Riverboat Shopping Cart
Items Total
items total
Click on cart to view or check out
Riverboat masthead
Home Packages MP3 list Singing Call List Hoedown (patter) list Round dance list International vocal list Holiday Singing Calls Dance Party CDs School CDs Photos Links Frequently Asked Questions

Top Downloads
(as of 2023-03-28)

All TimeLast 12 MonthsLast 30 Days
  1. RIV 242 - Fur Elise (Patter)
  2. RIV 295 - Fuji Mountain Breakdown (Patter)
  3. RIV 347 - Ode To Joy
  4. RIV 243 - Fiesta (Patter)
  5. RIV 250 - YMCA
  6. RIV 308 - Sonora (Patter)
  7. RIV 322 - Riverboat Hustle (Patter)
  8. RIV 318 - Riverboat Swing (Patter)
  9. RIV 251 - Mickey Mouse
  10. RIV 292 - On Que (Patter)
  1. RIV 1214 - Hot and Spicy (Patter)
  2. RIV 1182 - Barging In (Patter)
  3. RIV 1187 - Irish Delight (Patter)
  4. RIV 1183 - Umpire, The (Patter)
  5. RIV 1252 - An Irish Lullaby
  6. RIV 1180 - Sea Chanty (Patter)
  7. RIV 1216 - Top Gun Patter
  8. RIV 1121 - Be Our Guest
  9. RIV 1185 - Centaur Man (Patter)
  10. RIV 1108 - Beethoven's 9th (Patter)
  1. RIV 1252 - An Irish Lullaby
  2. RIV 1257 - Barrels Of Fun (Patter)
  3. RIV 1250 - Take Me Home Johnny (Irish)
  4. RIV 1078 - Irish Pub
  5. RIV 1187 - Irish Delight (Patter)
  6. RIV 1121 - Be Our Guest
  7. RIV 1233 - Irish Countryside (Patter)
  8. RIV 1249 - Hot Cocca (Patter)
  9. RIV 560 - Goodnight Sweetheart
  10. RIV 1258 - Jingo (Santanna Patter)

NOTE: RIV 1062 - Silent Night does not appear in its proper location in this listing because it had to be split up into several smaller downloads. It is currently by far the top download for the year 2019!

book cover Lois Elling

Now Available

Lois Elling's book, Teaching Clogging is now in its second edition. Buy a downloadable PDF copy here for $25

Breaking News!

RSS feed

March Releases

Posted on Wednesday March 15, 2023

We have six new titles for you this month, including three patters...plus a new release of a long-ago Riverboat title:

The long-ago title is I Feel Love, which was the theme music from the 1974 motion picture "Benji" (remember that?). It was originally released as Riverboat 106, and Mel Wilkerson has put a nice new vocal to the Charlie Rich tune.

Brent and Heather have a great live-recorded vocal for Ain't No Mountain High Enough -- be sure to give it a listen. Also check out Jason's touching Where Do You Go?

Speaking of Jason, he's added a new alternate vocal to RIV 254 - Rocking Over. Elmer's original vocal remains, but now you can get Jason's take on it as well. And, as always, if you've already purchased the title, contact Bob Elling directly to get the new vocal track.

Hope you have a great Saint Patrick's Day -- and thank you for putting RIV 1252 - An Irish Lullaby into our Top 10 downloads for the past 12 months!

February Releases

Posted on Wednesday February 15, 2023

We've got eight new releases for the month of February, including a song that's absolutely perfect for the upcoming St. Patrick's Day holiday:

"An Irish Lullaby" is, of course, the song made famous by Bing Crosby in the movie "Going My Way," which he also released on Decca Records. Check out Jack's vocal, and grab a copy for next month!

Also, give our new patters a listen — we think you'll like them!

January Releases

Posted on Tuesday January 24, 2023

With St. Patrick's Day coming up, we have several new releases to fit in with that theme...not to mention one that could be good for St. Valentine's day as well:

Our Irish tunes are My Old Home In Mayo, Take Me Home Johnny (both with vocals by Silver Sounds' Jack O'Leary) and Roadie (a patter based on "My Old Home In Mayo"). Check them out for the upcoming occasion!

