Creedence Clearwater Revival | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 1968 | |||
Recorded |
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Studio | Coast Recorders (San Francisco) | |||
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Length | 33:17 | |||
Label | Fantasy Records | |||
Producer | ||||
Creedence Clearwater Revival chronology | ||||
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Singles from Creedence Clearwater Revival | ||||
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Creedence Clearwater Revival is the debut studio album by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released in July 1968, by Fantasy Records in the US. [2] Featuring the band's first hit single, "Susie Q", which reached number 11 in the US charts, it was recorded shortly after the band changed its name from the Golliwogs and began developing a signature swamp rock sound.
While "Suzie Q" proved to be a hit, the band had played for years as the Golliwogs in the early 1960s, releasing numerous singles before achieving success in the pop world. In 1967, Saul Zaentz bought Fantasy Records and offered the band a chance to record a full-length album on the condition that they change their name. Having never liked 'the Golliwogs', in part because of the racial charge of the name, the four readily agreed, coming up with Creedence Clearwater Revival. In Hank Bordowitz's book Bad Moon Rising: The Unauthorized History of Creedence Clearwater Revival, bassist Stu Cook is quoted, "Fogerty, Cook, Clifford and Fogerty signed a publishing agreement with one of Fantasy's companies that gave up rights to copyright ownership...Lennon and McCartney never owned the copyrights to their compositions, either. When you're on the bottom, you make the best deal you can." [3] John Fogerty took charge of the group artistically, writing all of the band's fourteen hit records and assuming the roles of singer, guitarist, producer and arranger of nearly everything that appeared on Creedence's seven studio albums.
"Porterville", which was the last single released by the band under the name the Golliwogs in November 1967, [3] was included on the band's debut album and revealed singer/guitarist John Fogerty's nascent songwriting talents. The song was a breakthrough of sorts for Fogerty, who stated to Tom Pinnock of Uncut in 2012, "It's semi-autobiographical; I touch on my father, but it's a flight of fantasy, too. And I knew when I was doing it, 'Man, I'm on to something here.' Everything changed after that. I gave up trying to write sappy love songs about stuff I didn't know anything about, and I started inventing stories." The album also includes the only co-write between John and his brother Tom Fogerty (who had been the original lead singer in the group) to appear on a Creedence album: "Walk on the Water". The song had already been released in 1966 under the Golliwogs name -- but unlike CCR's "Porterville", which was the exact same recording as the earlier Golliwogs single, the version of "Walk On The Water" included on this album was a completely new recording. The album features three other John Fogerty originals: "The Working Man", "Get Down Woman", and "Gloomy".
Creedence Clearwater Revival is best remembered for the band's first hit single "Susie Q", which had been a hit for Dale Hawkins in 1957. It was released as a single version split into two parts, with the jam session during the coda on the A-side fading out with the guitar solo right before the coda which fades in part two on the B-side. Fogerty stated in a 1993 interview with Rolling Stone magazine that his purpose in recording "Susie Q" was to get the song played on KMPX, a funky progressive-rock radio station in San Francisco, which is why the song was extended to eight minutes in length. "'Susie Q' was designed to fit right in," he explained. "The eight-minute opus. Feedback. Like [the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's] 'East-West'. And especially the little effect, the little telephone-box [vocal] in the middle, which is the only part I regret now. It's just funny sounding. But, lo and behold, it worked!" Fogerty elaborated to Larry King in 1999, "We recorded an old Dale Hawkins song but I psychedelicized it to get it played on the local San Francisco underground radio station." The guitarist on the original Hawkins version, James Burton, would also exert a major influence on Fogerty, with the singer telling Lynne Margolis of American Songwriter, "James Burton was a huge influence on me going back to when I was a child, when I bought that record, 'Susie Q,' and that was James Burton playing that guitar—which I didn't know at the time, of course." Drummer Doug Clifford concurs to Jeb Wright on the Classic Rock Revisited website that he too tried to experiment with the tune, recalling "'Susie Q' was a rockabilly song that sounded like all of the other rockabilly songs. I came up with a quarter note idea and it made it harder edged and it gave it space and a totally different feel..." The Creedence version would reach #11 in the charts. In 2012 David Cavanagh of Uncut wrote, "For all his skepticism about long solos, Fogerty stretched out penetratingly on guitar while Creedence's rhythm trio laid down a sublime slow boogie." In 1998, Fogerty stated to Harold Steinblatt of Guitar World that the recording of "Susie Q" was "very pivotal" in another respect:
It established how we would work for the next few years. After we finished recording our parts, the other guys hung around while I mixed. The problem was they were making all these comments like, "Well, that won't work. This won't work." You know, they were having a great time laughing...And that was the very last time I ever allowed them to be around when I mixed a record...Basically, we'd go in, we'd record the band, and then I'd throw them out of the studio. I just couldn't have them around while I was doing overdubs or when I was mixing, because they weren't very constructive.
