Some were even inspired to write songs in the Riverboat’s “tiny rehearsal room with its graffiti-lined walls,” according to music journalist and author Nicholas Jennings, who wrote Before the Gold Rush, a history of the Yorkville-era of Canadian music. Jennings says Joni Mitchell wrote “Night in the City” while at the club, Lightfoot penned “Steel Rail Blues” and protest singer Phil Ochs wrote his ballad “Changes.” Mitchell also performed her hit “Both Sides Now” for the first time at the Riverboat, according to Jennings.
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