Creedence Clearwater Revival, often
referred to as simply, “CCR,” is among the ranks of the greatest-ever American pop/rock
bands. The tremendous commercial success and critical acclaim that the band
attracted during their relatively short career places the band among the elite
of American rockers.
Emerging from the working-class town of El Cerrito , California ,
in the mid-Sixties as the “Blue Velvets” and then later, the “Golliwogs,” CCR
evolved into the quintessential American band with a sound that rejected the
psychedelic fashion of the day in favor of a rootsy, traditional sound heavily
influenced by country and blues music. Their sound would be dubbed, “swamp
rock” as it was reminiscent of Southern performers such as Dale Hawkins and
Lightnin’ Slim and evoked images of the American South.
CCR was comprised of Stu Cook on bass, Doug
Clifford on drums, and the Fogerty brothers, Tom and John, on guitar. John
Fogerty was lead singer, lead guitarist, sole songwriter and the creative force
of the band. It was his creative domination of the band that would eventually
lead to resentment by the other members and eventual dissolution of the band.
John Fogerty wrote some of the greatest
songs in rock history during CCR’s run and many were released as singles that
reached high positions on the pop charts. “Proud Mary,” “Born on the Bayou,”
“Fortunate Son”, “Down on the Corner,” “Lodi”, “Green River,” Who’ll Stop the
Rain,” “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” and others cemented John Fogerty’s place in
rock history.
CCR’s hit singles are scattered fairly
evenly through their studio albums. All CCR’s albums, “Creedence Clearwater
Revival”, (1968) “Bayou Country” (1969), “Green River” (1969), “Willie and the
Poor Boys” (1969), “Cosmo’s Factory” (1970) and “Pendulum” (1970), are
classics, save the last one, “Mardi Gras” (1972), which was an extremely spotty
effort..
It was on Mardi Gras that John Fogerty encouraged
his band mates, Clifford and Cook, to contribute songs. The result: several
good songs by John such as “Sweet Hitchhiker” and “Someday Never Comes” and mediocre
ones by the others. This album proved once and for all that CCR was really a
one-man show, after all.