Gary Jackson

Story by Gary Jackson, Southampton, UK

I had cut my musical teeth on mid-sixties rock and blues - thinking back, I guess my musical tastes were quite mature for a ten year old! Although my first record was Cliff's "Summer Holiday", the second was "Hippy Hippy Shake" by The Swinging Blue Jeans, and there it more or less stayed - the heavier end of the top twenty.

In the UK, Creedence's first album went almost unnoticed, as did the two Golliwogs singles released here - "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Fragile Child" in '66 and '67 respectively. Both singles were released in the UK on the Vocalion label, which I believe specialised in blues and jazz, so perhaps little effort was made in promoting them. "Proud Mary" was the first single to chart in the UK, peaking at 8 on 12th

July 1969. It is perhaps indicative of the music of the time that other top ten singles that week included "A Way Of Life" (The Family Dogg), and "Living In The Past" (Jethro Tull). In August of that year, "Bad Moon Rising" became their first no.1, followed by "Green River" which made no. 19 in November '69. Not surprisingly, the album "Green River" was their first to chart, in January 1970.

No singles from "Willy And The Poor Boys" made the top 40, but the album was their second highest, reaching no. 10 in March '70. This inspired the entry of "Bayou Country" (no.62 May '70)!!

It wasn't until "Travelin Band" (no.8 July '70) was released that I thought "This is SO raucous, I have to get it! I'd heard plenty of rock'n'roll before, but never THAT loud. The original single was cut so loud, it jumped during the second guitar break so I put weights on the record arm. "Up Around The Bend" (no.3 June '70) was just as inspiring to a fifteen year old, and this quickly followed in my collection. It was at this point that I was ready to venture into the world of "those big records that played slowly", and "Cosmo's Factory" (no.1 Sept '70) became my first "serious" album. It remains today - partly through nostalgia - and partly through the music, my all-time favourite album. "Long As I Can See The Light" made no.20, but I was the proud owner of the album!!

It was at this time that I became aware from my school friends that CCR weren't easily "pigeon-holed", one of the UK's greatest national pastimes. Reactions to my new-found fanaticism ranged from derision (teeny-bop band), to impressive (progressive rock band). This was highlighted by the success of "Willy", with no hit singles (progressive band), followed by three 2.5 minute hit singles (teeny-bop?) The great British public weren't sure, so a lot of them sat on the fence. I didn't. I started plundering the back catalogue, and by the start of 1971, my summer job had paid for all but the first album. Another thing I noticed at this time - Girls didn't like Creedence. They didn't hate them, but they didn't buy their records either. I was having to look at bands like Free to find music we both liked.

"Pendulum" (no.23 Jan'71) took a little adjusting. Sure, it was a good album, certainly worth me buying, but "Rude Awakening no.2?? I hadn't heard "Revolution no.9", so I wasn't ready for this. "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" was again exceptional though, and I soon caught up with John Fogerty's musical development.

Now to "Mardi Gras". (At this point I should be lying on a doctor's couch!!). With Tom gone, and knowing what I do now, I could have predicted the split, but at 17? (Cue Janis Ian). I was torn between trying to like it, and feeling betrayed. These guys were my heroes, and suddenly they were fallible! I eagerly awaited the follow-up (still am), but swiftly moved on to other groups when after a year or so, one didn't appear. "Mardi Gras" made me feel that my girlfriend had been two-timing me, particularly as my first taste of the album had been "Sweet Hitch-hiker" (no.36 July '71) while in Belgium on holiday - classic Creedence!!

I have some happy memories of John Fogerty solo albums, but that's another story. Maybe one day I'll visit him in the States, and convince him that a sure-fire way to make money without working is to release "Hoodoo", which despite certain press comments in the UK (Record Collector!!) is superb. In the meantime, I'll still hammer "Travelin Band", which I've played at many of my Golden Oldies discos. It's now got a huge scratch where it jumps - too many coins over too many years. I wouldn't part with it though. I'm beginning to know how it feels!

Do you want to submit a story of your own memories of the Creedence Clearwater Revival (concerts, recordings, anything) onto this section?It's easy. Preferably, write your Creedence story onto your own web page, let me know the address of it, and I'll put a link to there. If you don't have the web facilities, you may submit your story to me via email and I'll be happy to put it onto my page. Thanks!