I'll admit, I was snobbishly resistant to writing about John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival, just because they seemed a little overly-obvious and so very dino-rockish. But when looking at the history of country rock and the private-press, bar-band scene in particular, CCR cast a very long shadow in the late 1960s and early 'Seventies. Many of their original tunes were among the most widely covered songs of the era, besides which, Fogerty wrote some great tunes. Here's a quick look at their legacy...
Discography - Albums
The Golliwogs "Pre-Creedence" (Fantasy Records, 1975) (LP)
Though released after CCR broke up, these archival tracks from the Fantasy vaults predate the band's glory years, gathering singles from the early- to mid-'Sixties, originally released under their incarnations as The Blue Velvets and The Golliwogs. They also largely predate John Fogerty's immersion into the unique swamp-rock sound he perfected on CCR's best-known hits, and fall more broadly into more a generic garage-rock, blues-pysch sound. My old radio station had a copy, and it's actually pretty good stuff. I was fond of the jangly blast of "Fight Fire," which kinda sounds like a lot of other bands, though generally a bit tougher-sounding than many bands on the San Francisco hippie-rock scene. A familiar lineup: Doug Clifford (drums), Stu Cook (bass), and siblings John Fogerty and Tom Fogerty on vocals and guitar.
Creedence Clearwater Revival "Creedence Clearwater Revival" (Fantasy Records, 1968) (LP)
(Produced by Saul Zaentz)
Creedence Clearwater Revival "Bayou Country" (Fantasy Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by John Fogerty)
Creedence Clearwater Revival "Green River" (Fantasy Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by John Fogerty)
Creedence Clearwater Revival "Willie And The Poor Boys" (Fantasy Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by John Fogerty)
Creedence Clearwater Revival "Pendulum" (Fantasy Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by John Fogerty)
Creedence Clearwater Revival "Cosmo's Factory" (Fantasy Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by John Fogerty)
Creedence Clearwater Revival "Mardi Gras" (Fantasy Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, John Fogerty & Russ Gary)
This was the group's lone studio album after the acrimonious departure of John Fogerty's older brother Tom, who had co-founded the band back in 1959 and had been the nominal leader up until 1967, when they became Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty asserted himself as the group's lone auteur. In perhaps a spirit of conciliation, the notoriously control-freakish John Fogerty shared producer credits with the remaining CCR members, but it was clear when this record came out that most of the air had leaked out of the balloon, and the various musicians went their separate ways. An avalanche of archival live CCR recordings followed, some of them curated by Fantasy Records, and many others that were bootlegs, or whatever. I'm sorry, but I'm probably not going to keep track of or review any of those releases. This is about as far as I can go.
Related Records
Blue Ridge Rangers "Blue Ridge Rangers" (Fantasy Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by John Fogerty)
Awesome!! After Creedence Clearwater Revival imploded, John Fogerty got so fed up with the fratricidal aspects of actually being in a band, that he promptly went off and recorded an album all by himself -- played all the instruments, picked all the tunes, multi-tracked the album, and totally rocked out. This is the result, a masterful set of country oldies, covering artists such as Jimmie Rodgers, Webb Pierce and Melvin Endsley, all with a jocular, rolling bounciness that can't help but win you over. He perfectly captures the wild tang and explosive bang of old-school, rock-meets-hillbilly blues of the 1950s and early '60s. This is a really fun record, the kind that makes you sing along every time you hear it. Fogerty of course went on to record a whole bunch of solo albums, which I'm probably not going to keep track of either. But this one is, honestly, one of my favorite albums from the early country-rock era. Definitely worth a spin.
