Call It Pretending

"Call It Pretending" is the B-side of "Porterville," the last single John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook and  Doug Clifford released as The Golliwogs in November 1967. The 45 rpm was re-issued in January 1968 and credited to Creedence Clearwater Revival.   

The single was recorded at Coast Recorders in San Francisco a couple of weeks after Saul Zaentz had purchased Fantasy Records.

"Call It Pretending" is also one of the two Golliwogs era tunes which was written solely by John Fogerty. He also handled the lead vocals on the disc, and as with the A-side, the trademark John Fogerty sound can clearly be heard. Other Golliwogs releases were credited to John and Tom Fogerty until 1966. Fogerty didn't put "Call It Pretending" on the debut album of Creedence Clearwater though, because he considered the song pop of the old style of the band (John Fogerty, Fortunate Son, 2015).

Live versions

There are no documented Creedence Clearwater concerts with "Call It Pretending" in the set list. 

Critical reception

"But in its backwards nod to the vocal harmony music of the previous decade, it contains a reminder that while many of their California peers were exploring the outer realms of rock’s experimental possibilities, Creedence were looking to rock’s roots to find their way forward." -Richard Elliott, Pop Matters, January 20th, 2010. 

previous | next