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Creedence Clearwater Revival (sometimes shortened to Creedence or CCR) was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums.
The group consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, his brother and rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook, and drummer Doug Clifford. Their musical style encompassed country rock and swamp rock genres. Despite their San Francisco Bay Area origins, they positioned themselves as Southern rock stylists, singing about bayous, the Mississippi River, catfish, and other popular elements of Southern iconography.
Creedence Clearwater Revival's music is still a staple of American and worldwide radio airplay and often figures in various media. The band has sold 26 million albums in the United States alone. Creedence Clearwater Revival was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. They were ranked at 82 on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest artists of all time.
Before Creedence: 1959–1967
John Fogerty, Doug Clifford, and Stu Cook (all born 1945) met at Portola Junior High School in El Cerrito, California and began playing instrumentals and "juke box standards" together under the name The Blue Velvets. The trio also backed singer Tom Fogerty— John Fogerty's older brother by three years—at live gigs and in the recording studio. By 1964, the band had signed to Fantasy Records, an independent jazz label based in San Francisco at the time. Fantasy had released Cast Your Fate to the Wind, a national hit for jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. The record's success was the subject of a National Educational Television TV special, which prompted budding songwriter John Fogerty to contact the label. For the band's first release, however, Fantasy co-owner Max Weiss renamed the group the Golliwogs (after the children's literary character, Golliwogg), apparently to cash in on a wave of popular British bands with similar names.
During this period, band roles underwent some changes. Stu Cook had gone from piano to bass guitar and Tom Fogerty became the band's rhythm guitarist. John Fogerty also began to write much of the band's material. Most notably, the young guitarist had taken over lead vocal duty. As Tom Fogerty would later say, "I could sing, but John had a sound!"
Early success: 1967–68
The group had suffered a setback in 1966 when the draft board called up John Fogerty and Doug Clifford for military service. Fogerty managed to enlist in the Army Reserve instead of the regular Army while Clifford did a tenure in the United States Coast Guard Reserve.
In 1967, Saul Zaentz purchased Fantasy Records from Weiss and offered the band a chance to record a full-length album, but only if the group changed its name. Never having liked The Golliwogs, the foursome readily agreed. Zaentz and the band agreed to come up with ten suggestions each, but he enthusiastically agreed to their first: Creedence Clearwater Revival. The band took the three elements from, firstly, Tom Fogerty's friend Credence Newball, (to whose first name Credence they added an extra 'e', making it resemble a faith or creed); secondly, "clear water" from a TV commercial for Olympia beer; and finally "revival", which spoke to the four members' renewed commitment to their band. Rejected contenders for the band's name included 'Muddy Rabbit', 'Gossamer Wump', and 'Creedence Nuball and the Ruby', but the last was the start that led to their finalized name.
By 1968, Fogerty and Clifford had been discharged from military service. All four members subsequently quit their jobs and began a heavy schedule of rehearsing and playing area clubs full-time. The 1968 debut album Creedence Clearwater Revival struck a responsive note with the emerging underground pop culture press, which touted Creedence as a band worthy of attention. More importantly, AM radio programmers around the United States took note when a song from the LP, "Suzie Q", received substantial airplay in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as on Chicago's WLS. Blues aficionados doubtless appreciated the similarities between Creedence Clearwater Revival's tough style and R&B artists on the Chess and Vee-Jay labels. A remake of a 1956 song by rockabilly singer Dale Hawkins, "Suzie Q" was the band's second single, and its first to crack the Top 40. Reaching #11 nationally, it would be Creedence's only Top 40 hit not written by John Fogerty. Two other singles from the debut were released: a cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell On You" (which made it to #58) and "Porterville" (released on the Scorpio label with writing credited to "T. Spicebush Swallowtail"), written during John Fogerty's Army Reserve stint.
Peak success: 1969–70
While undertaking a steady string of live dates around the country to capitalize on their breakthrough, Creedence Clearwater Revival was also hard at work on their second album Bayou Country at RCA Studios in Los Angeles. Released in January 1969 and becoming a #7 platinum hit, the record was the first in a string of hit albums and singles which continued uninterrupted for the next three years.
Bayou Country's seven songs were well-honed from Creedence's constant live playing. The album showed a distinct evolution in approach, much more simple and direct than the band's first release. The single "Proud Mary," backed with "Born on the Bayou," went to Number 2 on the national Billboard chart. The former would eventually become the group's most-covered song, with some 100 cover versions by other artists to date, including a hit version in 1971 by Ike and Tina Turner. Bob Dylan named it his favorite single of 1969. John Fogerty cites this song as being the result of high spirits on gaining his discharge from the Army Reserve. The album also featured a remake of the rock & roll classic "Good Golly Miss Molly" and the band's nine-minute live-show closer, "Keep On Chooglin'", the entire song has only one chord: E7.
