All together…Creedence Clearwater Revival had 65 total songs. It seems like more but that was it. Their recording career spanned from 1967 to 1972. They had 7 studio albums in that span which is incredible.
I looked back at photos of them during that time. They looked like a garage band that could have lived next door to you. They don’t look like what they really were…the hottest American band. You see pictures of The Beatles, Stones, Led Zeppelin, and The Who back then and there is a certain gloss about them…not with CCR. CCR didn’t look larger than life…they looked like our blue-collar neighbors from down the street. That is one of the reasons that I still like them so much.
From 1968 to 1972 they were constants in the charts. They didn’t take months to make an album…they just reeled them off. They pulled off a Beatles trick by having hit singles and critically acclaimed albums. That is not easy to do.
There is an anomaly about them that is puzzling. Their songs have become standards but never had a number 1 song. Well did I say never? It took 50 years but that was finally broken in 2021…they peaked at #1 in the US Rock Digital Sales and also the Canadian Digital Sales for Have You Ever Seen The Rain.
I have no conspiracy theory about them not having a number 1 in their time but personally, I always thought that being on Fantasy Records had something to do with it. If they would have been with Capitol, Columbia, or any other major record label…I believe that would have helped. Those labels had the money for huge advertising and had a connection to DJs and other clients to help. Don’t get me wrong… Fantasy Owner Saul Zaentz was making a lot of money but when it came to the band…he did not like letting it go. That contributed to the short career of CCR.
Anyway back to this song. It was on the great album Willy and the Poor Boys released in 1969. The album had the well-known hits Fortunate Son, Down On The Corner, The Midnight Special, and the fan favorite It Came Out of the Sky. The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard Album Charts, #2 in Canada, and #10 in the UK.
I would have loved to see these guys live. I want to thank one blogger named Jeff from Eclectic Music Lover for sharing his story of seeing Creedence live…that was his first concert. I will always be jealous of that. My first concert came years later and was REO…not a comparison there.
John Fogerty: “There were things going on in the country that upset me, but having grown up in the ‘hippie’ generation, there were a lot of things about my own generation that upset me as well. The song ‘Don’t Look Now’ was trying to address that. It wasn’t that I was a fence rider, it was just that some stuff was getting out of hand.”
Don’t Look Now (It Ain’t You or Me)
Who will take the coal from the mine? Who will take the salt from the earth? Who’ll take a leaf and grow it to a tree? Don’t look now, it ain’t you or me.
Who will work the field with his hands? Who will put his back to the plough? Who’ll take the mountain and give it to the sea? Don’t look now, it ain’t you or me.
Don’t look now, someone’s done your starvin’; Don’t look now, someone’s done your prayin’ too.
Who will make the shoes for your feet? Who will make the clothes that you wear? Who’ll take the promise that you don’t have to keep? Don’t look now, it ain’t you or me.
Don’t look now, someone’s done your starvin’; Don’t look now, someone’s done your prayin’ too.
Who will take the coal from the mines? Who will take the salt from the earth? Who’ll take the promise that you don’t have to keep? Don’t look now, it ain’t you or me
One thing that Max Picks has taught me is that I haven’t posted as many hits as I truly like. I usually concentrate on the album cuts but songs like this I really like. This one is a good example. I thought for sure I did it before but never have. Well, I guess I’ve given away one Pick…
It was one of the very very very very…yes that is bad English…but what I mean to say is a VERY rare new song that our band played. See…I even liked older songs much more in the mid-eighties. We were already playing many CCR songs so this just fit right in perfectly. It seemed weird playing a song in the top 10 back then. It’s a fun easy riff to play on guitar. Something a beginner could do.
It was one of those songs in the mid-eighties that I could not get enough of. Real drums and real guitar riffs. Fogerty had been out of the spotlight since 1975…this single was released in December 1984 right before his great album Centerfield. I didn’t buy this single…I knew it was Fogerty so I just bought the album. It was Creedence in the 80s to me. His next album I won’t talk about as much but this was an instant classic. The album had Big Train From Memphis, I Saw It On TV, Centerield, and Rock and Roll Girls plus more very good songs. This is the song that signaled his comeback.
After it was released John had said the song was supposedly about “the devil” and that would be Saul Zaentz who owned all of Fogerty’s publishing from the CCR days. To top it off and make the song pretty much true…Saul Zaentz sued Fogerty for sounding like himself in this song. He claimed this song sounded like Run Through The Jungle…one that Fogerty wrote with Creedence. John has since said that Saul probably jumped into his mind after the lawsuit…and he developed that riff and just wrote around it.
The B-Side to this single was Big Train From Memphis (Below) which I loved. It’s one of my favorite Train songs. The song peaked at #10 on the Billboard 100, #12 in Canada, #11 in New Zealand, and #90 in the UK. Wow…I don’t guess the UK were Fogerty fans.
John Fogerty was in court playing the song on guitar to show how he wrote it and said this later: “Yeah, it’s the same interval. What am I supposed to do, get an inoculation? I proved that, no, I didn’t copy myself, I invented something new that really sounds a lot like me. Do you find fault with Elvis for sounding like Elvis? When McCartney sounds like McCartney or Dylan sounds like Dylan? No one else ever had to go through that.”
John DID win the court case. If he had lost that case…all hell would have broken loose on solo artists who left bands for a solo career that sounded like themselves.
Big Train From Memphis
Old Man Down The Road
He take the thunder from the mountain, he take the lightning from the sky, He bring the strong man to his begging knee, he make the young girl’s mama cry.
You got to hidey-hide, you got to jump and run; You got to hidey-hidey-hide, the Old Man is down the road.
He got the voices speak in riddles, he got the eye as black as coal, He got a suitcase covered with rattlesnake hide, and he stands right in the road.
You got to hidey-hide, you got to jump up run away; You got to hidey-hidey-hide, the Old Man is down the road.
Ah!
He make the river call your lover, he make the barking of the hound, Put a shadow ‘cross the window, when the Old Man comes around.
