Today in Music (1969): “Proud Mary” set sail on the charts

Proud Mary Creedence Clearwater Revival

Writer(s): John Fogerty (see lyrics here) First Charted: January 18, 1969 Peak: 2 US, 2 CB, 11 GR, 11 HR, 8 UK, 2 CN, 5 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 5.0 radio, 31.1 video, 140.04 streaming

Proud Mary Ike & Tina Turner

First Charted: January 30, 1971 Peak: 4 US, 5 CB, 6 HR, 5 RB, 3 CL, 62 UK, 11 CN, 4 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 5.0 radio, 117.46 video, 47.50 streaming

Awards (CCR): Click on award for more details.

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Awards (Ike & Tina Turner):

About the Song: “Proud Mary” established Creedence Clearwater Revival as the best act out of New Orleans since Fats Domino, an impressive feat since they’d never been there! SJ In fact, singer/songwriter John Fogerty had never been to the South period, but said “I was drawn to that my typical world of Mark Twain…Stephn Foster, Howlin’ Wolf…The South seemed to exist in another time – a slower, more leisurely time. It seemed exotic as if it were someplace far away, and yet very American at the same time.” SS The band’s signature swampy sound understandably gave them a Louisiana vibe, but a guitar solo which Fogerty said was influenced by Booker T & the MG’s Steve Cropper helps tie the song to the musical South as well. The fact that it also sounds “like an ancient gospel song in its rousing rallying cry” AMG doesn’t hurt either. Music critic Dave Marsh called it “a riff and a rhythm that roll along as mighty as the Mississippi itself.” DM Add in steamboat-themed lyrics and the connection is complete. Fogerty called “Proud Mary” “the first really good song I ever wrote.” RS500 Bob Dylan called it his favorite song of the year. SS Fogerty had the title first, thinking it might be a song about a maid in a rich household. SS When he started singing about the river, he decided to make the song about a boat, RS500 a “story of a Mississippi paddle steamer as she plies the waters from Memphis to New Orleans, a reminder of the days when the river was alive with traffic.” DT This blossomed into a tale of a man abandoning the city for work on a steamboat, a theme which fit well with the 1969 back-to-the-country counterculture movement, even if Fogerty’s message was really about “a working man finding release, not a middle-class hippie yearning for a pastoral ideal.” AMG Some people interpreted the line “keep on rolling” as a drug reference. DT As the band’s first U.S. top ten, “Proud Mary” has also become the definitive CCR song, blending Americana, swamp rock, blues, country, rockabilly, gospel, and soul. AMG The song gave the band a dubious record – as the first of five CCR singles to peak at #2, the band gained the distinction of hitting the runner-up slot the most times without ever going to #1. WK While it didn’t go to the top, it pulled off a rare feat in becoming the signature song for not one, but two major recording acts. Ike and Tina Turner enhanced the song’s gospel and soul vibe to create “a raveup with the feel of a church revival.” AMG It landed the duo at #4 on the pop charts and #5 on the R&B charts in 1971. Resources: AMG All Music Guide DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Page 60. RS500 Rolling Stone (2011). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” SJ Bob Shannon and John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. Warner Books, Inc.: New York, NY. Page 72. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 561-2. DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 124. WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 9/15/2023.

Today in Music (1962): Booker T & the MGs topped the R&B chart with “Green Onions”

Green Onions Booker T. & the MGs

Writer(s): Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Jr., Booker T. Jones, Lewie Steinberg Released: July 1962 First Charted: August 11, 1962 Peak: 3 BB, 3 CB, 3 GR, 3 HR, 14 RB, 7 UK, 39 CN, 73 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 42.1 video, 239.82 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Booker T. & the MGs were the house band for Stax records, “soul’s biggest hit factory after Motown.” TB The group of session musicians consisted of keyboardist Booker T. Jones, guitarist Steve Cropper, drummer Al Jackson, and bassist Lewis Steinberg. With Donald “Duck” Dunn later replacing Steinberg, the collective would back classics by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Sam & Dave in the 1960s. The song “Green Onions” came about when the band were waiting to start a session with rockabilly artist Billy Lee “Red Hot” Riley. SS They started jamming and engineer Jim Stewart “got an earful of a low-down blues that the MG’s were cooking up. He thought it was dynamite. He quickly switched on the tape and caught it all.” SJ Then they played him a dance tune they’d been working on. The latter became “Green Onions.” SJ The single was backed by “Behave Yourself,” the first song the group had played for Stuart. SJ When it was released, Booker had just graduated from high school. SS The title apparently came about because, according to Cropper, someone said, “Boy, this is some funky music; this music stinks. What’s the stinkiest, nastiest thing you can think of?’” SJ Steinberg “declared green onions the funkiest thing he’d ever smelled.” SS Author and critic Dave Marsh said the song was “what happens when the best backup band in the universe decides it’s time to be noticed.” DM Thomas Ryan said it was “part R&B, part jazz, the groove was as uncluttered as a rhythm section could get without disappearing altogether.” SS Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Booker T. & the MGs DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Page 81. SJ Bob Shannon and John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. Warner Brothers, Inc.: New York, NY. Page 103. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Page 479. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 54. First posted 1/18/2024.