The Sunday Six

Welcome to another Sunday Six to celebrate the beauty of music in different flavors, six tunes at a time. Before getting to that, I’d be remiss not to acknowledge today’s 21st anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks on the U.S. One thing that came out of the unspeakable horror that day was a strong sense of solidarity to come together. I feel we could badly need some of that spirit today. Back to what this blog aims to be, a “happy destination” that leaves any troubles you may have behind, at least while you’re here!

Dave Stewart/Lily Was Here (feat. Candy Dulfer)

The first stop on today’s musical excursion is the year 1989 and a beautiful smooth jazz track I was reminded of the other day. English musician, songwriter and producer Dave Stewart is best known for being one half of Eurythmics, the British pop duo he launched with Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lennox in 1980. Candy Dulfer is a Dutch jazz and pop saxophonist. The daughter of Dutch tenor saxophonist Hans Dulfer began playing the drums as a five-year-old before discovering the saxophone a year later. Since the age of seven, she has focused on the tenor saxophone. By the time she was 11, Dulfer made her first recordings for her father’s jazz band De Perikels (the perils). Three years later, she opened up two European concerts for Madonna with her own band Funky Stuff. In 1989, Stewart invited Dulfer to play sax on Lily Was Here, an instrumental he had composed for the soundtrack of a Dutch movie of the same name. The single became a no. 1 in The Netherlands and a top 20 in several other European countries, Australia and the U.S. It encouraged Dulfer to launch a solo career, which continues to this day. Hard-core jazz aficionados may consider the track to be “on the light side,” but I absolutely love it, mainly because of Dulfer’s amazing saxophone part!

Dire Straits/Once Upon a Time In the West

For this next track, we’re going to jump back 1o years to June 1979, which saw the release of Dire Straits’ sophomore album Communiqué. After the British rock band had received favorable reviews for their eponymous debut that had come out the year before, critics were generally lukewarm about the follow-up. Many felt it sounded too similar to Dire Straits. While that is not an unfair observation, I still like Communiqué and especially this tune, Once Upon a Time In the West. Written by Mark Knopfler, it also became a U.S. single in October of the same year. Unlike the internationally successful Sultans of Swing, Once Upon a Time In the West missed the charts altogether. In my opinion, that’s unfortunate – I just love that Mark Knopfler signature Fender Stratocaster guitar sound!

Lucinda Williams/Metal Firecracker

Since I saw Lucinda Williams open up for Bonnie Raitt in Philadelphia back in June, I’ve been planning to explore the catalog of the American singer-songwriter. While I featured her in a Sunday Six installment in August with a tune from her ninth studio album Little Honey from October 2008, I haven’t made much progress to date – too much great music, too little time! Metal Firecracker, penned by Williams, is from Car Wheels On a Gravel Road. Her fifth studio album, released in June 1998, marked her commercial breakthrough. Nine additional studio albums have since appeared. Luckily, Williams largely recovered from a debilitating stroke she suffered in November 2020 and was able to resume performing. I love this tune – check out this neat electric guitar sound! Based on the credits listed underneath the YouTube clip, it appears that part was played by Gurf Morlix who was a member of Williams’ backing band from 1985 until 1996 and co-produced her 1988 eponymous studio album and the 1992 follow-on Sweet Old World.

Creedence Clearwater Revival/Green River

Okay, we’re four stops into this trip, so don’t you agree it’s time for some ’60s music? I trust Creedence Clearwater Revival don’t need much if any introduction. The American rock band led by singer-songwriter John Fogerty (lead guitar, vocals) was active under that name between 1967 and 1972. Initially, the members of the group, who also included John’s brother Tom Fogerty (rhythm guitar), Stu Cook (bass) and Doug Clifford (drums), had performed as The Blue Velvets (1959-1964) and The Golliwogs (1964-1967). For some reason, that latter name always reminds me of the Gremlins! Green River, written by John Fogerty, was the great title track of CCR’s third studio album that appeared in August 1969. It also became the record’s second single in July that year, one month ahead of the group’s performance at the Woodstock music festival.

Robert Plant/Turnaround

Let’s travel to the current century. The year is 2006. The month is November. That’s when Robert Plant released a box set titled Nine Lives. It features remastered and expanded editions of nine albums the ex-Led Zeppelin vocalist released post-Zep between 1982 and 2005, both under his name and The Honeydrippers. Turnaround was first recorded during the sessions for Plant’s sophomore solo album The Principle of Moments released in July 1983, but the tune didn’t make the album. In addition to being featured on this box set, the tune is included as a bonus track on a 2007 remastered version of the aforementioned second solo effort by Plant.

