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 (1968): “Hey Jude” spent 9th week at #1, giving Beatles their biggest hit

Hey Jude The Beatles

Writer(s): John Lennon, Paul McCartney (see lyrics here) Released: August 26, 1968 First Charted: September 4, 1968 Peak: 19 US, 17 CB, 14 HR, 41 AR (1990 live version by Paul McCartney), 12 UK, 13 CN, 113 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, 1.06 UK, 10.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 329.03 video, 529.30 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The birth of “Hey Jude” is a story familiar to anyone versed in Rock and Roll History 101: Cynthia Lennon was soon to be the ex-wife of the famous Beatle. To soothe the couple’s young son, Julian, John’s band mate Paul McCartney offered words of encouragement in the best way he knew how – through song. He changed “Jules” to “Jude” because it was “more mellifluous.” DJ Julian said Paul hung out with him more than his own dad. TC However, there are alternative versions of the inspiration for the rock-and-roll era’s greatest single. In his autobiography, Many Years from Now, McCartney confirms that he thought of the song on the way to visit Cynthia and Julian, TC but that the song was really about himself. KL Meanwhile, Lennon concluded the song was Paul’s commentary on the strain that John and Yoko’s relationship put on the bond between John and Paul. RS500 Regardless of its origin, “‘Hey Jude’ kicks ass on a par with Van Gogh or Beethoven in their prime.” PW As the first single from the Beatles’ new Apple Records label, it was history’s highest debut (at #10) on the U.S. charts at that time. FB It became the best-selling single of the sixties DJ and the Beatles’ biggest U.S. hit. At over seven minutes, “Hey Jude” was the longest single ever released at the time. SF More than half the song’s length is borne out of the “na na na“ fade-out coda that repeats 19 times. RS500 Those four-plus minutes alone were more than most radio stations allowed for a single, but “there’s such spirit in the tune and the performance that it’s hard to cut.” TC Interestingly, the featured orchestra was paid double their usual fee just to clap and sing along. RS500 Producer George Martin was wary that radio wouldn’t play “Hey Jude,” to which John cheekily retorted, “They will if it’s us.” RS500 When Lennon’s assumption proved correct, the real winners were DJ’s who could take longer bathroom breaks as the listening public absorbed similarly lengthy hits like “American Pie” and “Layla.” Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Beatles FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 247. TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Pages 239-40. DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Pages 74-5. KL Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh (2005). 1000 UK Number One Hits: The Stories Behind Every Number One Single Since 1952. London, Great Britain: Omnibus Press. Page 143. RS500 Rolling Stone (12/2004). The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. SF Songfacts PW Paul Williams (1993). Rock and Roll: The Best 100 Singles. Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc.: New York, NY Page 137. Related Links: Last updated 9/15/2023.