Last summer I saw John Fogerty with his band (including his sons, Shane and Tyler) play a set full of great Creedence oldies. It was a celebratory occasion, seeing as he had just won in a 50-year struggle to regain ownership of his on songs. It was almost 10 years from the last time I saw him play, again at Ansterdam's Ziggo Dome, and I was once again surprised at how young he still sounds - and even looks, considering he's just turned 80. One more pleasant, as well as unexpected, surprise: the retrospective went further back than any other time, even including "Fight Fire", a garage rocker from his pre-Creedence time, when the band was still called The Golliwogs. His son (Tyler I think, the one with the moustache anyway) took center stage on that one, singing lead and playing the maracas. I don't know why John didn't sing it himself. Maybe because it was his brother/bandmate Tom who initially handled the vocals on this one? In those days they still shared group leadership.
I first heard "Fight Fire" in late 80's or early 90's, and that was a cover version by The Chesterfield Kings. It was decades later that I learned of the connection between the original band and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Still later, I learned that The Golliwogs had also recorded early versions of Creedence tracks like "Porterville" and "Walking On The Water", and I decided that I should search for their record. Indeed there was a posthumous LP called Pre-Creedence, which collects all of their 7' singles (recorded between 1964-1967). At some point, I came across a copy at a record fair. When I saw it, my first thought was: why does the cover depict an egg? If this was a compilation of pre-Byrds tracks, that might make sense (p.s. there is such a comp, it's called Preflyte (sic); but that's another story). And then, immediately, I asked myself what is a golliwog anyway? Wikipedia provided, as usual, the answer "The golliwog is a doll-like character, created by cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton, which appeared in children's books in the late 19th century, usually depicted as a type of rag doll. It was reproduced as a very popular soft toy... The golliwog is controversial, being widely considered a racist caricature of black people". Well, now at least I know why this comp doesn't feature actual golliwogs on the cover. A picture of the band would also have been a preferable choice, but by the time of this release (1975) they weren't on speaking terms any more, so maybe that had something to do with it. The roots of the band go back to the late 50's, when three highschool kids from El Cerrito, California (John Fogerty, Doug Clifford, and Stu Cook) bonded over their love for New Orleans-style rock & roll, forming a band called The Blue Velvets. After the addition of John's older brother Tom as lead singer and guitarist, they started an upwards course, leading to a contract with Fantasy Records. The label's co-owner changed their name to The Golliwogs; the first couple of singles were Beatles pastiches, each featuring an upbeat pop side ("Don't Tell Me No Lies", "You Came Walking") and a ballad side ("Little Girl", "Where You Been"). That was nevertheless not the way to go, and soon the band took a more earthy direction: "You Can't Be True" is a tough R&B number with lots of harmonica, and "You Got Nothin' On Me" is Chuck Berry-style rock-'n-roll. "You Better Be Careful" is a moody Zombies-like garage pop, and "Fight Fire" a Yardbirds/Stones-inspired garage dynamite. All the aforementioned tracks feature Tom on lead vocals, but as time went by John's talent as songwriter, singer and guitarist began to eclipse that of his older brother. He's first heard here on the last track of Side One: "Brown-Eyed Girl" is a tough Animals-style blues rocker, and the band's most successful single - if by success one means reaching No.10 at the regional charts in Miami FL. "Fragile Child" is poppier, but still exhibits a band further distancing itself from the British Invasion sound. The next single "Walking On The Water / You Better Get It Before It Gets You" is recognizable as Creedence, and not only because the former was re-recorded (slightly slowed down) for their debut LP with the new name. It just has that swampy blues style and John Fogerty growl that would form the basis of the familiar Creedence Clearwater Revival sound. The last single (swampy soul rockers "Porterville" and "Call It Pretending") is CCR in all by name. It's credited to all four band members, while previous singles were credited to the two brothers only. Having perfected their own unique style, CCR went on to record six albums of new music in the next three years, play Woodstock, and tour Europe. Embittered to be sidelined in his own band, Tom left the band early in 1971. The rest released a seventh LP as a trio (Mardi Gras, 1972) and split acrimoniously soon after. Having been duped into signing a very exploitative contract with Fantasy Records, John Fogerty subsequently lost his publishing rights to label boss Saul Zaentz; it even got to the point that Zaentz took him to court because his new songs sounded too much like his old ones i.e. for plagiarizing himself. For many years, Fogerty refused to play his old songs publicly, because every time he did so it meant that he would have to pay royalties to his old boss, which he couldn't stand. The road back was long and tortuous, but seeing the man play his songs alongside his sons, reveling in the fact that he at last owns his life's work was an uplifting experience.
***** for Fight Fire, Walking On The Water
**** for You Can't Be True, You Got Nothin' On Me, Brown-Eyed Girl, You Better Be Careful,
Fragile Child, Better Get It Before It Gets You, Porterville, Call It Pretending
*** for Don't Tell Me No Lies, Little Girl (Does Your Mama Know?), Where You Been, You Came Walking
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