"Fortunate Son" | ||||
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Single by Creedence Clearwater Revival | ||||
from the album Willy and the Poor Boys | ||||
B-side | "Down on the Corner" | |||
Released | October 1969 | |||
Recorded | 1969, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:21 | |||
Label | Fantasy | |||
Songwriter(s) | John Fogerty | |||
Producer(s) | John Fogerty | |||
Creedence Clearwater Revival singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Fortunate Son" on YouTube |
"Fortunate Son" is a song by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released on the band's fourth studio album, Willy and the Poor Boys in October 1969. It was previously released as a single, together with "Down on the Corner", in September 1969. [4] It soon became a Vietnam anti-war movement anthem and an expressive symbol of the counterculture's opposition to U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War and solidarity with the soldiers fighting it. [5] The song has been featured extensively in pop culture depictions of the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement. [6]
The song reached number 14 on the United States charts on November 22, 1969, the week before Billboard changed its methodology on double-sided hits. The tracks combined to climb to number 9 the next week, on the way to peaking at number 3 three more weeks later, on 20 December 1969. [7] It won the RIAA Gold Disc award in December 1970. [8] Pitchfork Media placed it at number 17 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s". [9] Rolling Stone placed it at number 99 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list in 2004 and 2010; it was moved down to number 227 in the 2020 edition. In 2013, the song was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
The song, released during the peak period of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, is not explicit in its criticism of that war in particular, rather, it "speaks more to the unfairness of class than war itself," and the children of the wealthy being able to avoid the draft, according to its author, John Fogerty. "It's the old saying about rich men making war and poor men having to fight them." [10] In 2015, while on the television show The Voice , he also said:
The thoughts behind this song—it was a lot of anger. So it was the Vietnam War going on. ... Now I was drafted and they're making me fight, and no one has actually defined why. So this was all boiling inside of me and I sat down on the edge of my bed and out came "It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senator's son!" You know, it took about 20 minutes to write the song. [11]
According to his 2015 memoir, Fogerty was thinking about David Eisenhower, the grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who married Julie Nixon after he escorted her at the International Debutante Ball, the daughter of then-President-elect Richard Nixon in 1968, when he wrote "Fortunate Son". Eisenhower spent three years in the military, most of it as an officer aboard the USS Albany in the Mediterranean Sea. [12]
"Fortunate Son" wasn't really inspired by any one event. Julie Nixon was dating David Eisenhower. You'd hear about the son of this senator or that congressman who was given a deferment from the military or a choice position in the military. They seemed privileged and whether they liked it or not, these people were symbolic in the sense that they weren't being touched by what their parents were doing. They weren't being affected like the rest of us. [13]
Billboard said it has "the feel and flavor of [the group's] recent winner ['Green River']." [14] Upon the single release, Record World felt that it could be CCR's biggest hit to date. [15]
Ultimate Classic Rock critic Bryan Wawzenek rated the lyrics of "Fortunate Son" as Fogerty's greatest, saying "It’s not just Fogerty’s emotion, but the words that make this song great. 'Star-spangled eyes' is one of the best descriptive phrases in all of rock and roll, a uniquely American twist on rose-colored glasses." [16]
The song has been widely used to protest against military actions as well as elitism in a broader sense in Western society, particularly in the United States; as an added consequence of its popularity, it has even been used in completely unrelated situations, such as to advertise blue jeans. [17] It was played at a campaign rally for Donald Trump. Fogerty found this to be confounding. [18] Fogerty later issued a cease and desist order, noting that Trump obtained a draft deferment. [19]
Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, and Zac Brown attracted criticism when they performed the song together at the November 2014 Concert for Valor in Washington D.C. Fogerty, a military veteran, defended their song choice. [20]
The song has since been recorded or performed by many artists. It was initially embraced in the punk and hardcore community with versions by The Circle Jerks, Minutemen, DOA and Decry. Fogerty recorded a version of the song with Foo Fighters for his 2013 album Wrote a Song for Everyone . [21]
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band recorded the song for their 1986 album Like a Rock . [22]
U2 covered the song, and was released as a B-side to the single Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses [23]
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The song is quoted several times in the 2006 thriller novel by American writer Don Winslow, The Winter of Frankie Machine in which one of the characters is a "senator's son" referred to as the "Fortunate Son".
The song is used in the introduction sequence of the game Battlefield Vietnam , where it is among a list of in-game playable tracks. The song was also used during the E3 announcement trailer for Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam [24] and is also the main menu song for the game and plays mid-game in vehicle radios.
