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Top Downloads
(as of 2023-09-24)

All TimeLast 12 MonthsLast 30 Days
  1. RIV 242 - Fur Elise (Patter)
  2. RIV 347 - Ode To Joy
  3. RIV 524 - You Raise Me Up
  4. RIV 1015 - Lone Ranger (Patter)
  5. RIV 615 - Bollywood Patter
  6. RIV 295 - Fuji Mountain Breakdown (Patter)
  7. RIV 506 - Mariah
  8. RIV 403 - Good Bad Ugly (Patter)
  9. RIV 805 - Queen Of The Dance (Patter)
  10. RIV 1022 - Boogie Sticks (Patter)
  1. RIV 1214 - Hot and Spicy (Patter)
  2. RIV 1257 - Barrels Of Fun (Patter)
  3. RIV 1216 - Top Gun Patter
  4. RIV 1121 - Be Our Guest
  5. RIV 1252 - An Irish Lullaby
  6. RIV 1267 - Smooth Santanna Patter
  7. RIV 1282 - Dragon Fire (Patter)
  8. RIV 1249 - Hot Cocca (Patter)
  9. RIV 1273 - Scarborough Fair
  10. RIV 1233 - Irish Countryside (Patter)
  1. RIV 1282 - Dragon Fire (Patter)
  2. RIV 1291 - Wellerman Ragtime Patter
  3. RIV 1297 - Destination (Patter)
  4. RIV 1022 - Boogie Sticks (Patter)
  5. RIV 1257 - Barrels Of Fun (Patter)
  6. RIV 1267 - Smooth Santanna Patter
  7. RIV 1298 - Cutting The Boogie (Patter)
  8. RIV 1086 - Who Let The Dogs Out
  9. RIV 1265 - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
  10. RIV 1276 - Angel Wings (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

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September Releases

Posted on Monday September 11, 2023

It's September, the month in which summer turns into fall, and we have seven new titles to celebrate: three patters and four singing calls...

All That Jazz features tracks in both male and female keys, with a female vocal by Heather and a male vocal by the wonderful (and recently retired from dentistry) Mike Seastrom of Rhythm Records. Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes features two harmony tracks, one with Jason's voice and one with Pam's, and several vocals including Jason alone, Pam alone, both together singing, and yodeling. And with St. Patrick's Day only six months away, there are a couple of Irish-themed patters to add to your collection!

August Releases

Posted on Tuesday August 22, 2023

We're a little late getting the August releases out because our webmaster got slightly overloaded in the past few weeks, but they're now up on the website. We have three new patters, and three new singing calls:

"Love Struck Baby" is a Stevie Ray Vaughan tune from 1983, while "Bring On The Good Times" is a 2015 song from Lisa McHugh. But surprisingly, "Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am" is a Dean Martin tune released in 1950 that Jason puts a bit of a country spin on. Take a listen to all of them!

Also, take a look at one of our releases from January, "My Old Home In Mayo" (RIV 1245) — Krista Baird has just supplied a great female vocal for it, to accompany Jack O'Leary's male vocal.

July (and June) Releases

Posted on Friday July 07, 2023

We have three new patters and four singing calls to run out for you in July:

Take a listen to the lively "Cactus Swing," which is Tim Tyl's first Riverboat recording...and it really suits his lively style. You also might want to check out the 1995 Canadian Film Board's amusing video of the same song.

One note on the song "Country Rhythm In Your Soul:" it was written by our own producer, Bob Elling, and he's darned proud of it. Give it a listen!

We actually did release a selection of tunes in June as well, but I completely forgot to post the news about them. Just in case you missed them, they were

May Releases

Posted on Thursday May 11, 2023

The month of May brings eight releases, one of which is from the classic Red Boot library, and one from Riverboat's pre-Internet days. There are three new patters in the batch, as well:

Please Mr. Please, if you don't recognize it, is an Olivia Newton-John Top Ten hit from 1975. The Elmer Sheffield vocal on I'm Getting High On Love is the original from the Red Boot Star release, but is recognizably and utterly Elmer. And Minnie The Moocher includes a split track with the "hi dee hi dee hi dee hi" echos of the lyrics included on the right stereo channel, just as the band echoed them back in the original Cab Calloway recording, and you can use your L-R fade control to mix as much of them in as you want.

The National Square Dance Convention is coming up next month...are you registered? Some of us are planning to be there, so say hi! (dee hi dee hi dee hi...)

April Releases

Posted on Friday March 31, 2023

It's no April Fool -- we're bringing out our April releases a day early! Four singing calls and three patters for your enjoyment:

"Scarborough Fair" includes an instrumental in the male key range, as well as the female range that Heather used. "Stop In The Name Of Love" is a well-known hit by the Supremes, while "Together Wherever We Go" is a great song from the musical "Gypsy," sung on Broadway by Ethel Merman and Jack Klugman, or in the movie by Lisa Kirk (dubbing Rosalind Russell) and Karl Malden. (Unlike Jack and Karl, however, Brent is a GREAT singer, and he and Heather do a great job on the duet!)

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

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