The other single from the album was also a cover: "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Released as a follow-up to "Susie Q" in October 1968 with "Walk on the Water" as the B-side, it peaked on the U.S. charts at #58.
The album was remastered and reissued on 180 Gram vinyl by Analogue Productions in 2006.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | (negative) [6] |
While the band did gain success with their chart debut, critics initially denied the band respect. [7] Barry Gifford writing in Rolling Stone at the time stated, "The only bright spot in the group is John Fogerty, who plays lead guitar and does the vocals. He's a better-than-average singer (really believable in Wilson Pickett's "Ninety-Nine and a Half"), and an interesting guitarist. But there's nothing else here. The drummer is monotonous, the bass lines are all repetitious and the rhythm guitar is barely audible." Time has been far kinder to the album, although critics note that Fogerty's songwriting talent had yet to truly blossom as it would on the band's future albums and singles.
On AllMusic the album received 4 stars (out of 5), with Stephen Thomas Erlewine stating: "Released in the summer of 1968 - a year after the Summer of Love, but still in the thick of the Age of Aquarius - Creedence Clearwater Revival's self-titled debut album was gloriously out-of-step with the times, teeming with John Fogerty's Americana fascinations." He also noted that the album "points the way to the breakthrough of Bayou Country , with "Porterville" being "an exceptional song with great hooks, an underlying sense of menace, and the first inkling of the working-class rage that fueled such landmarks as 'Fortunate Son.'" [4]
The album was first certified Gold by the RIAA on December 16, 1970, then Platinum twenty years later on December 13, 1990. [8]
All songs except bonus tracks written by John Fogerty, except where noted. All tracks recorded February 1968, except where indicated.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "I Put a Spell on You" | Screamin' Jay Hawkins | 4:30 |
2. | "The Working Man" | 3:03 | |
3. | "Susie Q" | Dale Hawkins, Eleanor Broadwater, Stan Lewis | 8:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)" | Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett | 3:36 |
2. | "Get Down Woman" | 3:08 | |
3. | "Porterville" (recorded October 1967, initially released as a single in November 1967, the last single the band released as The Golliwogs) | 2:19 | |
4. | "Gloomy" | 3:48 | |
5. | "Walk on the Water" (this track is a remake of "Walking on the Water", a recording released by the band as a single in 1966 while they were still known as The Golliwogs) | John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty | 4:35 |
No. | Title | Length |
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9. | "Call It Pretending" (B-side of "Porterville") | 2:10 |
10. | "Before You Accuse Me" (1968 outtake) | 3:26 |
11. | "Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do" (live at the Fillmore, San Francisco, California, March 14, 1969) | 3:45 |
12. | "Susie Q" (live at the Fillmore, San Francisco, California, March 14, 1969) | 11:45 |
Chart (1968) | Peak position |
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Japanese Albums (Oricon) [11] | 92 |
US Billboard 200 [12] | 52 |
Chart (1996) | Peak position |
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Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [13] | 29 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [8] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Creedence Clearwater Revival, commonly abbreviated as CCR or simply Creedence, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, his brother, rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook, and drummer Doug Clifford. These members had played together since 1959, first as the Blue Velvets and later as the Golliwogs, before settling on Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1967. The band's most prolific and successful period between 1969 and 1971 produced fourteen consecutive Top 10 singles and five consecutive Top 10 albums in the United States, two of which – Green River (1969) and Cosmo's Factory (1970) – topped the Billboard 200 chart. The band performed at the 1969 Woodstock festival in Upstate New York, and was the first major act signed to appear there.
