Fogerty is such a huge talent. His songwriting is excellent. Just perfect for the genre – good, clean southern rock. Look no further than the million movies that use his songs for any seen involving the Vietnam war, or any scenes that take place in backwater country. And he had the voice to match. Or perhaps it was his voice that created that style of music to begin with.
The power struggle within the band that ultimately cost them an extended run was a real shame.
Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of the best classic rock bands of all time, and in their heyday they were reeling out hit songs like nobody’s business. Five albums in two years? Think about that. In 1969 they released three records, and followed that up with two more in 1970. In all, seven albums in five years…and that was the end of that. No more Creedence.
The John versus Tom, brother versus brother feud is well documented, so we won’t delve into it here other than to say – it probably could have been avoided if John was a better leader and Tom could set aside his pride. The John versus Fantasy Records was also well documented (and I side with him on that one), but when he finally was free of them and decided to return to his roots with his 1985 album Centerfield I felt it was so similar to the CCR stuff that I wanted to combine both the solo career with the group’s songs on this list.
Here are the 25 best songs from John Fogerty, both solo as well as with his classic rock band – C.C.R.
25. Commotion (1969)
24. Someday Never Comes (1972)
23. The Old Man Down the Road (1985) (John Fogerty)
The root of the big lawsuit. Does this song sound too much like Run Through the Jungle (below)? Strange times indeed when a songwriter can be sued for copying…his own song.
22. Sweet Hitch-Hiker (1971)
20. Run Through the Jungle (1970)
The other half of the aforementioned lawsuit. You can listen and see if the similarities are worthy of said suit…
19. Looking Out My Back Door (1970)
18. Travelin’ Band (1970)
17. Who’ll Stop the Rain (1970)
16. Green River (1969)
15. Lodi (1969)
14. Born On the Bayou (1969)
13. Have You Ever Seen the Rain? (1971)
12. I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1970)
11. Midnight Special (1969)
Love their cover of this song. This song was made for CCR. Underrated tune by this band – I didn’t see it on anyone else’s list (I looked at five or six lists around the ‘net)…
10. Proud Mary (1969)
9. Fortunate Son (1969)
8. Hey Tonight (1971)
7. Centerfield (1985) (John Fogerty)
6. Suzie Q (1968)
5. Long As I Can See the Light (1970)
4. Down On the Corner (1969)
3. Bad Moon Rising (1969)
2. Rock and Roll Girls (1985) (John Fogerty)
1. Up Around the Bend
I put this playlist into YouTube for your convenience here.
The full list of the best from Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty:
| 1 | Up Around the Bend | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1970 |
| 2 | Rock And Roll Girl | – | John Fogerty | 1985 |
| 3 | Bad Moon Rising | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1969 |
| 4 | Down On The Corner | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1969 |
| 5 | Long As I Can See The Light | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1970 |
| 6 | Suzie Q | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1968 |
| 7 | Centerfield | – | John Fogerty | 1985 |
| 8 | Hey Tonight | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1971 |
| 9 | Fortunate Son | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1969 |
| 10 | Proud Mary | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1969 |
| 11 | Midnight Special | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1969 |
| 12 | I Heard it Through the Grapevine | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1970 |
| 13 | Have You Ever Seen the Rain? | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1971 |
| 14 | Born on the Bayou | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1969 |
| 15 | Lodi | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1969 |
| 16 | Green River | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1969 |
| 17 | Who’ll Stop the Rain | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1970 |
| 18 | Travelin’ Band | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1970 |
| 19 | Looking Out My Back Door | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1970 |
| 20 | Run Through the Jungle | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1970 |
| 21 | I Put a Spell on You | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1968 |
| 22 | Sweet Hitch-Hiker | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1971 |
| 23 | The Old Man Down The Road | – | John Fogerty | 1985 |
| 24 | Someday Never Comes | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1972 |
| 25 | Commotion | – | Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1969 |
Dobber's Take 
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