Creedence Clearwater Revival

American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival was formed in the late 50’s in California. That group managed to gain popularity in no time due to their style, including the elements of rock-n-roll and swamp blues. Creedence Clearwater Revival’s songs are still often broadcasted by different radio stations all over the world, and in 1993 the band was honored to be included into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The story of Creedence Clearwater Revival started in 1959, when school friends John Fogerty, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford created the trio The Blue Velvets and began performing at local events. The same time John’s older brother Tom was a member of The Playboys, who played in Northern California. Soon he was invited to the other more famous band Spider Webb And The Insects. In 1959 they disbanded and Tom decided to join John’s group. In two years one small record company released two compositions of Tommy Fogerty and The Blue Velvets - Come On Baby and Oh! My Love; however the success came a bit later. Thus, in 1964 the musicians signed the contract with Fantasy Records and started to work on the new material.

In connection with the label’s management changes, the band had to find a new name. Thereby the rockers decided that three parts of the new name should be independent, but have the general common concept. Later the musicians noted that the key word was Revival – that meant the new stage for them. For the first time the band performed under the new name in 1967, and in 1968 they released the debut album Creedence Clearwater Revival. The music lovers enjoyed it a lot, and the critics acclaimed the record as well. In 1969 the band issued the second studio attempt Bayou Country, which turned out to be their first album that had been certified Platinum.

In 1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival released another record Green River, including one of the band’s most recognizable and famous songs Bad Moon Rising. Later many musical experts agreed that Green River was the rockers’ best work. In 2003 Rolling Stone magazine included that album into the list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time at the place number 95, which definitely proved the highest level of Green River. It was followed by Willy And The Poor Boys (1969), which turned out to be as good as the previous record, and in 2003 it was also added to the list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.

Soon after the release of Willy And The Poor Boys the musicians began working on the new material, so the fans did not have to wait long for the next album. The fifth studio attempt titled Cosmo's Factory was issued in 1970 and was acclaimed by the critics. The band’s sixth album Pendulum (1970) was the last one recorded with Tom: he decided to start the solo career, and after he quitted the band the musicians performed as the trio. In 1972 Creedence Clearwater Revival released their last studio album Mardi Gras. In 1973 they issued the live album Live In Europe that had been recorded by the trio, however in 1980 appeared another live album The Concert, created by the original line-up. In the new millennium the band’s fans got the opportunity to enjoy Creedence Clearwater Revival’s best songs due to the compilation albums. Platinum (2004), one of the most significant of them, included such international hits as Green River, Someday Never Comes and Bad Moon Rising.