Pre-Creedence years (1959-1967)
Based partially on the highlights of the book Rocking All Over The World by Peter Koers.
Though generally bracketed with the post-psychedelic wave of San Franciscan groups, Creedence Clearwater Revival boasted one of the region's longest pedigrees. Formed in El Cerrito, a suburb in San Francisco Bay Area, this accomplished quartet comprising
John Fogerty (b. 28 May 1945, Berkeley, California, USA; vocals, lead guitar),
Tom Fogerty (b. 9 November 1941, Berkeley, California, USA, d. 6 September 1990; rhythm guitar, vocals),
Stu Cook (b. 25 April 1945, Oakland, California, USA, and
Doug Clifford (b. 24 April 1945, Palo Alto, California, USA; drums)
began performing together in 1959 while attending Portola junior high-school.
Initially known as Blue Velvets, the group started as a trio with Fogerty on guitar, Clifford on drums and Cook on piano. John's older brother Tom was added in November 1959 and the original cast of what would later become Creedence Clearwater Revival was born.
Under the new name Tommy Fogerty & the Blue Velvets, the quartet changed into a vocal band, became a popular attraction in El Cerrito and as such completed three singles for a local independent outlet of Orchestra. The second 45rpm single, "Have You Ever Been Lonely"/"Bonita", was a local hit.
The group developed its unique sounds by listening to records of such Delta bluesmen as Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, plus early rock artists such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Chuck Berry. The young John Fogerty was also inspired by the likes of Duane Eddy, Ray Charles, and Booker T & the MGs.
By his mid-teens, John Fogerty could play guitar, dobro, piano, organ, tenor saxophone, harmonica, drums, and several other instruments. He also had a good voice from the start, and contributed original compositions throughout the band's career. Similarly, Tom taught himself to play almost as many instruments as his brother, but his main instrument remained rhythm guitar.
The Golliwogs
In 1963, John Fogerty became a packing and shipping clerk at Berkeley located Fantasy Records. The following year the group auditioned for Fantasy as an instrumental band. Fantasy's Weiss brothers signed them but encouraged their UK style beat music rather than their instrumentals.
Weiss printed the name for their debut single as the Golliwogs to make them sound British. The band disliked but pragmatically accepted the name as a precondition to their recording deal. The foursome was never happy with the appellation, nor the blond wigs they were sometimes required to wear.
Tom Fogerty dominated early releases, but in late 1965 and early 1966 his younger brother decided to take over the vocals. By 1967, John Fogerty was wresting control of the group.
The series of the singles released by Golliwogs included Beatles-influenced "Don't Tell Me No Lies", "Where You Been", "You Can't Be True", "Brown Eyed Girl" (biggest Golliwogs seller, selling 10,000 copies around Northern California), "Fight Fire" and "Walking On The Water". All were released between November 1964 and November 1967.
The one and only album of the Golliwogs, a compilation of their A and B sides, was released a decade later in 1975. Musically, the Golliwogs’ recordings were heavily influenced by several “British Invasion” bands, particularly the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and the Kinks.
In 1966 John and Doug were drafted into the army. After both members came back from service in 1967, they cut "Porterville" that made some inroads with the audience, but didn't make the charts, although they had by now at least developed a defined and original sound.
During the year, Fantasy was bought by one of its employees, Saul Zaentz. Looking over his company's catalogue, he was impressed by the Golliwogs’ recordings. This resulted in discussions that led to the group turning fully professional in December 1967 and in doing so became known as Creedence Clearwater Revival.