You got to hidey-hide, you got to jump and run again; You got to hidey-hidey-hide, the Old Man is down the road. The Old Man is down the road.
Ah! You got ta, you got ta, you got ta, hidey-hidey-hide!
Creedence cut through his song and stripped it bare with their version. I love Marvin Gaye’s version of this song but Creedence spun it into a garage band’s dream. I really like the steady drums that keep it tethered to earth. CCR’s drummer Doug Clifford played off of John Fogerty’s rhythm and it created the atmosphere of the song.
This is embarrassing but this song really hit my radar through constant commercials in 1987. It was used in California Raisin commercials that played, and played, and played more. When I would go to Hardees for lunch…they would give me a plastic figure of one of the raisins. Yea…I collected them. Former drummer of the Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsies, Buddy Miles, sang lead in those commercials.
Creedence’s album version was a whopping (I love using that word) 11-minute song. This was a change from their other compact songs. This of course was not an original. It was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Strong came up with the idea and asked Motown writers Holland-Dozier-Holland to work on it with him. They refused to credit another writer, so Strong took it to Whitfield, who helped put it together…so it was credited to Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong.
In December 1975, CCR’s label Fantasy Records re-released the song as a single, which peaked at #43 on the Billboard 100 and #76 in Canada. This release came in the middle of some heated legal battles between the band and the label, which resulted in John Fogerty taking a 10-year break from making music. The song was edited down to a more reasonable length for radio.
The song was originally on their Cosmo’s Factory album released in 1970 which is possibly their best album.
Below….the first is one of the many commercials, the second was the single version, and the third is the album’s 11-minute version.
I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Ooh-ooh, bet you’re wondering how I knew
‘Bout your plan to make me blue
With some other guy that you knew before?
Between the two of us guys, you know I love you more
Took me by surprise, I must say, when I found out yesterday
Ooh-ooh, I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine
Ooh-ooh, I heard it through the grapevine
And I’m just about to lose my mind
Honey, honey yeah
You know that a man ain’t supposed to cry
But these tears I can’t hold inside
Losing you would end my life, you see
‘Cause you mean that much to me
You could’ve told me yourself that you found someone else
Instead
I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine
Ooh-ooh, I heard it through the grapevine
And I’m just about to lose my mind
Honey, honey yeah
People say “You hear from what you see
Not, not, not from what you hear.”
I can’t help but being confused
If it’s true, won’t you tell me dear?
Do you plan to let me go
For the other guy that you knew before?
Ooh-ooh, I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine
Ooh-ooh, I heard it through the grapevine
And I’m just about to lose my mind
Honey, honey yeah
Ooh-ooh, I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine
Ooh-ooh, I heard it through the grapevine
And I’m just about to lose my mind
Ooh-ooh, I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine
Aah-aah, I heard it through the grapevine
And I’m just about to lose my mind
Honey, honey yeah
This song has one of the most recognizable guitar licks in rock history.
A bar band needing another song to get through the night? This is the one that the guitar player would noodle around and get it and the band could kick in without rehearsing. I saw the clock turn to 3am playing this song many times… if you could see the clock through the smoke. The guitar riff on the original version was created by the then-15-year-old James Burton.
The song took Dale Hawkins and his band three months to perfect the song on the stages throughout the south. He was the original singer of the song and it came out in 1957. The song was credited to Dale Hawkins, Robert Chaisson, Stan Lewis, and Eleanor Broadwater. The song peaked at #24 on the Billboard 100 and #7 on the R&B Charts.
This song is the only top 40 song for CCR not written by John Fogerty. This song started it all for Creedence. After this, they were one of the most successful bands in the world. The song peaked at #11 on the Billboard 100 and #10 in Canada. Fogerty wanted to make their identity with this song.
CCR’s version became popular on the West Coast before it was available on vinyl. The band brought a cassette tape of the song to a San Francisco DJ, who played it in appreciation for the group’s earlier support of a DJ strike. Fantasy records then had to get the single out. The song was on their debut album called Creedence Clearwater Revival released in 1968. It peaked at #52 on the Billboard Album Charts.
The Rolling Stones also covered it on their 1964 12 x 5 album.
John Fogerty:“I knew I needed to work on arranging the song so that the band would sound like Creedence Clearwater Revival, would sound professional, mysterious and also have their own definition. The song I chose was ‘Susie Q.’ I decided not to write the song myself. I decided to pick something that existed because it’d just be easier. I’d be less self-conscious about doing things.”
John Fogerty on hearing it for the first time: “I went crazy and immediately began banging on the dashboard.”
When asked what the rhymes are in the latter part of the song, bass player Stu Cook said, “They were just simple rhymes. John hated it when songwriters used simple rhymes just to make things rhyme, so this was a statement against that. It was sort of anti-Dylan.”
Suzie Q
Oh Susie Q, oh Susie Q
Oh Susie Q baby I love you, Susie Q
I like the way you walk
I like the way you talk
I like the way you walk
I like the way you talk
Susie Q
Well, say that you’ll be true
Well, say that you’ll be true
Well, say that you’ll be true and never leave me blue, Susie Q
Well, say that you’ll be mine
Well, say that you’ll be mine
Well, say that you’ll be mine, baby all the time, Susie Q
Uh uh
Uh uh
Uh uh
Uh uh
Oh Susie Q, oh Susie Q
Oh Susie Q, baby I love you, Susie Q
I like the way you walk
I like the way you talk
I like the way you walk I like the way you talk, Susie Q
Oh Susie Q, oh Susie Q
Oh Susie Q, baby I love you, Susie Q
If I had to pick a favorite song of Creedence Clearwater Revival it would be hard… but this song would be a contender and probably my overall favorite. It’s the way Fogerty wearily sings the lyrics, he sounds so much older than he was at the time. The song is off of the “Green River” album.
Sometimes lines grab my attention and these did. Met myself a comin’ county welfare line. I was feelin’ strung out, Hung out on the line.
