Global InformationCreedence Clearwater Revival information
Creedence Clearwater Revival | |
|---|---|
 Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1968. From left to right: Tom Fogerty, Doug Clifford, Stu Cook and John Fogerty | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Blue Velvets, Tommy Fogerty and the Blue Velvets (1959–1964); Vision, the Golliwogs (1964–1967) |
| Origin | El Cerrito, California, U.S. |
| Genres |
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| Discography | Creedence Clearwater Revival discography |
| Years active | (1959) 1967–1972[nb 1] |
| Labels | Fantasy |
| Spinoffs | Creedence Clearwater Revisited |
| Past members |
|
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.[1] The band's most prolific and successful period between 1969 and 1971 produced fourteen consecutive Top 10 singles (many of which were double A-sides) and five consecutive Top 10 albums in the United States – two of which, Green River (1969) and Cosmo's Factory (1970), reached number one. The band performed at the 1969 Woodstock festival in Upstate New York, and was the first major act signed to appear there.[2]
CCR disbanded acrimoniously in late 1972 after four years of chart-topping success. Tom Fogerty left the previous year, and John was at odds with the remaining members over matters of business and artistic control, all of which resulted in lawsuits among the former bandmates. Fogerty's disagreements with Fantasy Records owner Saul Zaentz led to more court cases and John Fogerty refused to perform with the two other surviving members at Creedence's 1993 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Tom died in 1990).[3][4] Though the band has never publicly reunited, John Fogerty continues to perform CCR songs as part of his solo act, while Cook and Clifford performed as Creedence Clearwater Revisited from 1995 to 2020.
CCR's music remains popular and is a staple of U.S. classic rock radio airplay;[5] 45 million CCR records have been sold in the U.S. alone.[6] The compilation album Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits, originally released in 1976, is still on the Billboard 200 album chart and reached the 600-week mark in August 2022. It has been certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for at least 12 million copies sold in the U.S.[7]
Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Cavanagh, David (July 18, 2014). "Creedence Clearwater Revival – the full story, by John Fogerty, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford". Uncut. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- ^ "Woodstock". history.com. History.com Editors. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival". Rockhall.com. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
- ^ "John Fogerty Explains CCR's Hall of Fame Meltdown". Rolling Stone. October 6, 2015.
- ^ Arian Smedley (February 27, 2008). "'Oldies' radio bracket expands one decade". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved March 24, 2021.