Only weeks later, in March 1969, "Bad Moon Rising" backed with "Lodi" was released and peaked at #2 on the charts. The band's third album, Green River, followed in August and went gold along with the single "Green River," which again reached #2 on the Billboard charts. The B-side of "Green River," "Commotion" peaked at #30. The bar-band story of "Lodi" became a popular staple on then-emerging FM radio. The band's emphasis on remakes of their old favorites continued with "Night Time Is the Right Time," which found its way into the band's live set as a crowd sing-along.
In 1969, Harry Shearer interviewed Cook and John Fogerty for the Pop Chronicles radio documentary.
Creedence continued to tour heavily including performances at the Atlanta Pop Festival and Woodstock. Their set was not included in the Woodstock film or its original soundtrack because John Fogerty felt the band's performance was subpar. (Several tracks from the event were eventually included in the 1994 commemorative box set.) Stu Cook's view: "The performances are classic CCR and I'm still amazed by the number of people who don't even know we were one of the headliners at Woodstock '69." The band complained that they had to take the stage at three in the morning because the Grateful Dead had jammed far past their scheduled set time, so by the time Creedence began playing many in the audience had gone to sleep.
Woodstock wasn't a cause for concern. Creedence was busy honing material for a fourth album, Willy and the Poor Boys, released in November 1969. "Down on the Corner", a good-time street-corner number, and "Fortunate Son" climbed to #3 and #14, respectively, by year's end. The album was Creedence in its standard form, featuring Fogerty originals and two reworked Leadbelly covers, "Cotton Fields" and "Midnight Special". Both the latter songs also had been performed by actor Harry Dean Stanton in the movie Cool Hand Luke, suggesting a subtle non-conformist theme to an apparently tradition-oriented album.
1969 had been a remarkable chart year for the band: three Top Ten albums, four hit singles (charting at #2, #2, #2, and #3) with three additional charting B-sides. On November 16, 1969, they performed "Fortunate Son" and "Down on the Corner" on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Just after the new year, 1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival released yet another new double-sided 45, "Travelin' Band"/"Who'll Stop the Rain". John Fogerty has said that the flip side was inspired by the band's experience at Woodstock. The speedy "Travelin' Band", however, bore enough similarities to "Good Golly, Miss Molly" to warrant a lawsuit by the song's publisher; it was eventually settled out of court. In the meantime, the single had topped out at #2. The band also recorded its January 31, 1970, live performance at the Oakland Coliseum Arena in Oakland, California, which would later be marketed as a live album and television special. In February, the Creedence foursome was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone, although only John Fogerty was interviewed in the accompanying article.
In April 1970, Creedence was set to begin its first European tour. To support the upcoming live dates, Fogerty wrote "Up Around the Bend," and "Run Through the Jungle". The single—written, recorded, and shipped in only a few days' time—went to #4 that spring, enjoying enthusiastic response from European live audiences and high commercial success in the U.S. and the rest of the world.
The band returned to Wally Heider's San Francisco studio in June to record what many consider their finest album, Cosmo's Factory. The title was an in-joke about their various rehearsal facilities and factory work ethic over the years. (Drummer Doug Clifford's longtime nickname is "Cosmo," due to his keen interest in nature and all things cosmic.) The album contained the earlier Top 10 hits "Travelin' Band" and "Up Around the Bend" plus highly popular album tracks such as the opener "Ramble Tamble".
Cosmo's was released in July 1970, along with yet another #2 national hit, "Lookin' Out My Back Door"/"Long As I Can See the Light." It was the band's fifth #2 single. Though they topped some international charts and local radio countdowns (such as WLS's, which rated three of their singles at #1), Creedence Clearwater Revival never had a #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit. Their five #2 singles were exceeded only by Elvis Presley and Madonna with 6 each. The band has the odd distinction of having the most #2 singles on the Billboard charts without ever having had a #1.
Other cuts on the "Cosmo's Factory" album included an eleven-minute jam of the 1967 and 1968 R&B hit "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" (which would become a minor hit when an edited version was released as a single in the 70s a few years after the group's breakup) and a nearly note-for-note homage to Roy Orbison's "Ooby Dooby." John Fogerty's musical range clearly had expanded. He now wove in slide guitar, keyboards, saxophones, tape effects, and layered vocal harmonies—and pushed himself vocally more than ever on "Long As I Can See the Light." The album, eleven songs in all, was Creedence's best seller and went straight to #1 on the Billboard 200 album charts and #11 on Billboard's Soul Albums chart.