The album did very well…the Green River album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, #2 in Canada, and #20 in the UK in 1969. If you want proof that life isn’t fair… Green River the title track was kept from #1 because of the novelty bubblegum song “Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies.
With Creedence…you won’t hear any “alternative takes” with the band. Fogerty destroyed all copies of the first version of songs because he never wanted any of his outtakes to make it into the public’s hands. This has been a regular practice of him throughout his career.
The album ended up charting 4 different songs. Green River, Lodi, Bad Moon Rising, and Commotion. John Fogerty released a new version of the song on his ninth solo studio album, also titled Wrote a Song for Everyone. This version features Miranda Lambert and Tom Morello.
Jeff Tweedy of Wilco has cited this as a song that had a profound influence on him. A huge Fogerty fan, Wilco credits him with forming the foundation of the Americana genre.
John Fogerty:“Inspired by my young wife at the time. It was early ’69, and I was 23 years old. We had our first child, who, at the time, was two and a half. I was sitting in my room, writing the songs, pushing my career. Without the songs, the career ends. You might be a great band, but without the songs, you’re not going anywhere. At one point, my wife and I had a mild misunderstanding, I wouldn’t even call it a fight, She was miffed, taking our young son out, wishing I would be more involved. But there I was, the musician manic and possessed the only guy holding things up. Without me, it all collapses, so I’m feeling quite put upon. As she walks out the door, I say to my self, “I wrote a song for everyone, and I couldn’t even talk to you.” I looked at my piece of paper and changed gears. How many great leaders can’t even manage their own families? So I went with that. “Pharaohs spin the message/Round and round and true/Richmonds about to blow up” referring to nearby Richmond, California. It was actually a true emotion that took on a larger meaning. It’s still a special song in the sense that it keeps my feet on the ground. You sit and write these songs, yet you try to talk to your own son and daughter and maybe you’re totally inadequate, trying to explain life to a child. We used to record our album very quickly and I remember finishing five different songs in one afternoon. The fifth one didn’t work, and that was “Wrote A Song For Everyone.” I had to start over on that one.”
“Wrote A Song For Everyone”
Met myself a comin’ county welfare line. I was feelin’ strung out, Hung out on the line. Saw myself a goin’, down to war in June. All I want, All I want is to write myself a tune.
[Chorus:] Wrote a song for ev’ryone, Wrote a song for truth. Wrote a song for ev’ryone And I couldn’t even talk to you.
Got myself arrested, Wound me up in jail. Richmond ’bout to blow up, communication failed. If you see the answer, now’s the time to say. All I want, All I want is to get you down to pray.
[Chorus]
[Chorus]
Saw the people standin’ thousand years in chains. Somebody said it’s diff’rent now, look, it’s just the same. Pharoahs spin the message, round and round the truth. They could have saved a million people, How can I tell you?
This song is referring to Saul Zaentz, Fogerty’s former boss at Fantasy Records. Both took turns suing each other as Zaentz sued Fogerty for plagiarizing himself on The Old Man Down the Road and also for defamation for the song Vanz Kant Danz, which was originally titled Zanz Kant Danz, but was altered as part of the settlement. Fogerty counter-sued for reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and in a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, he won…sometimes there IS justice in the world.
Saul Zaentz took CCR’s money and built an empire with it. He owned the worldwide film, stage, and merchandise rights to J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He financed the Lord of the Rings animation in 1978 and many other films.
The contract CCR signed with Zaentz was one sided. Zaentz promised the band he would renegotiate when the band had a hit…he refused of course when that day happened. Fogerty has said that he brought in the ultimate crooked band manager Allen Klein to break the contract. Klein who could famously manipulate contracts told Fogerty that the contract was iron clad.
The video for this was the first ever filmed entirely in “Claymation.” It was produced at Will Vinton Studio, named for the inventor of the clay animation technique. The video didn’t garner a lot of attention at the time because the song wasn’t a hit…it did get some airplay on MTV at the time.
From Songfacts
The song is about an unnamed street dancer and his sidekick, a pig trained to pick people’s pockets as they watch the dancer do his stuff. The pig, originally named Zanz as a dig at Saul Zaentz, “Can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money – watch him or he’ll rob you blind.” When Zaentz threatened Fogerty with yet another lawsuit, Fogerty changed the pig’s name to Vanz.
Another song from the Centerfield album, “Mr. Greed,” is also thought to be a musical salvo by Fogerty in his long-running feud with Zaentz, which lasted until 2004 when Fantasy Records was bought out by Concord Records, who restored Fogerty’s rights to his CCR material.
Vanz Kant Danz
Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind
Out in the street the crowd is gatherin’ Pushed down by the heat of the building, they’re wantin’ to dance Makin’ their way up the street, a boy with a pig and a radio Little Billy can work on the crowd, put ’em into a trance For the little pig Vanz
Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind
You’re watchin’ ’em dance, not a care in the world So Billy and Vanz get busy, they’re makin’ their move The little pig knows what to do He’s silent and quick, just like Oliver Twist Before it’s over, your pocket is clean A four-legged thief paid a visit on you
Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind
Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind
Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money Watch him or he’ll rob you blind
This one is a sad song. It reminds me a little of Cat’s in the Cradle…except more painful. This one was inspired by Fogerty’s parents getting a divorce when he was younger.
This song was on their last studio album Mardis Gras. To put it bluntly…a bad album. The only bad album in their original catalog. The band was coming apart at this time and John’s brother Tom had already quit after the last album. They made the album as a trio. John Fogerty, Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford. The others wanted to be able to have more of a say on the direction of the band.
John had heard this for a while so he basically told them…you two are responsible for a 1/3 of the album so go write. The other two were not ready for this as they had to write songs and sing also. The album was a disaster and was known as “Fogerty’s Revenge” and after the album they did a tour and the band was over after that.
The song peaked at #25 in the Billboard Album Charts and #29 in Canada in 1972. The album peaked at #11 in the Billboard 100 and #12 in Canada on the strength of Sweet Hitch Hiker and Someday Never Comes.
