Creedence Clearwater Revival- Bayou Country- Green River- Willy & Poor Boys-John Fogerty

My hunch is that more people double- and triple-check the release dates of Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s Bayou Country,  Green River,  and Willy and the Poor Boys  albums than practically anything musically historical on Wikipedia, Google, or AllMusic.com. When you see the  year of release for all three as 1969, common sense tells you that is highly improbable and must be a mistake. On further inspection when it is stated that Green River  came out in August as CCR was appearing at the Woodstock Festival, with only three months  until Willy and the Poor Boys  in November 1969, you know that is simply impossible, since only one man, John Fogerty, was responsible for writing all of the original songs on this terrific album trifecta in that ridiculously short span of time.

But it happened just that way in barely a thirteen month period.

( L-R CCR‘s John Fogerty, drummer Doug Clifford, the late Tom Fogerty, bass player Stu Cook )

This is my very rare interview with John Fogerty, who wrote and sang every Creedence Clearwater Revival song, played lead guitar & great chunky rhythm guitar, and produced every CCR album. When my parents could finally afford a little monaural record player, Bayou Country  with its “Proud Mary” and“Born on the Bayou” was among the first albums I ever bought. Their follow up Green River   album contained even more hits, including “Bad Moon Rising”,”Lodi“, and “Green River”, plus the song which serves as the title to Fogerty’s all-star tribute, Wrote a Song for Everyone . And completing the mind-boggling hat trick by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969, Willy & the Poor Boys  included the singalong”Down on the Corner” as well as the righteously indignant “Fortunate Son“! As popular and influential on other musicians as Creedence Clearwater Revival was, it is safely said that no one has ever sounded quite like CCR. –Redbeard