"Fortunate Son" was also included in the game Call of Duty: Black Ops at the start and ending of the level "S.O.G". Its use is an anachronism, as the level takes place during the Battle of Khe Sanh, a year before the song was released.
In Homefront , the song is played during the chapter "Golden Gate".
A cover of the song was released as DLC for Rock Band in 2007. The first appearance of the song came out before real instruments were integrated. The original version was made available to download on March 1, 2011, for use in Rock Band 3 PRO mode which takes advantage of the use of a real guitar / bass guitar, along with standard MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits in addition to vocals. [25] [26] The master recording by CCR was made available as well in 2010. The song is also playable on basic controllers in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock .
The song is also played in 2016's Mafia 3 but its use is an anachronism along with "Bad Moon Rising" as both songs were released in 1969 whereas Mafia 3 takes place in 1968.
The song is briefly played as both its original recording and a solo a cappella rendition, sung by Jessy Carolina, in BioShock Infinite . [27] [28]
In 2014, the song was included in the enhanced re-release of Grand Theft Auto V for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC, as part of the playlist of the fictional in-game radio station Los Santos Rock Radio.
The song was used while destroying rigged voting machines in the Watch Dogs 2 mission, Power To The Sheeple.
The song's title is referenced in Team Fortress 2 as a cosmetic helmet called the "Fortunate Son", which can be equipped by the Scout class. [29]
In 1987, the song was briefly used in the animated film Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night .
In the 1994 film Forrest Gump , "Fortunate Son" is played in the scene in which Forrest and Bubba arrive in a combat zone in South Vietnam aboard a U.S. Army helicopter. [30]
In the 2004 version of the film The Manchurian Candidate , a cover version of this song performed by Wyclef Jean is featured and is the opening track of the closing credits. [31]
In 2007, this song was used diegetically in Live Free or Die Hard and in the end credits.
In the 2009 American Dad episode "In Country...Club", "Fortunate Son" plays during a Vietnam War reenactment battle.
in 2010, the song was sung by Jeffster on the TV show Chuck .
In 2012 the song was used for the end credits of Peter Berg's film Battleship .
In 2014, this song was heard in the Top Gear Burma Special episode.
In 2015, the song was used in the TV series The Strain specifically during the episode "The Silver Angel".
In 2016, the song was included in the soundtrack album for the film Suicide Squad . [32]
In the 2016 film War Dogs , the song is used in the scene in which David, Efraim and Marlboro are saved by the U.S. military while being pursued by Iraqi gunmen. [33]
In the 2018 Family Guy episode "'Family Guy' Through the Years" (presented as a compilation of old episodes from the series' "60 year run", parodying anniversary specials), Glenn Quagmire, portrayed in a Vietnam veteran in 1973, experiences PTSD-like symptoms from the incessant use of the song and "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield as audible background music during the war. [34]
In 2019, the song was used in The Grand Tour episode "Seamen" when Clarkson, Hammond and May entered Vietnam.
A cover by Cat Power was used in a 2019 episode of the Netflix series The Punisher. [35]
An edited version of the song was used in a Wrangler commercial because John Fogerty "long ago signed away legal control of his old recordings to Creedence's record label, Fantasy Records." [17] [36] In this case, the advertiser eventually stopped using the song, as Fogerty related in a later interview:
Yes, the people that owned Fantasy Records also owned all my early songs, and they would do all kinds of stuff I really hated in a commercial way with my songs. ... Then one day somebody from the L.A. Times actually bothered to call me up and ask me how I felt, and I finally had a chance to talk about it. And I said I'm very much against my song being used to sell pants. ... So my position got stated very well in the newspaper, and lo and behold, Wrangler to their credit said, "Wow, even though we made our agreement with the publisher, the owner of the song, we can see now that John Fogerty really hates the idea", so they stopped doing it. [37]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [46] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [47] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
Germany (BVMI) [48] | Gold | 250,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI) [49] | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [50] | 5× Platinum | 150,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [51] | 2× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [52] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [53] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"Fils de personne" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Johnny Hallyday | ||||
from the album Flagrant Délit | ||||
Language | French | |||
English title | Son of no one | |||
B-side | "Il faut boire à la source" | |||
Released | September 22, 1971 | |||
Recorded | 1970 | |||
Studio | Olympic Studios, London | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 2:48 | |||
Label | Philips | |||
Songwriter(s) | John Fogerty, Philippe Labro | |||
Producer(s) | Lee Hallyday | |||
Johnny Hallyday singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Fils de personne" (French TV, 1971) on YouTube |
In September 1971, a French adaptation (titled "Fils de personne", meaning "Son of no one") was released by French rock singer Johnny Hallyday. "Fils de personne" was released as the second and final single off of Hallyday's 1971 studio album "Flagrant Délit" ("In the act"), released three months prior. The song peaked at number 4 in the French charts. The single was backed by "Il faut boire à la source" ("You have to drink from the source").