John Fogerty:
“Someday Never Comes” is simply a song about my parents undergoing a divorce when I was a child and me not knowing many things. When my dad left me, he told me to be a man and someday I would understand everything. Now, I’m here basically repeating the same thing really. I had a son in 1966 and I went away when he was five years old or so and again told him “someday” he would understand everything. Really, all kids ask questions like “Daddy, when are we going fishing?” and parents always answer with “someday”, but in reality someday never comes and kids never learn what they’re supposed to learn. –
When I wrote this song, my life was pretty chaotic. I knew my marriage was going to break up. My band was falling apart. I was beginning to sense the darkness that was Fantasy Records. This song was inspired by my parents’ divorce when I was a young boy and the effect it had on me. At the time, they told me, “Someday, you’ll understand.” The truth of this is that you never do and I found myself facing this as a parent. The irony was painful and inescapable
Someday Never Comes
First thing I remember was asking papa, why, For there were many things I didn’t know. And daddy always smiled and took me by the hand, Saying, someday you’ll understand.
Well, I’m here to tell you now, each and every mother’s son, That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young, ‘Cause someday never comes.
Well, time and tears went by and I collected dust. For there were many things I didn’t know. When daddy went away, he said, try to be a man, And someday you’ll understand.
Well, I’m here to tell you now, each and every mother’s son, That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young, ‘Cause someday never comes.
And then one day in April, I wasn’t even there, For there were many things I didn’t know. A son was born to me. Mama held his hand, Sayin’ someday you’ll understand.
Well, I’m here to tell you now, each and every mother’s son, That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young, ‘Cause someday never comes Ooo someday never comes.
Think it was September, the year I went away, For there were many things I didn’t know. And still I see him standing, tryin’ to be a man, I said, someday you’ll understand.
Well, I’m here to tell you now, each and every mother’s son, That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young, ‘Cause someday never comes Ooo someday never comes.
The Georgia Satellites came out swinging with a number 2 hit in 1986 called Keep Your Hands To Yourself. At the time of Madonna and synth driven songs it was great to hear this band out of Georgia that played raw roots rock and roll.
I almost always post the original songs but I do like the Satellites versions of these two. Both of these songs could have fit in nice with CCR’s catalog.
These two songs they tacked together worked perfect with each other. They are both John Fogerty songs that he released in the mid seventies. The Satellites were on the same touring circuit as the Replacements, REM, and The Fresh Young Fellows. What separated them at the time with those bands was that hit. They also had a minor hit with a song called Battleship Chains.
The two songs were on John Fogerty’s self titled album released in 1975. The Satellites released their version on their greatest hits released in 1993. The lead singer Dan Baird had quit by this time. The band is still together but with only one original member…lead guitarist Rick Richards.
Almost Saturday Night/Rockin’ All Over the World
Oh-ho-ho
Outside my window I can hear a radio And I know that motor wagon’s gettin’ ready to fly And it’s almost Saturday night
Bye-bye, tomorrow Jody’s gone to a rodeo And I know some good ol’ boys are gettin’ ready to ride And it’s almost Saturday night
Gonna push the clouds away Let the music have its way Let it steal your heart away And I know, I know it
Outside me ringin’ The night train is bringing me home When you hear that locomotion gettin’ ready to ride And it’s almost Saturday night
Gonna push the clouds away Let the music have its way Let it steal my heart away And I know, I know it
Outside me ringin’ The night train is bringing me home When you hear that locomotion gettin’ ready to ride And it’s almost Saturday night
Outside my window Outside, it’s almost Saturday night Outside me ringin’ Outside, it’s almost Saturday night
Well, I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it I li-li-like it, li-li-like it Here we go, rockin’ all over the world Well, I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it I li-li-like it, li-li-like it Here we go, rockin’ all over the world Well, I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it I li-li-like it, li-li-like it Here we go, rockin’ all over the world Well, I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it I li-li-like it, li-li-like it Here we go, rockin’ all over the world
Hey Tonight is the B-side of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” the first single Creedence Clearwater Revival released in 1971 and the last the band launched as a quartet. Both single cuts also appear on the Pendulum album. What terrific singles this great band produced like clockwork.
This is yet another song that has the character “Jody” in it. Songs like It Came Out Of The Sky, Hey Tonight, and a solo Fogerty song called Almost Saturday Night. He has never said one way or another if it was based on someone or just sounded good in the song…probably the latter.
John Fogerty wrote “Hey Tonight” and the band rehearsed it before the group hit the studio in 1970. Fogerty thought the song was one of the better ones on the album despite the fact it was written in while the band was in turmoil at that time. Creedence Clearwater played “Hey Tonight” live for a first time at the private party the band held to music writers at Cosmo’s Factory on December 12th, 1970.
John not only wrote, sings and plays guitar on every track, he also overdubbed organ and saxophone (which he played himself) on some of the songs.
Have You Ever Seen The Rain?/Hey Tonight peaked at #9 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in Canada in 1971.
This video below is not a real video to the song but it shows some footage I haven’t seen before of the band as a trio after Tom quit. The song is right below this one.
Hey Tonight
Hey, Tonight, Gonna be tonight, Don’t you know I’m flyin’ Tonight, tonight. Hey, c’mon, Gonna chase tomorrow Tonight, tonight.
Gonna get it to the rafters, Watch me now. Jody’s gonna get religion All night long.
Hey, c’mon, Gonna hear the sun Tonight, tonight.
Gonna get it to the rafters, Watch me now. Jody’s gonna get religion All night long.
Aaaah! Hey, Tonight, Gonna be tonight, Don’t you know I’m flyin’ Tonight, tonight. Tonight, tonight.
Big Train (From Memphis)” was the B-side of “The Old Man Down the Road”, the first 45 rpm single John Fogerty released in 1984. It was his first single release since “You Got The Magic” in 1976.