Buddy Guy/We Go Back (feat. Mavis Staples)

And once again, we’ve reached the point to wrap up another Sunday Six, and I have a real goodie: We Go Back, the second single from Buddy Guy’s upcoming new album The Blues Don’t Lie. The 86-year-old blues guitar legend’s 34th record is scheduled for September 30. The release date marks the 65th anniversary of Guy’s arrival in Chicago from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This ambassador of the blues is just incredible! On the nostalgic We Go Back, released on September 2nd and co-written by Richard Fleming and Guy’s longtime collaborator, drummer and producer Tom Hambridge, Guy is joined by none other than Mavis Staples. What an amazing duo and tune – really looking forward to that album!

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist featuring the above tunes. Hope there’s something you dig!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

The Forgotten Fogerty

The idea for this post was triggered by a conversation with fellow blogger Badfinger20 about John Fogerty’s solo tune Rock and Roll Girls, which he covered here. When we turned to Creedence Clearwater Revival, he asked me whether I had ever heard John’s brother Tom Fogerty sing, adding they sounded so much alike. Since I actually had not, I started sampling a few songs from Tom’s eponymous debut album. Not only did I notice the vocal similarity but actually liked what I heard. So I continued. While Tom’s vocals and songs may not have been on par with John’s, I find his music pretty enjoyable and definitely feel it is underrecognized.

Before getting to a playlist with some of Tom’s music, providing some background is in order. Tom Fogerty was born on November 9, 1941 in Berkeley, Calif., about three and a half years prior to John. The brothers began playing music in high school, with each heading their own bands. After Tom’s band had broken up, John’s group The Blue Velvets started backing Tom who eventually joined them and became their leader. The Blue Velvets included future Creedence Clearwater Revival members Stu Cook (bass) and Doug Clifford (drums).

The Golliwogs (from left): Doug Clifford, Tom Fogerty, John Fogerty and Stu Cook

Between 1961 and 1962, The Blue Velvets recorded three singles with Tom on lead vocals. By the middle of the decade, they had changed their name to The Golliwogs – and John had started sharing lead vocal roles with Tom. In 1968, the group changed their name again, to Creedence Clearwater Revival. By that time, John had evolved to become the band’s sole lead singer and main songwriter. Tom essentially was relegated to playing rhythm guitar and singing backing vocals.

While Tom continued to write songs, only one tune ever made it onto a CCR album: Walk on the Water, which he originally had written for The Golliwogs. It was included on CCR’s eponymous debut from May 1968. Not surprisingly, Tom increasingly resented the lack of opportunity to record his songs and the dominance his younger brother exerted over the band. After CCR had finished the recording sessions for their sixth studio album Pendulum, Tom had enough and left to start a solo career.

Tom Fogerty (left) with John Fogerty

In April 1971, he released his debut solo single Goodbye Media Man, which became one of his most successful songs relatively speaking – chart success largely eluded Tom Fogerty. His eponymous debut album came out the following year. During his lifetime, Tom had four additional solo records and, between 1976 and 1984, three albums with rock band Ruby. In 1988, Tom also recorded an album with former Ruby guitarist and keyboarder Randy Oda, Sidekicks, which wasn’t released until 1992 after Tom’s death.

While the Fogerty brothers shared the stage together with Cook and Clifford two more times after CCR had broken up – in October 1980 at the reception for Tom’s marriage to Tricia Clapper and three years later at a school reunion – sadly, they did not reconcile. There was simply too much bad blood between them. In his 2015 autobiography Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music, John claimed he had tried to reconcile with Tom, according to a published excerpt from the book in Rolling Stone. Obviously, Tom can no longer speak for himself, and I don’t want to further get into what seems to have been a very complicated relationship between the two brothers.

Tom Fogerty in the ’80s

On September 9, 1990, Tom Fogerty passed away at the age of 48 from tuberculosis that had been brought on by AIDS. Apparently, his HIV infection was caused by a transfusion with unscreened blood, which he received when undergoing back surgery during the ’80s – sounds pretty mind-boggling! Time for some music.

Let’s kick it off with the aforementioned Walk on the Water from CCR’s 1968 eponymous debut album. This version of the tune, which initially was titled Walking on the Water when it was first recorded by The Golliwogs, was co-credited to both Fogerty brothers.

Here’s Tom’s debut solo single Goodbye Media Man from April 1971. Technically, it’s part 1. The B-side of the single featured part 2. This easily could have been a CCR tune. The use of the Hammond organ is quite reminiscent of CCR’s Pendulum album. Keyboarder Merl Saunders did a great job – nothing like a roaring B3!

This brings me to Tom’s eponymous debut album and Lady of Fatima. I really dig this tune, especially the bass work by John Kahn who like Merl Saunders frequently worked with Jerry Garcia.

In April 1974, Tom’s third album Zephyr National appeared. It actually featured contributions from all former CCR members. They even all played together on one song, aptly titled Joyful Resurrection, though John recorded his part separately from the others. While the tune was among the minor successes for Tom, I’d like to highlight the album’s soulful opener It’s Been a Good Day.

And I Love You is a great rocker from Tom’s fourth solo album Myopia from November 1974. I can hear a clear John Fogerty vibe in that guitar riff. Plus, Cook and Clifford played on the record, so it’s not surprising the tune has a CCR feel to it. Check it out!

Next up is a track from the eponymous debut album by the above mentioned Ruby, released in 1976. Other than the fact that Tom was part of that four-piece rock band, I don’t know anything about the group. The members included Randy Oda (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Anthony Davis (bass, vocals) and Bobby Cochran (drums, vocals). Here’s a nice funky tune called Running Back to Me, co-written by Oda, Fogerty and Cochran – pretty groovy with some great harmony guitar work!

Deal It Out was Tom’s final solo album released during his lifetime. It came out in 1981. Here’s the nice opener Champagne Love, which he co-wrote with Clifford. Whoever was playing slide guitar on that tune did a great job. Frankly, I could see that song on a John Fogerty album!

Let’s do one more, from Sidekicks, the posthumously released album in 1992 Tom had recorded with Randy Oda in 1988. Apparently, the two had developed a close friendship while working together in Ruby. During the recording sessions, Tom developed pneumonia and subsequently was diagnosed with AIDS. He recovered sufficiently to resume work on the album, which also features his son Jeff Fogerty on bass and backing vocals and Randy’s brother Kevin Oda on drums and percussion. It’s probably not a coincidence the sound of the record is more mellow than Tom’s previous work. Here’s We’ve Been Here Before.

As I said at the outset, while Tom Fogerty wasn’t quite as talented as his younger brother, his overall body of work is pretty solid and fun to listen to. I think Tom didn’t get the recognition he deserved during his lifetime, which is unfortunate. His torturous relationship with his younger brother is outright sad. Tom was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of CCR.

Sources: Wikipedia; Rolling Stone; YouTube

My Playlist: Creedence Clearwater Revival

The first Creedence Clearwater Revival song I heard was Have You Ever Seen The Rain. This must have been in Germany around 1974. My six-year older sister, who at the time was in her early teens, had the single. The B-side was Hey Tonight. I liked these two tunes from the very beginning. I also recall listening to Proud Mary and Bad Moon Rising on the radio. I dig this band to this day, and they’ve been on my mind for the past few weeks, since I learned about the Blues & Bayous Tour ZZ Top and John Fogerty will do together later this year.

The story of Creedence Clearwater Revival or CCR started about 10 years before they would become one America’s most successful rock bands. Their first incarnation was a trio called The Blue Velvets, formed in 1958 by Fogerty (guitar), Doug Clifford (drums) and Stu Cook (piano), who all were students at Portola Junior High School in the San Francisco suburb of El Cerrito. In the beginning, they mostly played instrumental music. Their first studio recording experience occurred in 1959, when they backed up African American singer James Powell on a single. Later that year, John’s older brother Tom Fogerty, who himself had been an aspiring music artist, joined the band as their lead vocalist, and they became Tommy Fogerty and The Blue Velvets. At the time, John was not singing yet.

The band started to record some demos written by the two Fogerty brothers. A small Bay Area record company, Orchestra, decided to release a few of their songs, but they didn’t fare well. In 1964, the band signed with Fantasy Records, an independent San Francisco jazz label. Prompted by the record company, they changed their name to The Golliwogs. Fantasy released a few of their songs, but except for Brown Eyed Girl (unrelated to the Van Morrison tune), the music didn’t make any commercial impact. Eventually, most of the band’s members took on new roles: John became the lead vocalist, his brother changed to rhythm guitar, and Cook switched from piano to the bass.

In 1966, Fogerty and Clifford were drafted into the military and joined the Army Reserve and Coast Guard Reserve, respectively. During their six months of active duty, the band was put on the back burner. In 1967, the financially struggling Fantasy was purchased by Saul Zaentz, a salesman for the company, who had organized a group of other investors. Zaentz liked The Golliwogs but told them they needed to change their name. And so they did, to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The band name had three different origins. Creedence was derived from Credence Newball, a friend of Tom’s. Clearwater was inspired by a beer TV commercial that used the words “clear water.” And Revival reflected the four members’ renewed commitment to the band. They didn’t waste any time to act on it and went to the studio to record their eponymous debut album. Even before it appeared at the end of May 1968, CCR’s cover of the Dale Hawkins tune Susie Q, which they had cut a few months earlier, already received radio play and a good deal of attention. It appeared separately as a single and became their first hit, peaking at no. 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 – the only CCR top 40 track not written by John Fogerty.

Following their breakthrough, CCR started touring heavily and shortly thereafter began working on their sophomore album Bayou Country, which was released in early January 1969. The band continued an intense touring schedule, which notably included the Atlanta Pop Festival (July 1969) and Woodstock (August 1969). Even though CCR was a headliner at Woodstock, none of their songs were included in the documentary and the accompanying soundtrack. John felt their performance had not been up to standard. They had ended up playing at 3:00 am in the morning after the Grateful Dead, when only few people had been awake. It would take until 1994 when four of the tunes from that night were included in a commemorative box set titled Woodstock: Three Days of Peace and Music.

Ten days prior to Woodstock, CCR’s third studio record Green River was released. Four more albums followed: Willy And The Poor Boys (November 1969), Cosmo’s Factory (July 1970), Pendulum (November 1970) and Mardi Gras (April 1972). By the time this last record appeared, serious tensions over CCR’s artistic and business direction had emerged between John Fogerty and Cook and Clifford. In late 1970, Tom Fogerty already had left the band, which since had been a trio. In mid-October 1972, CCR broke up officially. Time to get to some music!

Susie Q, CCR’s breakthrough song from their first studio album, was recorded in January 1968 and appeared in June that year. Originally, the tune was released by Dale Hawkins in May 1957. It was co-written by him and Robert Chaisson, a member of his band. Due to CCR’s extended version, the single was split in parts one and two, which appeared on the A and B-sides, respectively.

Proud Mary from Bayou Country was the first of five no. 2 hits CCR scored on the Billboard Hot 100. Apparently, the band holds the record for achieving the most no. 2 singles without ever getting a no. 1 on that chart. Like pretty much all songs on the first four albums, the tune was written by John Fogerty. Various other artists have covered Proud Mary, most notably Ike & Tina Turner.

Green River is the title track of CCR’s third studio album from August 1969. The Fogerty tune is one of the no. 2 songs.

Down On The Corner is the opener of Willy And The Poor Boys, CCR’s fourth studio record and the third album the band released in 1969. The tune was also released as a single and became another hit for the band, climbing to no. 3. on the Billboard Hot 100.

Fortunate Son, another track from Willy And The Poor Boys, was the B-side of the Down On The Corner single.

Cosmo’s Factory, CCR’s fifth studio record from July 1970, became the band’s most successful album, topping the Billboard 200 and the LP charts in the UK, Canada and Australia, among others. Here’s a clip of Up Around The Bend.

Another tune from Cosmo’s Factory I like in particular is Who’ll Stop The Rain.

The aforementioned Have You Ever Seen The Rain is from the band’s sixth studio album Pendulum, the final record with Tom Fogerty. If I could only choose one CCR song, it would probably be this one. I totally dig the Hammond in that tune!

Here is Hey Tonight, another outstanding song.

I’d like to conclude this playlist with Someday Never Comes from CCR’s final album Mardi Gras. Unlike the band’s previous records, songwriting and production were shared among Fogerty and Cook and Clifford, something Fogerty had fiercely opposed in the past. While Fogerty’s previous leadership may have been dictatorial, the record’s mixed to poor reviews indicate that a democratic approach wasn’t working well for CCR. Perhaps tellingly, Someday Never Comes and the other Fogerty tracks on the album are the best.

Despite CCR’s relatively short four-year career, they sold 30 million albums and singles in the U.S. alone. The band is ranked at no. 82 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Artists from December 2010. In 1993, CCR were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Sadly, Fogerty refused to perform with Cook and Clifford during the induction ceremony. His brother Tom had passed away in 1990.

Sources: Wikipedia; Creedence Online; Rolling Stone; YouTube