Sweet Hitch-Hiker

"Sweet Hitch-Hiker"
Single by Creedence Clearwater Revival
from the album Mardi Gras
B-side	"Door to Door"
Released	July 1971
Genre	Swamp rock [1] rock and roll [2] boogie rock [3]
Length	2:59
Label	Fantasy
Songwriter	John Fogerty
Producers	Stu Cook Doug Clifford John Fogerty
Creedence Clearwater Revival singles chronology
"Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" (1971) "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" (1971) "Someday Never Comes" (1972)

"Sweet Hitch-Hiker" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was first released as a single in July 1971 and reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their 9th and final top 10 hit. It was later included on the 1972 album Mardi Gras.

Background

"Sweet Hitch-Hiker" was written by CCR frontman John Fogerty and tells the story of a freewheeling motorcyclist who crashes after being distracted by an attractive blonde hitch-hiker. ^[4] Biographer Hank Bordowitz speculates the song might have reflected on Fogerty's newfound freedom after separating from his wife. ^[5] The line "We could make music at the Greasy King" references a hamburger stand in the band's hometown of El Cerrito, California. ^[4] It was the band's first single recorded without rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, who had left the group in early 1971 after the completion of their album Pendulum . ^[6]

After the expiration of Fogerty's previous unfavorable publishing deal with Fantasy Records, "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" was the first of only two CCR singles whose publishing he owned, a fact he reflected upon bitterly in his autobiography. ^[7] The single's B-side, bassist Stu Cook's "Door to Door," was the product of the band's democratic decision-making after the departure of Tom Fogerty, where all members would write and sing their own material. Fogerty wrote that the "results were, to put it mildly, underwhelming." ^[8]

Reception

The single peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 36 on the Record Retailer UK Singles Chart. ^[9]

Bordowitz called "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" a "classic John Fogerty stomper," while Michael Oldfield, reviewing Mardi Gras for Melody Maker , called it "the only cut [on the album] which sounds like Creedence." ^[10]

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1971) Peak position Australia (Go-Set) [11] 9 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [12] 8 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [13] 18 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [14] 5 Canada (RPM 100 Singles) [15] 1 Germany (GfK) [16] 6 New Zealand (Listener) [17] 15 Norway (VG-lista) [18] 4 South Africa (Springbok) [19] 8 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [20] 1 US Billboard Hot 100 [21] 6 US (Cash Box Top 100) [22] 5 UK Singles (OCC) [23] 36

Year-end charts Chart (1971) Rank Australia [24] 80 Canada [25] 22 US Billboard 101 US Cash Box [26] 76

Certifications

Country	Certification
United States	Gold [27]

References

Citations

1. Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). Precious and Few: Pop Music of the Early '70s. St. Martin's Press. p. 12. ISBN   978-0-312-14704-4.
2. Kitts, Thomas M. (August 27, 2015). John Fogerty: An American Son. Routledge. p. 179. ISBN   978-1-317-96126-0.
3. Pohlmann, Sascha; Holtsträter, Knut (2024). Americana: Aesthetics, Authenticity, and Performance in US Popular Music. Waxmann Verlag GmbH. p. 91. ISBN   978-3-830-99756-6.
4. Kitts, Thomas M. (2016). John Fogerty: An American Son. New York: Routledge. p. 148. ISBN   978-0-415-71346-7 . Retrieved November 24, 2025.
5. Bordowitz 2007, p. 126. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBordowitz2007 (help)
6. Fogerty & McDonough 2015, p. 226.
7. Fogerty & McDonough 2015, p. 180.
8. Fogerty & McDonough 2015, p. 222.
9. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 152. ISBN   978-0-8230-7499-0 . Retrieved November 30, 2009.
10. Bordowitz 2007, p. 139. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBordowitz2007 (help)
11. "Go-Set Australian chart". Go-Set. 1971. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
12. "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
13. "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
14. "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
15. "Library and archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Library and Archives Canada. July 17, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
16. "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
17. https://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qsongid=3733#n_view_location search Listener retrieved 17-11-2025
18. "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker". VG-lista.
19. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989" . Retrieved September 2, 2018.
20. "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker". Swiss Singles Chart.
21. "Creedence Clearwater Revival Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
22. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, August 28, 1971". Archived from the original on June 7, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
23. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
24. "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
25. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
26. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1971". Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
27. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved June 19, 2023.

Bibliography

• Hank Bordowitz (2007). Bad Moon Rising: The Unauthorized History of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press, Incorporated. ISBN   978-1-55652-661-9.
• Fogerty, John; McDonough, Jimmy (2015). Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music. New York: Little, Brown. ISBN   978-0-316-35189-8.