John Fogerty’s album Centerfield was released in 1985. No one was sure if Fogerty would release anything again at that point. This song has a Sun Records rockabilly feel.
Despite being in the middle of the eighties, Fogerty didn’t really alter his style for this album. Many of these songs would have fit perfectly well on a Creedence Clearwater Revival album. John played all the instruments himself on this album.
It peaked at #38 in the Billboard Country Charts. The Centerfield album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, #2 in Canada, and #48 in the UK in 1985. The song was recorded at The Plant Studios in San Francisco.
Big Train (From Memphis)
When I was young, I spent my summer days playin’ on the track. The sound of the wheels rollin’ on the steel took me out, took me back.
[CHORUS:] Big Train from Memphis, Big Train from Memphis, Now it’s gone gone gone, gone gone gone.
Like no one before, he let out a roar, and I just had to tag along. Each night I went to bed with the sound in my head, and the dream was a song.
[CHORUS]
Well I’ve rode ’em in and back out again – you know what they say about trains; But I’m tellin’ you when that Memphis train came through, This ol’ world was not the same.
I love this song by Creedence but it’s probably the song I seek out the least…only because I’ve probably heard it the most. If I hear it on the radio I like it though all over again. This song was the game changer for CCR.
Fogerty refused to play his Creedence songs that he wrote for years because of bitter memories and bad contracts he signed with Creedence. He didn’t think about relenting until a stage appearance on February 19. 1987 with Dylan and George Harrison at a Taj Mahal concert at the Palomino, a Los Angeles club.
Dylan told him ‘Hey, John, if you don’t do these tunes, the world’s going to remember “Proud Mary” as Tina Turner’s song.” That got John thinking that ignoring his back catalog probably harmed his career and started to play those songs again.
When CCR recorded this song, John Fogerty wasn’t happy with the harmony vocals so when the band was at dinner…he recorded them himself and overdubbed them onto the track. This caused further tension in his already tension filled relationship with his bandmates.
The song was on Bayou Country released in 1969 and it peaked at #7 in the Billboard Album Charts, #14 in Canada, and #62 in the UK.
The song peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100, #2 in Canada, #8 in the UK, and #3 in New Zealand.
The song came together on the day that John Fogerty got his discharge papers from the US Army. Fogerty had been drafted in 1966 and was part of a Reserve unit, serving at Fort Bragg, Fort Knox, and Fort Lee. His discharge papers came in 1967.
John Fogerty:“The Army and Creedence overlapped, so I was ‘that hippie with a record on the radio.’ I’d been trying to get out of the Army, and on the steps of my apartment house sat a diploma-sized letter from the government. It sat there for a couple of days, right next to my door. One day, I saw the envelope and bent down to look at it, noticing it said ‘John Fogerty.’ I went into the house, opened the thing up, and saw that it was my honorable discharge from the Army. I was finally out! This was 1968 and people were still dying. I was so happy, I ran out into my little patch of lawn and turned cartwheels. Then I went into my house, picked up my guitar and started strumming. ‘Left a good job in the city’ and then several good lines came out of me immediately. I had the chord changes, the minor chord where it says, ‘Big wheel keep on turnin’/Proud Mary keep on burnin” (or ‘boinin’,’ using my funky pronunciation I got from Howling’ Wolf). By the time I hit ‘Rolling, rolling, rolling on the river,’ I knew I had written my best song. It vibrated inside me. When we rehearsed it, I felt like Cole Porter.”
John Fogerty liked Ike and Tina’s version:“When it ended, if they had a camera and came back to me it’d be like, when Shrek and the donkey go to Far, Far Away and they push the button for that little arcade machine and it tells the whole story of their town! And the Donkey’s like [Eddie Murphy impression] ‘Let’s do that again!’ That’s how I felt when that ended. I loved it, and I was so honored. I was like, ‘Wow, Ike and Tina!’ I had actually been following their career for quite some time. Way back in the day, when Janis and Grace Slick started to get known by the kids who were my age, I’d be like, ‘Man, Tina Turner, c’mon!’ She finally got her due, but for a while there, she wasn’t noticed. It was a really good version, and it was different. I mean, that’s the key. Instead of the same thing, it was really exciting.”
From Songfacts
In the beginning, “Proud Mary” had nothing to do with a riverboat. Instead, John Fogerty envisioned it as the story of a woman who works as a maid for rich people. “She gets off the bus every morning and goes to work and holds their lives together,” he explained. “Then she has to go home.”
It was Stu Cook who first introduced the riverboat aspect of the song. The idea came to him as the group watched the television show Maverick and Stu made the statement, “Hey riverboat, blow your bell.” John agreed that the boat seemed to have something to do with the song that had been brewing in his mind for quite some time, waiting to take conscious shape. When he wrote the music, he made the first few chords evoke a riverboat paddlewheel going around. Thus, “Proud Mary” went from being a cleanup lady to a boat.
Fogerty wrote the lyrics based on three song title ideas: “Proud Mary,” “Riverboat,” and “Rolling On A River.” He carried around a notebook with titles that he thought would make good songs, and “Proud Mary” was at the top of the list. So it was that an all-American classic was born from the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the late 1960s. Fogerty suspected right away that his “Tin Pan Alley” song was a radio-friendly hit, and he was right. The song hit #2 in the US, reached #8 in the UK, and #1 in Austria.
This was the first of five singles by Creedence that went to #2 on the US chart; they have the most #2 songs without ever having a #1.
Despite popular belief, John Fogerty was not writing from experience when he wrote this. Thanks to his military commitment, he hadn’t ventured further east than Montana. After the song was recorded, he took a trip to Memphis so he could finally see the Mississippi River.
The original CCR version peaked at #2 in March 1969. In June, Solomon Burke’s rendition hit #45. His was the first to include a spoken into:
I know a lot of you folks would like to know what the old Proud Mary is all about
Well, I’d like to tell you about her
She’s nothing but a big old boat
You see, my forefathers used to ride the bottoms of her as stokers, cooks, and waiters
And I made a vow that when I grew up, I’d take a ride on the old Proud Mary
And if you’d let me, I’d like to sing about it
Burke then sings, “looking for a job in the city,” as opposed to “left a good job in the city.”
