Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s eight-times-platinum anti-war song “Fortunate Son” was their fifth and final Top 40 smash of 1969. John Fogerty still isn’t happy with it.
The band had rushed right back in the studio following the August 1969 release of Green River, and Fogerty was pushing himself to the limit. By October, Creedence Clearwater Revival had issued Willy and the Poor Boys, also home to the hit single “Down on the Corner.”
“The basic tracks for ‘Down on the Corner’ and ‘Fortunate Son’ were both recorded, and one afternoon I went over to Wally Heider’s studio to finish the songs,” Fogerty told the Los Angeles Times. “For ‘Down on the Corner,’ I did the maracas and the middle solo part, then sang all the background vocals then sang the lead. So I’d been singing at the top of my lungs for probably an hour and a half, then I had to go back and finish ‘Fortunate Son.'”
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Some contemporary singers were known to have purposely worn down their voices to achieve the desired studio roughness, but Fogerty argues that his subsequent performance on “Fortunate Son” still feels off.
“I was screaming my heart out, doing the best I could, but later I felt that some of the notes were a little flat — that I hadn’t quite hit the mark,” Fogerty said. “I always sort of cringed about that.”
Watch Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Fortunate Son’ Video
‘Fortunate Son’ Soars Into the Top 5
Despite his misgivings, “Fortunate Son” would become a No. 3 hit – and a standard element of protest rallies and his many concerts.
“I know that in the case of the Beatles, John [Lennon] would just sit in the studio screaming and screaming until his voice got raw enough, then he’d record some takes,” Fogerty acknowledged. “Perhaps the fact that it was a little out of tune made it — what’s the word? — more pop-worthy. I don’t know.”
He took another shot at getting it right on Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years, a forthcoming 20-song collection featuring remakes of some of Fogerty’s best-known songs. The LP follows his victory two years ago after a long legal battle over publishing rights.
Watch Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Fortunate Son’ on Concert
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Gallery Credit: Bryan Wawzenek