John Cameron Fogerty is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter. CCR had nine top-10 singles and eight gold albums between 1968 and 1972, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
Cosmo's Factory is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records on July 16, 1970. Six of the album's eleven tracks were released as singles in 1970, and all of them charted in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. The album spent nine consecutive weeks in the number one position on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified 4x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1990. Rolling Stone ranked it number 413 on its 2020 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
Thomas Richard Fogerty was an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
Bayou Country is the second studio album by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records on January 15, 1969, and was the first of three albums CCR released in that year. Bayou Country reached number 7 on the Billboard 200 chart and produced the band's first No. 2 hit single, "Proud Mary".
Green River is the third studio album by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released on August 7, 1969 by Fantasy Records. It was the second of three albums they released in that year, preceded by Bayou Country in January and followed by Willy and the Poor Boys in November.
Willy and the Poor Boys is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released on October 29, 1969, by Fantasy Records. It was the last of three studio albums the band released that year, arriving just three months after Green River. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 193 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
Pendulum is the sixth studio album by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records on December 9, 1970. It was the second studio album the band released that year, arriving five months after Cosmo's Factory.
Mardi Gras is the seventh and final studio album by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released on April 11, 1972 by Fantasy Records. Recorded after the departure of guitarist Tom Fogerty, it was the band's only studio album as a trio, and featured songs written, sung, and produced by each of the remaining members, rather than just John Fogerty. The recording sessions were marred by personal and creative tensions, and the group disbanded after a short U.S. tour to support the album.
Live in Europe is the first live album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. Although released in 1973, it was recorded in 1971 during the Pendulum tour.
"Born on the Bayou" (1969) is the first track on Creedence Clearwater Revival's second album, Bayou Country, released in 1969. It was released as the B-side of the single "Proud Mary" that reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts.
Pre-Creedence is a compilation album by the Golliwogs which changed its name to Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) in 1968. This album was released in 1975 after the band had disbanded.
Creedence Clearwater Revival: Box Set is a career-spanning box set by Creedence Clearwater Revival, released in 2001. It contains the entirety of their seven studio albums, two live albums, and material recorded by the band under their previous names "The Golliwogs" and "The Blue Velvets", which comprises the majority of their released output. In November 2013, the box set was reissued with different artwork.
"Susie Q" is a rockabilly song co-written and performed by American musician Dale Hawkins released in 1957. The song was a commercial success and became a classic of the early rock and roll era, being recorded by many other performers in subsequent years.
"Lookin' out My Back Door" is a song recorded by the American band Creedence Clearwater Revival. Written by the band's lead singer, guitarist and songwriter John Fogerty, it is included on their fifth album Cosmo's Factory (1970), and became their fifth and final number-two Billboard hit, held off the top by Diana Ross's version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". It was their only Cash Box Top 100 number-one hit.
"Who'll Stop the Rain" is a song written by John Fogerty and originally recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival for their 1970 album Cosmo's Factory. Backed with "Travelin' Band", it was one of three double-sided singles from that album to reach the top five on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and the first of two to reach the No. 2 spot on the American charts, alongside "Lookin' Out My Back Door"/"Long As I Can See the Light". In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 188 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.
"Commotion" is a song by Creedence Clearwater Revival from the album Green River, and was also the B-side of the single release of the album's title track. In 1980, "Tombstone Shadow" b/w "Commotion'" was released as a single in the United States. While released as a B-side, "Commotion" reached #30 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 and #16 in Germany. It was written by John Fogerty and recorded at Wally Heider's Studios in San Francisco in June 1969. The 45rpm was the debut session of the band at Wally Heider's and the first collaboration with engineer Russ Gary.
Live at Woodstock is a live album released on August 2, 2019 via Fantasy Records. The set documents swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival's set at the Woodstock music festival on August 17, 1969. The release has received positive reviews and moderate chart success.
At the Royal Albert Hall is a 2022 live album recorded in 1970 with American swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. The performance was released as an album to coincide with the documentary film Travelin’ Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall, directed by Bob Smeaton. The recordings document the band's first European tour and feature footage that has never been released; the album includes the entire set recorded on April 14, 1970. An earlier live album, The Concert, released in 1980, was initially erroneously titled The Royal Albert Hall Concert, but actually documented a completely different CCR show in Oakland, California, three months before their UK tour.
Ultimate Creedence Clearwater Revival: Greatest Hits & All-Time Classics is a three-disc greatest hits album by the American roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released in 2012 by Fantasy Records and Concord Music Group.