This was a #4 hit in the US for Ike & Tina Turner in 1971, and a highlight of their live shows. Tina Turner recalled in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 1971 how they came to record this on their Workin’ Together album: “When we cut the album, we were lacking a few tunes, so we said ‘Well, let’s just put in a few things that we’re doing on stage. And that’s how ‘Proud Mary’ came about. I had loved it when it first came out. We auditioned a girl and she had sung ‘Proud Mary.’ This is like eight months later, and Ike said, ‘You know, I forgot all about that tune.’ And I said let’s do it, but let’s change it. So in the car Ike plays the guitar, we just sort of jam. And we just sort of broke into the black version of it. It was never planned to say, ‘Well, let’s go to the record shop, and I’d like to record this tune by Aretha Franklin’… it’s just that we get it for stage, because we give the people a little bit of us and a little bit of what they hear on the radio every day.”
“Proud Mary” attracted 35 covers in the year 1969 alone. Over 100 have been made since.
These are the US charting versions:
Creedence Clearwater Revival (#2, 1969) Solomon Burke (#45, 1969) Checkmates, Ltd. feat. Sonny Charles (#69, 1969) Ike & Tina Turner (#4, 1971) Glee Cast (#115, 2009)
The line, “Pumped a lot of pain down in New Orleans” is actually “Pumped a lot of ‘Pane,” as in propane. He was pumping gas.
The Checkmates, Ltd. did a horn-powered, gospel inflected version of this song that was produced by Phil Spector and featured Sonny Charles on lead vocals. Running 4:30, it’s substantially longer than the 3:07 original, and went to #69 in November 1969.
This arrangement was clearly an influence on the Ike & Tina Turner version, which they started performing soon after. There was speculation that Spector, who produced Ike & Tina on their 1966 single “River Deep – Mountain High,” brought this version to Ike Turner’s attention.
Fogerty came up with the famous chord riff on guitar when he was playing around with Beethoven’s “5th Symphony.” That one goes “dun dun dun duuunnnnn…,” but Fogerty thought it would sound better with the emphasis on the first note, which is how he arrived at “do do do do.”
This part reminded him of the paddle wheel that impels a riverboat. “‘Proud Mary’ is not a side-wheeler, it’s a stern-wheeler,” he explained.
Even though Creedence Clearwater Revival was from El Cerrito, California, many people thought they were from New Orleans or some other part of the South because of their swamp rock sound. They helped feed the rumor by naming their second album Bayou Country.
Tina Turner recorded a solo version for her 1993 album What’s Love Got To Do With It, which was the soundtrack to her biopic of the same name. In the film, it was lip-synced by Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne (who played Ike and Tina), but on the recording, Tina’s sax player Tim Cappello did Ike’s bass vocals. By recording her own version with no trace of Ike, it made sure he could not profit from its use in the film or soundtrack – an important distinction considering Tina’s accusations of spousal abuse.
When Tina performed the song live, she would usually do a variation on the spoken part, but without the male vocal.
Ike & Tina Turner’s version charted for the first time in the UK on the chart dated October 2, 2010 after it was performed on X-Factor by auditioneees Diva Fever. This version was credited to Tina Turner only.
Ike and Tina performed their version on the Season 2 premiere of Soul Train in 1972, becoming the first big act to appear on the program. The show became very popular its first season because of the dancers, but they were able to book many famous guests in subsequent seasons.
The occasion didn’t inspire Fogerty to start regularly performing CCR songs again, but it did break it for that one evening as four legends of rock jammed together.
According to the book Bad Moon Rising, Bob Dylan called “Proud Mary” his favorite song of 1969.
A film about a hitwoman titled Proud Mary was released in January 2018. Not only does the action movie take its name from the song, but altered lyrics from the tune appear on the poster promoting it, with the tagline, “Killing for the Man every Night and Day.”
John Fogerty took to Twitter to complain:
“I wrote the song ‘Proud Mary’ 50 years ago, and I was very excited to have written such a good song. In fact, it was my very first good song.
My songs are special to me. Precious. So it irks me when people seek to capitalize on the popularity of my music and the good will it has earned with the public for their own financial gain. Over the years, I have often found myself directly opposed to these uses.
This movie has nothing to do with me, or my song. They simply picked the title and wrote a completely fictitious story around it.”
He added: “No one ever asked me about using my song this way, or even about the meaning of Proud Mary.”
The film, as well as the trailer, features the Tina Turner version of the song. Fogerty lost the rights to his CCR songs in 1973, so there was nothing he could do about having a cover version of the song used in the film.
Leonard Nimoy, who played “Mr. Spock” on Star Trek, recorded an infamous cover of this song. Near the end, he sings the chorus Elmer Fudd style – “Big wheel keep on toynin’, Pwoud Mawy keep on boinin’…” It is included on a CD called Golden Throats.
This song was used to disastrous effect to open the 1989 Academy Awards ceremony in a bit where host Rob Lowe sang it with an actress playing Snow White, with the lyrics changed to be about Hollywood:
Klieg lights keep on burnin’
Cameras keep on turnin’
Rollin’ Rollin’
Keep the cameras rollin’
Proud Mary
Left a good job in the city Workin’ for the man ev’ry night and day And I never lost one minute of sleepin’ Worryin’ ’bout the way things might have been
Big wheel keep on turnin’ Proud Mary keep on burnin’ Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river
Cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis Pumped a lot of pane down in New Orleans But I never saw the good side of the city ‘Til I hitched a ride on a river boat queen
Big wheel keep on turnin’ Proud Mary keep on burnin’ Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river
If you come down to the river Bet you gonna find some people who live You don’t have to worry ’cause you have [if you got] no money People on the river are happy to give
Big wheel keep on turnin’ Proud Mary keep on burnin’ Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river
CCR is one band that crosses genres. I haven’t met many people that don’t like them. I can’t say the same for my band The Beatles, or The Stones, The Who, and others. Country fans, Metal fans, Rock fans, and bluegrass fans. It’s something about John Fogerty’s deceptively simple songs that says something to everyone.