Say It With Love was originally from an obscure 1944 movie called Swing Hostess, which contained several songs written by the team of Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. The picture starred "Liltin'" Martha Tilton, probably most famous for recording "And The Angels Sing" and "Loch Lomond" with the Benny Goodman orchestra. It's right up Lawrence Johnstone's alley!

You All Come might be more familiar with the shortened title "Y'all Come," recorded by a variety of artists from Bing Crosby in 1953 to Gillian Welch & David Rawlings in 2020. Mitchell and Max do their own bang-up job on our version.

Note that three of these titles are patters -- check them all out!

December Releases

Posted on Wednesday December 07, 2022

We have a few new tunes for you in this month of December at www.riverboat.com/records. They're not Christmas songs...but they might make someone a nice Christmas present! Three re-releases from the classic Red Boot library, and three patters:

Also, it's come to our attention that one of our staff callers, Nelda Eaton, has just lost her home and everything in and around it to a tornado in New Boston, TX. Luckily, she and her husband were not home at the time, but they literally have nothing left. Tony Oxendine has set up a GoFundMe for their benefit at this URL: https://gofund.me/9287d9b7. In the spirit of the season, please consider a donation to assist them!

November Releases

Posted on Friday November 18, 2022

We have several releases for you in the days before the Thanksgiving holiday, including three new patters and several songs from the classic Red Boot library:

We also have two new female vocals (with accompanying instrumentals) for two previously-released titles: RIV 245F - Those Were  The Days by Krista  Baird (in the key A), and  RIV 265B - Oh Johnny Oh by Heather Reynolds (in the key G). As usual, if you've already purchased those titles and want the new tracks, contact Bob Elling.

There's a special story behind one of this month's songs. Kati Raleigh, wife of our staff caller Jason Raleigh, has been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. (A benefit dance is being organized — see this link for information on donations:  https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10225914845851575&set=gm.5681429128630766&idorvanity=4349848648455494) When Bob Elling found out that Kati said she wished someone would make the song "I Can Only Imagine" into a singing call, he had the music produced and called on Jason to supply the vocal. Please check it out!

About Riverboat Records

Riverboat Records was purchased in the 1980s by Bob Elling in the San Francisco Bay Area. His love of both square dancing and good music has driven his dedication to create the finest square dance music available. The early years produced several square dance records using top-notch musicians, including Phil Aaberg and Norton Buffalo.

Due to the priorities of raising a family, there was no new music produced for almost 20 years. Around 2005 Bob began to teach and call square dancing to local 3rd and 4th graders once a week. He loves teaching the kids and has a desire to use music that they could relate to.

A good friend and caller, Ken Bower, encouraged Bob to start recording square dance music again, and so he did. Ken then recorded the vocal for the first "new" recording on Riverboat, Misty.

Bob enjoys producing many types of songs and especially ones appropriate for grade schoolers. Some of his more popular songs for all ages include: Mickey Mouse, Oh Johnny Oh, Y.M.C.A., Heigh Ho, Funky Town, Best Years of Our Lives, Big Pig Jig, American Land, and On With the Show. Most of these recordings include alternate choreography that can be taught in just a few minutes to kids or adults. The kids have responded with amazing enthusiasm.

In addition, there has been a great deal of support from some of the best talent in the country to bring variety and more life to the music. These fun square dance tunes are fun for both kids and adults. Bob's dream is to have this music used in the classroom by school teachers all over the world.

Riverboat Records also has modern patter music with a great dance beat. The variety of music ranges from bluegrass to funky, so there's something for everyone.

In 2010, Riverboat introduced its Gold subscription series. For just $100, a package of 20 new hoedowns and singing calls is made available exclusively to subscribers. At the end of the year those titles enter the regular Riverboat catalog and a new package is made available to Gold subscribers.

Bob would like to acknowledge the help and support that he has received from Elmer Sheffield (ESP Records), Jack O'Leary (Silver Sounds), Michael Salacuse (Circle Left Recording), Bobby Kennedy, Carl Kaye, Tracy Brown, Rich Reel, and Lawrence Johnstone. He also wants to thank his wife, Lois, for her support in this endeavour that he loves so much.

Contact Us

Riverboat Records
c/o Bob Elling
16000 Marcella St.
San Leandro, CA 94578
510-278-8621
bob.elling@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook!