When Creedence Clearwater Revival were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993, it was a couple of years too late for mainman John Fogerty's guitarist brother Tom. That's not to say that his death prevented him from joining in the fun, as the story goes that his widow brought his urn along to the ceremony in a handbag, giving it a good shuffle along to the reconvend band's performance of Bad Moon Rising.
It's a marvellous little tale (hopefully true!) that manages to sum up the humour and goodtime vibes of one of the most successful groups of the last 40 years. CCR were unstoppable in the late 60s and early 70s, chalking up an impressive run of ten million-selling singles, from the riverboat strut of Proud Mary to the introspective struggling troubadour lament Lodi, from the open road celebration of Up Around The Bend to the swamp menace of Born On The Bayou.
John Fogerty's template was a simple one: the classic two-guitars-bass-drums line-up of The Beatles, a vocal howl pitched somewhere between Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, unfussy songs with little use for more than three chords, and singalong choruses custom-made for AM radio. A smidgen of honky-tonk country a la George Jones, the occasional Keith Richards riff, and you've got the perfect pop group.
A new 18-track UK collection understandably leans heavily towards the big hitters, but there's still space for less lauded gems like the hilarious It Came Out Of The Sky and its chronicle of a hick farmer discovering a UFO on his land and selling it to the government for millions. It played with Cold War fears in the cutest of ways, but Fogerty could also make straight-faced serious points; Fortunate Son (see below) lambasted the powerful men who helped their offspring avoid the Vietnam draft, while Have You Ever Seen The Rain? was a more universal paean to a conflict that threatened to tear America apart. Then he'd veer off in the opposite direction with something as wonderfully nonsensical as Keep On Chooglin'.
None of these songs has aged a second over the intervening years, retaining the classicism and global appeal that marks out the very best popular music. It's small wonder that members of The Ramones, Rockpile and Cheap Trick have never been shy in 'fessing up to the impact and influence Creedence had on their own work, and the spirit of this glorious music is evident today in the records of Green Day, The Hold Steady and countless others.
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Yes, John's talent was, and still is, remarkable. He does seem to be a bit prickly, but I understand his frustration when, late in their career, the other band members started placing poor songs on the albums to garner royalties. This band was not meant to be a democracy. Still, John is a man who can hold a grudge for decades, whether it be against his brother & compatriots or manager who inspired Zantz Can't Dance.
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The peccadillos aside, the music's still smokin' after all these years!
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...which, of course, you said, Terry. Just reiterating the obvious here.