Decline and breakup: late 1970–1972
The Cosmo's Factory sessions had seen the stirrings of tensions within the foursome as the incessant touring and heavy recording schedules took their toll. John Fogerty had taken control of the group in its business matters and its artistic output. The situation began to grate on Tom Fogerty, Cook, and Clifford, who wanted more of a say in the band's workings. Fogerty resisted, feeling that a 'democratic' process would threaten their success. Other issues included Fogerty's decision at a 1970 Nebraska gig that the band would no longer give encores at its live shows.
Pendulum, released in December 1970, was another top seller, spawning a Top 10 hit with "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?". The album marked yet another shift in the band's approach: a more minimal approach to production values, as opposed to the "wall of sound" style of the previous three albums. However, John Fogerty included Hammond B3 Organ on many of the Pendulum tracks, notably Have You Ever Seen the Rain?; a recognition of the deep respect and influence of Booker T and The MG's, with whom the members of the band had jammed. The single's flip side, "Hey Tonight," was also a hit.
But even continued musical innovation and success could not resolve the differences between John and Tom Fogerty. During the recording of Pendulum Tom Fogerty, who had already quit the band several times in disgust but was always talked into returning, left Creedence Clearwater Revival permanently. His departure was made public in February 1971. The band members considered replacing Tom but never did. Tom Fogerty stated on an Australian TV broadcast that no new member could endure being in Creedence.
In spring 1971, John Fogerty informed a startled Cook and Clifford the band would continue only by adopting a 'democratic' approach: each member would now write and sing his own material. Fogerty also would contribute only rhythm guitar to his bandmates' songs. Cook and Clifford, who had wanted more of a voice in the band's music and business decisions, resisted this arrangement. Fogerty insisted they accept the new arrangement, or he would quit the band.
Despite the dissension, the trio put its new work ethic to the test in the studio, releasing the Top 10 single "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" in July 1971, backed with Stu Cook's "Door to Door." The band toured both the U.S. and Europe that summer and autumn, with Cook's song a part of the live set. In spite of their continuing commercial success, however, relations among the three had become increasingly strained.
The band's final album, Mardi Gras, was released in April 1972, featuring songs written by Fogerty, Cook, and Clifford and a cover of "Hello Mary Lou" (a song Gene Pitney originally wrote for Ricky Nelson.) It received mostly poor, even savage reviews: Rolling Stone reviewer Jon Landau called it "the worst album I have ever heard from a major rock band".
The sales of Mardi Gras were weaker than those of the previous albums, though not a flop commercially. Mardi Gras peaked at #12, perhaps due more to the strength of the Creedence name than to the particular music on the record. This final release had the worst showings of any Creedence album and single since 1968. The 1971 hit single "Sweet Hitch-Hiker"/"Door to Door" was included on the album. Fogerty's "Someday Never Comes," backed with Clifford's "Tearin' Up the Country," also cracked the US Top 40. The album was also notable for featuring songs written by all three members of the band, with the writer also singing their song. Not surprisingly, the LP has a disjointed feel, with only those by Fogerty having the identifiable Creedence sound.
By this point, Fogerty was not only at direct odds with his bandmates, but he had also come to see the group's relationship with Fantasy Records as onerous, feeling that label owner Saul Zaentz had reneged on his promise to give the band a better contract. Cook — who holds a degree in business — claimed that because of poor judgment on Fogerty's part, Creedence Clearwater Revival had to abide by the worst record deal of any major American recording artist.
Despite the relatively poor reception of Mardi Gras and deteriorated relationships among the remaining band members, Creedence immediately embarked upon a two-month, 20-date U.S. tour. However, on October 16, 1972 – less than six months after the tour ended – Fantasy Records and the band officially announced the disbanding of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Creedence Clearwater Revival never formally reunited after the break-up, although Cook and Clifford eventually started the band Creedence Clearwater Revisited.
In a July 2011 interview with the Calgary Herald, John Fogerty, for the first time in over 20 years, admitted that he would at least be willing to consider reuniting with Cook and Clifford. "Years ago, I looked at people and I was so full of some sort of emotion and I'd say, 'Absolutely not!' . . . . But I have to admit, people have asked me more recently, and even though I have no idea how such a series of events would come to pass, I can tell that there isn't the bombast in my voice, in the denial, in the refusal. It's more like, 'Well, I dunno.' Never say never is I guess is what people tell you. In this life, all kinds of strange things come to pass," Fogerty said. "Realizing that it doesn't really kick up a big firestorm of emotion, it kind of suggests that at least if someone started talking I'd sit still long enough to listen."
When asked about a potential reunion again in October 2011, Fogerty said: "I'm saying it's possible, yeah. I think the call would maybe have to come from outside the realm. Somebody would have to get me to look at things in a fresh way."
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