Up Around the Bend

Background

"Run Through the Jungle" b/w "Up Around the Bend" was the second 45 rpm Creedence Clearwater Revival released in 1970. Both cuts of this "double-sided" single ended up to the Cosmo's Factory album in summer 1970. "Up Around the Band" peaked on the charts at #4 in the USA, #3 in the UK and #1 in the Netherlands. The single was certified gold by the RIAA in the USA, for sales of over one million copies.

The song started to  develop in the music room of John Fogerty in late 1969. He was fooling around with the Marty Robbins song "A White Sport Coat And a Pink Carnation" and suddenly stumbled into this guitar lick. Later, he was out on his motorcycle riding around Berkeley. The trip had this sense of urgency. Fogerty always loved records that had sense of urgency. "Up Around the Bend" is all about get going, we gotta get outta here... but to a happy place. When Fogerty got home, he went up to that room and married the urgency of going somewhere to that guitar riff and made a whole song out of getting somewhere (John Fogerty, Fortunate Son, 2015).

"Up Around the Bend" had the sense of urgency and urgent was also the finishing of the number. Creedence Clearwater was scheduled to travel to Europe in early April 1970. Time at the studio was already booked, so Fogerty had to come up with the two songs of the forthcoming single release. With a gun pointed to his temple, Fogerty finished "Up Around the Bend" and the flipside "Run Through the Jungle" in one weekend. The band got them recorded next Monday on April 4.  

Equipment

John Fogerty bought a Les Paul Custom Black Beauty in January 1969 and toured with it, and the airlines cracked the neck. It was repaired by Hideo Kamimoto in Oakland. So he got that Les Paul turned into a 3/4-size, and it became his D-tuning guitar for "Up Around The Bend" – standard tuning with a whammy. That guitar resides now in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but he painted it kind of a car-colors sunburst – red and orange.

Cover photo

The photo of the back cover of the single (the most common version released in the USA, UK, Germany and other countries) was taken at Berkeley Amtrak Railway Station (700 University Avenue) on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay. 

Collector's notes

The "Up Around the Bend" b/w "Run Through the Jungle" single was released with a similar cover sleeve in France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK and USA. It was different from the one launched in Belgium, Denmark, Israel and Netherlands. There were two different Belgian cover sleeves (Peter Koers, Green River, 1999).     

Live versions

"Up Arounfd the Bend" didn't make it to the set list of the first European tour of Creedence Clearwater in spring 1970.  Instead, the band waited until the subsequent gigs in North America. The first documented concert with the song in the set list was played at Coliseum Center in Seattle, WA, USA on May 2nd, 1970. From this point on, the band performed "Up Around the Bend" regularly until the breakup. 

The CCR trio delivered "Up Around the Bend" in the closing concert of Fillmore West on July 3rd 1971. The show was broadcast live by KSAN-FM in San Francisco. Another concert in Forest Hills, New York, a couple of weeks later, was aired by WNEW-FM.  A live version also appears on the Live in Europe album. Another live cut recorded in Amsterdam on September 10, 1971, was added to the bonus tracks of 40th Anniversary CD Edition of Cosmo's Factory in 2008. 

During his solo career, John Fogerty performed "Up Around the Bend" live for the first time at Vets Rousing Welcome Home Concert on July 4th, 1987. The benefit show was broadcast by HBO in the USA.

"Up Around the Bend" has been a regular number in the John Fogerty concerts since the Premonition Tour in 1998. The final do-do-doo-dos were reverted to the live version by the beginning of the Deja Vu All Over Again Tour in 2004.    

"Up Around the Bend" appears on two of his three live DVDs: The Long Road Home (2006) and Comin' Down the Road (2009). 

John Fogerty performed "Up Around the Bend" in the first Cosmo's Factory album concert at Beacon Theatre in New York on November 17th, 2011. Fogerty also played the song on the subsequent Cosmo's Factory concerts in Australia in 2012, Canada in 2012 and North America in fall 2013. 

The Beacon Theatre concert in 2011 was broadcast live by Sirius XM satellite radio in the USA.  Sound files as per the fall 2013 onwards were officially made available. 

In the movies, TV series and video games

"Up Around the Bend" has been used in numerous films, including

• Butler's Night Out (1974)

• Invincible (2006)

• L'eau froide (1994)

• Michael (1996)

• Red Dawn (2012)

• Remember the Titans (2000)

• The Hoax

The song was also featured in the Kurt Cobain documentary Kurt Cobain About a Son.

Furthermore, the song appears in video game Guitar Hero World Tour (2008).

Critical reception

"Even with all the radio exposure this record has received, it hasn't lost any of its initial freshness." -Roy Carr, New Musical Express, July 25th, 1970.

"--- a searing rocker, one of their best---." -Thomas Erlewine, All Music.

Fans' views

"From start to finish, this song just absolutely kicks my arse into next weekend ... has my absolute favorite guitar solo of all time in the middle ... it's short, but it's awesome!"

"Has one of Creedence's greatest riffs I can sing along with it forever ... (even the Doo Doo's at the end)."

"Opening riff just grabs you."

"A fast, fun, furious song that is escapism at its best."

"Real rock music. Lead guitar´s sound is similar to Fogerty´s voice."

"Fine rocker ... I wouldn't want to meet the singer alone in a dark alley."

Thanks to Petra and Robert. 

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