Randy Dalton

Story by Randy Dalton, Denver CO, USA

I first heard a Creedence song as I sat in an old 40 seat green and black bus traveling down a Colorado highway. Oh we in the bus had heard music before, just not this music. It was somehow different in a knee slapping and toe tapping way to the standard musical fare of the day.

"Born on the Bayou" filled the bus with clear and SWAMPY notes. It caught my attention and held it until the old 8-track tape was removed from the deck several hours later.

I looked at the tape and marveled at the name, Creedence Clearwater Revival. After that early exposure I proceeded to acquire every single and album that existed by the group. At the time there were only two LPs. The name Creedence not longer was so strange it was a icon.

I awaited there first Denver concert and with the help of a friend purchased two front row seats. Fogerty lead out the act with a great "Born on The Bayou" piece which took me back to the first time I heard the song.

After the first song completed I noticed an incredible amount of movement in the audience. Electricity seemed to fill the air of the place. Kids were jumping over the metal fencing to get closer to the group. Police and bouncers made a failed effort in crowd control and the entire collected audience seemed to at once, as a collective self, move toward the stage.

Seeing what was happening I ran to the middle front of the stage. John Fogerty already into the next song stopped and told the police that all was well and the crowd stood and danced for the remainder of the concert. Not one member of the crowd was attempting harm it was simply a frantic moment to get closer to the music.

I will always remember that night, it was magical. Between "Proud Mary" and the closing "Keep on Chooglin'" I had shaken Tom Fogerty's and Stu Cook's hands. Creedence will long live as my favorite rock band of all time.

Keep on Chooglin' all.

Randy Dalton

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!