John Fogerty did almost all the overdubs for the band until the Pendulum album when other members contributed. Pendulum is the album this song is on. Time was running out on this great band. John said this song was about the impending breakup of the band…Tom Fogerty had told the band he was quitting after the album was finished.
John’s brother Tom Fogerty quit the band after this album and CCR was then a trio. Tom’s voice was close to John’s and he felt restricted in CCR. If you want to hear what Tom sounded like…check out this post by Christian on the forgotten Forgerty brother. Creedence did release one more album after this called Mardi Gras without Tom and it has a few good songs but it’s not up to their standard.
I could tell you my feelings on this song but just listen to it today and it will make your Friday even better.
The song peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #3 in New Zealand and #36 in the UK in 1971.
John Fogerty: “That song is really about the impending breakup of Creedence. The imagery is, you can have a bright, beautiful, sunny day and it can be raining at the same time. The band was breaking up. I was reacting: ‘Geez, this is all getting serious right at the time when we should be having a sunny day.’”
From Songfacts
This song is John Fogerty’s take on the imminent departure of his brother Tom from the band, and the overall tension in the group at a time when they should have been enjoying their success. The line, “I want to know – have you ever seen the rain comin’ down on a sunny day?” refers to Tom leaving while CCR was at its commercial zenith. The flip side of this single, “Hey Tonight,” is John reassuring the band that all would go well despite the adversity.
Tom Fogerty left the group in early 1971, after this album was released. He released three solo albums before dying of tuberculosis in 1990. A fourth album, completed in 1988, was released posthumously.
According to John Fogerty, this song’s meaning changed for him over time. Introducing the song at a 2012 show in Arizona, he said: “This song was originally written about a very sad thing that was going on in my life. But I refuse to be sad now. Because now this song reminds me of my little girl, Kelsy, and every time I sing it, I think about Kelsy and rainbows.”
Fogerty added that this is his all-time favorite song, even though it’s one he wrote himself.
Musically, this song was inspired by the group Booker T. & the MG’s, whose most famous song is “Green Onions.” They opened for Creedence Clearwater Revival before CCR recorded the Pendulum album. John Fogerty loved the sound of Booker T. Jones’ Hammond organ, so he used it on some tracks for the album, including this one.
According to Stu Cook, this song and another track on the album, “Pagan Baby,” were written and rehearsed from scratch during one recording session. “Pagan Baby” was done in one take.”
This was used in the TV show Tour Of Duty, which was set in Vietnam during the war. >>
Bonnie Tyler covered this song for her 1983 blockbuster album Faster Than the Speed of Night. Her version reached #47 in the UK. >>
In 2006, Rod Stewart covered this song on his album Still the Same… Great Rock Classics of Our Time. >>
Allison Moorer covered this for her 2015 Down To Believing album. She explained why to Billboard magazine: “The record label wanted me to do a cover. I said ‘I don’t really think the record needs a cover on it,’ and we certainly have enough songs, but in the spirit of being cooperative, I said ‘OK, if you really want one, I’ll come up with something.'”
“If I was going to do a cover, it was going to be something that I had always wanted to do,” she continued. “I’m a huge Creedence fan, and that song might be my very favorite song of theirs. I’ve always thought it was the perfect country / rock song, and this record to me is a country / rock record, so I thought ‘If I’m ever going to this, this is the perfect time. I think what you hear on the record is actually the second take.”
As part of the CCR50 campaign to honor the 50th anniversary of Creedence Clearwater Revival, a video was commissioned for this song starring Jack Quaid, Sasha Frolova and Erin Moriarty as childhood friends in Montana. Directed by Laurence Jacobs, it takes a nostalgic turn when one of the friends moves away.
Willie Nelson recorded this with his daughter Paula Nelson for his duets album To All the Girls… The veteran country singer’s cover was included in the closing moments of the HBO miniseries Big Little Lies’ season 2 finale on July 21, 2019. The interest generated drove Nelson’s cover to a #36 debut on the Country chart dated August 3, 2019.
Have You Ever Seen The Rain
Someone told me long ago There’s a calm before the storm I know it’s been comin’ for some time When it’s over so they say It’ll rain a sunny day I know shinin’ down like water
I want to know Have you ever seen the rain? I want to know Have you ever seen the rain Comin’ down on a sunny day?
Yesterday and days before Sun is cold and rain is hard I know been that way for all my time ‘Til forever, on it goes Through the circle, fast and slow, I know it can’t stop, I wonder
I want to know Have you ever seen the rain? I want to know Have you ever seen the rain Comin’ down on a sunny day?
Yeah
I want to know Have you ever seen the rain? I want to know Have you ever seen the rain Comin’ down on a sunny day?
When John Fogerty released the Centerfield album in 1985 I was excited. He had disappeared from the music scene for 10 years. I gave up hope of ever hearing new music from him. I kept hoping he would regroup with Creedence but I didn’t know at that time of the hostile history between them. This album was highly anticipated. I bought the album and it didn’t disappoint.
This is the second track on Fogerty’s Centerfield album, his first in 10 years. The song was inspired by his 12-year-old daughter, Laurie. Fogerty would watch her and her best friend hanging out and jokingly call them the Rock and Roll Girls.
The song peaked at #20 in the Billboard 100, #16 in Canada, #38 in New Zealand, and #83 in the UK in 1985.
Rock and Roll Girls
Sometimes I think life is just a rodeo The trick is to ride and make it to the bell But there is a place, sweet as you will ever know In music and love and things you never tell You see it in their face, secrets on the telephone A time out of time, for you and no one else
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls
Yeah, yeah, yeah
If I had my way, I’d shuffle off to Buffalo Sit by the lake and watch the world go by Ladies in the sun, listenin’ to the radio Like flowers on the sand, the rainbow in my mind
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls, yeah, yeah, yeah
This is one of the first bass runs I ever learned…It was on the album Willy And The Poor Boys album.
