I Heard It Through the Grapevine

Background

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is an 11-minute album track on Cosmo's Factory, the fifth album of Creedence Clearwater Revival. After three years of the disband of the quartet, the song was also released as a 12-inch single in January 1976. It peaked at #43 in the USA. 

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was originally written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966, and made famous by Marvin Gaye in a single released in October 1968.  John Fogerty heard Marvin Gaye's version when it was winding down in its radio run. Fogerty thought all the lush arrangements of Gaye's record had kind of masked what was really going on. Fogerty was turned on about coming up with a more rock and roll approach. He changed the riff slightly to make it more of a "guitar thing" and worked out the road map that would turn Creedence Clearwater's version into a jam.

The latter part of the song is a long free jam. John Fogerty and Doug Clifford trade off little rhythms: John's guitar does one thing, then Doug does something that's kind of like it.  The jam was mostly studio conceived. They only needed two takes to cut the track. 

The backing vocals on the song are sung by John Fogerty. A VSO (variable speed oscillator) is also used (Stu Cook in Worldwide CCR Fan Club Bulletin #46, June 1997).

Equipment

John Fogerty played a Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar in the recording sessions of the song. It's not the one which currently residesin the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame but the other one he bought later (see Bad Moon Rising).

Promo film

A four-minute promo film featuring Creedence Clearwater playing "The Grapevine" at Cosmo's Factory as playback was launched in 1970. The film was released commercially on a bonus DVD of the Creedence Clearwater Singles Collection in November 2009 together with four other promo films the band shot.

Collector's notes

A "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" b/w "Good Golly Miss Molly" single was released with a similar cover sleeve in Germany, Italy and the USA in 1976. A test pressing and a Label Copy Promo also exists (Peter Koers, Green River: An Illustrated Discography, 1999).  

Live versions

Creedence Clearwater added the song onto the set list on the Mondo Bizarro Tour in summer 1970 right after they had recorded it. It made a return to their programming on the last tour in the USA in spring 1972. John Fogerty, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford also performed The Grapevine in the 20th reunion of the Class of '63 in El Cerrito High in November 1983.

During his solo era, John Fogerty performed the Motown original live for the first time at Benefit for Walden Woods in Los Angeles on April 1st, 1992. After beginning regular touring in spring 1997, he has played the number practically in each concert. Major exception include the short tour of the year 2000 when he supported Tina Turner.

Concert goers have for years been able to enjoy extended instrumental parts in the jam part of The Grapevine, including

• a 30-second drum solo by Michael Cartellone on the Premonition tour 1998

• bass solo by James Lomenzo (2013 onwards) 

• dueling guitar solos with Fogerty and Billy Burnette between 2004 and 2009

• jazzy piano solos by Matt Nolen (2006-2009), Michael Webb (2010-2011) and Bob Malone (2011 onwards)

Due to the length of the song, John Fogerty has played "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" only in a couple of TV shows. These include Concert of the Century  - Motown Live on October 23, 1998. He also performed the song on the BBC4 concert special from Glastonbury Festival on June  23, 2007 and on AXS-TV coverage from his birthday concert in Los Angeles on May 28, 2013.  

John Fogerty also delivered the Motown original in the first ever Cosmo's Factory album concert at Beacon Theatre in New York on Novemeber 17th, 2011. It was broadcast live by the Sirius XM satellite radio in the USA. 

Sound files of most of the John Fogerty live concerts have officially been made available as per the tour in the USA in fall 2013. 

In the movies and TV series

Film producers have usually used the Marvin Gaye version on silver screen. The Creedence Clearwater rendition is only heard in the movies Remember the Titans (2000) and Where the Buffalos Roam (1980). TV series featuring the Creedence version include The Sopranos, episode Made In America (2007). 

Critical reception

"When they get into the overlong version of Heard It Through the Grapevine - a rather ordinary tune, their ability to break out and improve seems impaired. All Creedence energies are directed into producing the Creedence sound. Free blowing is not their forte. Meanwhile, there are plenty of other musical delights to compensate."  -Melody Maker, August 22nd, 1970. 

"'Grapevine' is more intense than any six minutes of Grateful Dead music on record---" -Dave Marsh, The Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1979. 

"My favourite point on here, though, is the fantastic jam on 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' that I already described in the intro paragraph; it proudly takes its place as the most complex and intoxicating instrumental passage the band ever recorded. That's not to say that I shun the main melody of the song or anything: the grim drum/bass battles that separate each verse of the song from the following one are really something. But that jam... man, you gotta hear it to believe it." -George Starostin. 

"---demonstrates CCR’s penchant for reworking classic soul and R’n’B into a primal-toned and seemingly spontaneous inspiration. While the single version pales in comparison to the 11-minute representation on Cosmo’s Factory,  it nevertheless has a relentlessly deep-pocketed groove that showcases a rhythmic verve." -Doug Simpson, Audiophile Audition, November 9th, 2009. 

"Soulful and satisfying." -Uncut, February 2012. 

"---Marvin Gaye’s “Heard it Through the Grapevine”, originally a three and a quarter minute single, is transformed into an over eleven minute, reverb-heavy song that uses the original as a skeleton around which to build CCR’s darker, stranger version. The final product feels almost more like a suite of takes on Gaye’s original version as opposed to a cover song in itself. -J.C. Macek III, Pop Matters, January 10th, 2014. 

Fans' views

"Has been covered so many times by other lesser musicians, the only way this song has ever been sung effectivly is by Fogerty ... I think everyone has some ex- to whom they would love to sing this song ... it is the group's most successful song with any love theme."

"Shows what a good song should have, not difficult to play guitar stuff, but just a sound that fits! ... sit down and let the solo take you to heigher places."

"Though it's a cover song, it's definitely CCR ... so simple, so good! I just love that high D-note '...losin' YOU would..."

"This song just rocks; play it on a hot summer day with a keg of beer, full volume ... a deadly song.."

"11.05 minutes, and not one second is wasted!"