Tom Fogerty "Tom Fogerty" (Fantasy Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Fogerty & Brian Gardener)
Just like his brother John, Tom Fogerty (1941-1990) could not wait to assert himself as an independent performer following the dissolution of Creedence Clearwater. Before this first solo album came out, he had already rushed to market a 1971 single unsubtly and bitterly titled "Goodbye Media Man," which was musically and thematically unremarkable, but which established the foundations for the next few years of his career. Most notably, he started collaborating with keyboardist Merle Saunders and drummer Bill Vitt; by the time this album came out bassist John Kahn was also on board, with Fogerty now backed by a group that would become known as one of the Bay Area's premiere live acts, and an iconic early 'Seventies "jam band." The Kahn-Saunders-Vitt combo became a second home for guitarist Jerry Garcia, who performed live with them when not out on the road with the Dreadful Grate. (Garcia also collaborated with Tom Fogerty on two of the albums below, Excalibur and Fire Up, also with Saunders, et.al.) I checked this record out back in my radio days and thought it sounded okay, though a little sad and forlorn. It's no Creedence, that's for sure.
Tom Fogerty "Excalibur" (Fantasy Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Fogerty, Brian Gardener & Roy Segal)
Merle Saunders/Tom Fogerty/Jerry Garcia "Fire Up" (Fantasy Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Fogerty, Brian Gardener & Merle Saunders)
Tom Fogerty "Zephyr National" (Fantasy Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Russ Gary)
Notably, former CCR-ers Doug Clifford and Stu Cook backed Tom Fogerty on this mid-'Seventies album, and even his implacable younger brother John Fogerty chimed in on one track, "Mystic Isle Avalon," which proved to be the last collaboration between all four Creedence members. Clifford and Cook were also included on Forgerty's next album, Myopia. All the songs here are credited to Tom Fogerty, with one track co-composed with producer-engineer Russ Gary.
Tom Fogerty "Myopia" (Fantasy Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Russ Gary)
Tom Fogerty "Deal It Out" (Fantasy Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Fogerty, David Haynes & Danny Kopelson)
CCR Tributes
Samuel Altonn "Sounds Like Creedence Clearwater Revival" (ABA Records, 1980)
Steven Charles Boone "Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions Of Creedence Clearwater Revival" (Rockabye Baby Records, 2016)
Clearwaters "Creedence Night: A Tribute To John Fogerty" (Tylden & Company, 1998)
Fogarty Locomotive "Tribute To Creedence Clearwater Revival" (Black Tulip Records, 1972) (LP)
The Fortunate Sons "Woodstock Revival" (2018) (LP)
Did CCR even play at Woodstock? I have no idea. And refuse to look it up...
The Fogertys "Tribute To Creedence Clearwater Revival" (Electrecord Records, 2021) (LP)
Not to be confused with the Canadian country band of the same name, this was a Romanian release
The John Hamilton Band "...Plays Creedence Clearwater Revival Hits" (Somerset Records, 1970) (LP)
Rene Innemee & The Revival Band "...Play Creedence Clearwater Revival -- Live At The Bonbonniere" (Marlstone Recordings BV, 19--?)
Ray T. Jones "Hey Tonight" (Victoria Records, 1982) (7" EP)
Judson Mancebo "Babies Love Creedence Clearwater Revival" (Sony-BMG Brazil, 2007)
A classically trained Brazilian pianist, Judson Mancebo carved out a cover-song/children's records empire, with similar albums for The Carpenters, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Madonna, The Police, Queen, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Stevie Wonder, and many others, including the Brazilian hard rock band Legiao Urbana.
The Marty Riff Association "The Hits Of Creedence Clearwater Revival" (Windmill Records, 1972)
Purple Velvet "Tribute To Creedence Clearwater" (Avenue Records-UK, 1972) (LP)
A frequently reissued album, available with different titles and in various European and non-American editions, including under the artist names like "Samuel Altonn" and "The Best Association," as well as anonymously, with no band name at all. I'm not sure, but I think the original version came out in the UK.
The Travelin' Band "A Tribute To Creedence Clearwater Revival" (Big Eye Music, 2001) (LP)
A Russian group, apparently... and named after the CCR song, of course.
Various Artists "BORN ON THE BAYOU: THE BLUEGRASS TRIBUTE TO CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL" (CMH Records, 2001) (LP)
Links
Hick Music Index
