.

But whatever the lineup, White tries to stick to one main objective.

“We do a song like it was recorded, with the right tempo and sound,” White said. “It sounds like Buck Owens or Randy Travis. We don’t mess up or deviate. The younger generation will take one of the standard tunes and when they get through, it’s unrecognizable. The true country fans want to hear it like it was originally recorded.”

Like it was sung at the Grand Ole Opry.

Like they’re really in Nashville.