By Scott Westerman

When I read Susan Whitall’s piece on John Fogerty, it brought back vivid memories of putting on the headphones in my Ann Arbor basement, stepping behind my Ludwigs and playing along with Creedence.

CCR charted 13 times on WKNR over a three year period between August of 1968 and July of 1971. The station played the hits, but also dug deeper into the albums, tracking secondary singles like Lodi, Commotion and Sweet Hitchhiker. With the exception of Suzi Q, every CCR appearance went top ten.

The writing was very good, but it was, of course, Fogerty’s distinctive voice that instantly told you that you were listening to a Creedence tune. That voice resonated well with Hollywood over the years, too.The song Who’ll Stop The Rain was the only memorable dimension of the movie of the same name. David Naughton turned into an American Werewolf in London to the strains Bad Moon Rising. And Lookin Out My Back Door got a whole new meaning in The Big Lebowski.

I was in Phoenix last summer for a conference. One of our play events was an outdoor western-themed thing, complete with bull riding exhibitions and southwestern BBQ. There were two musical acts: Taylor Swift and John Fogerty. Taylor was incredibly talented and had the energy of youth in her favor, but you could feel the crowd move toward the stage when J.C. took the microphone and launched into what is still the definitive version of Proud Mary.

CCR Keener Discography – Tune, Chart Date, Highest Position, Weeks on the Chart

SUZIE Q* 08/1968 11 6
PROUD MARY 01/1969 3 8
BAD MOON RISING 04/1969 4 8
LODI 05/1969 4 6
COMMOTION 07/1969 3 10
GREEN RIVER 07/1969 3 9
FORTUNATE SON 10/1969 8 11
DOWN ON THE CORNER 10/1969 8 10
WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN 01/1970 3 7
TRAVELIN’ BAND 02/1970 3 6
UP AROUND THE BEND 04/1970 1 11
LOOKIN’ OUT MY BACK DOOR 08/1970 1 10
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN 01/1971 7 8
SWEET HITCH-HIKER 07/1971 3 9