Fils de personne: harsh, harsh, vengeful rock, with lyrics by Philippe Labro, invectives the “sons of someone” of whom Johnny Hallyday stands out in each chorus, vociferating that he was not born of a “military” father, billionaire, civil servant”, implying that he owes his success to no one. French journalist Jean-William Thoury underlines that the adaptation of the song by the group Creedence Clearwater Revival does not betray the original idea “which seems to suit Johnny so well, a real “son of no one”. [54]
Y'en a qui naissent avec dans leur berceau
Les milliards de leur père
On leur apprend que tout peut s'acheter
Les affaires, oui, sont les affaires
Mais pas moiNon, pas moi
Je ne suis pas né milliardaire
Mais pas moi
Non, pas moi
Je suis le fils de personne
Some people are born with it in their cradle
Their father's billions
They are taught that everything can be bought
Business, yes, is business
But not me No, not me
I wasn't born a billionaire
But not me
No, not me
I'm nobody's son— French adaption by Philippe Labro (translated)
The title integrated the singer's repertoire from its creation [55] and from the show at the Palais des sports de Paris in the fall of 1971, was systematically played after I was born in the street (which opened the singing tour [56] ). Depending on the tours, the sequence was maintained until the summer of 1974, [57] the singer deviating from this ritual only with rare exceptions. [58]
Source: [59]
Chart (1971) | Peak position |
---|---|
France (SNEP) [60] | 4 |
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".
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. 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.
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 October.
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".
"Bad Moon Rising" is a song written by John Fogerty and performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was the lead single from their album Green River and was released on April 16, 1969 four months before the album. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on 28 June 1969 and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in September of that year. It was CCR's second gold single.
"Proud Mary" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by vocalist and lead guitarist John Fogerty. It was released as a single in January 1969 by Fantasy Records and on the band's second studio album, Bayou Country. The song became a major hit in the United States, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1969, the first of five singles to peak at No. 2 for the group.
"Travelin' Band" is a song written by John Fogerty and originally recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was included on their 1970 album Cosmo's Factory. Backed with "Who'll Stop the Rain", it was one of three double sided singles from that album to reach the top five on the U.S. Pop Singles Chart and the first of two to reach the number 2 spot on the American charts, alongside "Lookin' Out My Back Door", in which they were unable to interrupt the six-week run of the successful number one, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel. "Travelin' Band" was also a hit in the UK, reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart.
"Down on the Corner" is a song by the American band Creedence Clearwater Revival. It appeared on their fourth studio album, Willy and the Poor Boys (1969). The song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 20 December 1969. The flip side, "Fortunate Son", reached No. 14 on the United States charts on 22 November 1969, the week before Billboard changed its methodology on double-sided hits.
"Run Through the Jungle" is a 1970 song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was released as a double A-side single with "Up Around the Bend" and on the album Cosmo's Factory.
"Have You Ever Seen the Rain" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by John Fogerty and released as a single in 1971 from the album Pendulum (1970). The song charted highest in Canada, reaching number one on the RPM 100 national singles chart in March 1971. In the U.S., in the same year it peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. On the Cash Box pop chart, it peaked at number three. In the UK, it reached number 36. It was the group's eighth gold-selling single. In March 2023, the song surpassed one billion streams on Spotify.
"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.
"Green River" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was written by John Fogerty and released as a single in July 1969, one month before the album of the same name was released. "Green River" peaked at number two for one week, behind "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies, and was ranked by Billboard as the No. 31 song of 1969.
"Long As I Can See the Light" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, from the album Cosmo's Factory. Released as the flip side of the single "Lookin' Out My Back Door" in 1970, it reached number 57 on the Cash Box singles chart in the US, number 20 in the UK, and number one in Norway.
"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.
"Don't Look Now " is a song written by John Fogerty that was first released on Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1969 album Willy and the Poor Boys. It has also appeared on several of the group's live and compilation albums. It was covered by Minutemen on their 1984 album Double Nickels on the Dime.
"Keep On Chooglin'" is a song written by John Fogerty that was first released as the final song on Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1969 album Bayou Country. The song was often used to close Creedence Clearwater Revival concerts and was later covered by several other artists including Fogerty as a solo artist. The song popularized the neologism "chooglin'."
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.