The song was part of yet another double A-sided single paired with Fortunate Son. Down on the Corner peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100,
On the cover, the band is seen down on the corner performing to a (very) small crowd outside the Duck Kee Market. This location had no real significance except it just happened to be half a block from the recording studio. John Fogerty recalls only ever going in there one time, and that was sometime after the album’s release.
The album cover and building and below picture is recently.
From Songfacts
This song tells the story of a fictional jug band, Willy and the Poor Boys, who were street musicians “playing for nickels, can’t be beat.” The name of the jug band was also the name of CCR’s fourth straight million-selling album.
Just as The Beatles took the role of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Creedence became Willy And The Poorboys for this album. This is the only song that played to the concept, but CCR appeared on the cover as the fictional band. The Willy And The Poorboys persona suited the group, as they really were a basic, hardworking band who paid their dues before hitting it big. They sold the jug band theme by performing this song with a washtub bass and washboard.
John Fogerty did all the singing on this. He recorded a bunch of vocal tracks that were overdubbed to create the effect that he was harmonizing with himself.
The line in this song, “Willy goes into a dance and doubles on kazoo” is often misheard. A journalist named Phil Elwood thought the last part of the line was “Devil’s on the loose,” and published it in a newspaper article. John Fogerty got a big kick out of this, and as a nod to Elwood, put this line into the CCR song “Run Through the Jungle”:
They told me, “Don’t go walking slow
‘Cause Devil’s on the loose”
John Fogerty claims that bassist Stu Cook couldn’t play the bass properly for the song. “Eventually, we spent six weeks rehearsing the song, but Stu still couldn’t do it when we got to the recording session,” Fogerty says in Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music. The problem, according to the CCR frontman, was that Cook had no rhythm. This led to a tense moment in the studio, but they eventually managed to get the song down.
Down On The Corner
Early in the evenin’ just about supper time, Over by the courthouse they’re starting to unwind. Four kids on the corner trying to bring you up. Willy picks a tune out and he blows it on the harp.
Down on the corner, out in the street Willy and the Poorboys are playin’ Bring a nickel; tap your feet.
Rooster hits the washboard and people just got to smile, Blinky, thumps the gut bass and solos for a while. Poorboy twangs the rhythm out on his kalamazoo. Willy goes into a dance and doubles on kazoo.
Down on the corner, out in the street Willy and the Poorboys are playin’ Bring a nickel; tap your feet.
Down on the corner, out in the street, Willy and the Poorboys are playin’ Bring a nickel; tap your feet.
You don’t need a penny just to hang around, But if you’ve got a nickel, won’t you lay your money down? Over on the corner there’s a happy noise. People come from all around to watch the magic boy.
Down on the corner, out in the street, Willy and the Poorboys are playin’; Bring a nickel; tap your feet.
Down on the corner, out in the street Willy and the Poorboys are playin’ Bring a nickel; tap your feet.
Down on the corner, out in the street Willy and the Poorboys are playin’ Bring a nickel; tap your feet.
Every bar band who has ever played this song in hole in the wall bar… can relate to the lyrics. This song was the B-Side to Bad Moon Rising. CCR and The Beatles had the best double-sided singles of anyone in my opinion.
Lodi is a city in California located in the central valley, about 38 miles south of Sacramento and 87 miles away from Oakland. Fogerty and his earlier band (The Golliwogs) often performed in out of the way towns like Lodi.
Because of being the B side… Lodi peaked at #52 in the Billboard 100 while the A-side Bad Moon Rising peaked at #2 in 1969.
Drummer Doug Clifford on Lodi California: “There were nine people in there, they were all locals, they were all drunk and all they did all night was tell us to turn it down.”
From Songfacts
In Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music, John Fogerty explained that the inspiration for “Lodi” came from trips with his father around central California, an area of the world where he “felt very warm and special.” This seed of an idea grew into a story about a traveling musician whose career “is in the rearview mirror.” Fogerty was only 23 when he wrote this song about an aging musician.
This song is a reflection on John Fogerty’s days with The Golliwogs, an early version of Creedence Clearwater Revival. They had to struggle for success, playing wherever they could with dilapidated equipment and an often indifferent audience. He did not want a return to the Bad Old Days.
Al Wilson recorded a cover of this song. His version was issued on Soul City Records in America and on Liberty Records in the United Kingdom. It was played extensively in the few underground “Northern Soul” clubs of England during the late 1960s and early ’70s, getting its first exposure at the famous Twisted Wheel Club Allnighters in Manchester, England.
In a radio interview, John Fogerty said when he was young his parents took him and his brother to camp at Lodi lake (called Smith lake then) and they hated camping there. So later on they wrote a song about Lodi using their old hatred for the place.
Tesla did an acoustic version of this song that was included on their 1990 live album, Five Man Acoustical Jam. Each band member got to pick a song to cover for the set, and Tesla drummer Troy Luccketta chose “Lodi” since he was born there.
Lodi
Just about a year ago I set out on the road Seekin’ my fame and fortune Lookin’ for a pot of gold Thing got bad and things got worse I guess you know the tune Oh Lord, stuck in Lodi again
Rode in on the Greyhound I’ll be walkin’ out if I go I was just passin’ through Must be seven months or more Ran out of time and money Looks like they took my friends Oh Lord, I’m stuck in Lodi again
A man from the magazine Said I was on my way Somewhere I lost connections Ran out of songs to play I came into town, a one night stand Looks like my plans fell through Oh Lord, stuck in Lodi again
If I only had a dollar For every song I’ve sung Every time I had to play While people sat there drunk You know, I’d catch the next train Back to where I live Oh Lord, stuck in a Lodi again Oh Lord, I’m stuck in a Lodi again
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