165: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy and the Poor Boys (1969)
“I'd been writing all along, but suddenly I wrote ‘Proud Mary.’ That was the first time, I mean, I went, ‘Oh my God, this is good!’”
—John Fogerty
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1969 album Willy and the Poor Boys sounds like something out of 1965, or even 1865 - but definitely not the heavy, psychedelic late 1960s. But even though CCR’s music feels like it's outside of time - or maybe because of it - it became the soundtrack of a generation. Ben, Amanda, and Rich make the case that Willy and the Poor Boys should be pulled down from the cultural wallpaper and appreciated as the fresh, crackling music it still is.
Miscellany
The cover for Willy and the Poor Boys was shot at Duck Kee Market in west Oakland. The market closed in 1981 and became a Walgreen’s, but kept the Duck Kee sign until it was stolen in 1998.
Rich forgot to note that “Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do),” which CCR covered on their debut album, was not officially a Booker T. & the MG’s song, but rather a Wilson Pickett song written by Steve Cropper of the MG’s, and Cropper also plays guitar on the original.
You wouldn’t know this from listening to the final mix, but Ben’s computer literally died in the middle of this recording, in between the history and track-by-track segments, and he deserves major brownie points for setting up a backup computer and maintaining his composure.
Not only is El Cerrito very nearly Producer Mike’s hometown, but his mom actually used to play pinball and Space Invaders with Stu Cook back in the day. Which isn’t as impressive as having “Suzie Q” written about you, but it’s also not made up.
Mike would never try to make the argument that Creedence were prog. However, all their albums were originally released on the independent record label Fantasy Records, which means that at least according to the strictest definition of the term, Creedence were indie rock.
Other links
Booker T & the MG’s perform “Time is Tight” opening for CCR (YouTube)
Steve Knowlton reviews CCR (Steve and Dennis and Abe’s Record Reviews)
Boomhauer with dang ol’ drums (YouTube)
“Fortunate Son” in Forrest Gump (YouTube)
Discord & Rhyme’s Willy and the Poor Boys playlist (Spotify)
Discord & Rhyme’s merch store (TeePublic)
Discord & Rhyme Roll Call
Ben Marlin (host)
Rich Bunnell (moderator)
Amanda Rodgers
Willy and the Poor Boys tracklist
Down on the Corner
It Came out of the Sky
Cotton Fields
Poorboy Shuffle
Feelin’ Blue
Fortunate Son
Don’t Look Now (It Ain’t You or Me)
The Midnight Special
Side o’ the Road
Effigy
Other clips used
Creedence Clearwater Revival:
Lodi
Born on the Bayou
I Put a Spell on You
Suzie Q
Proud Mary
Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won’t Do)
Jam Warm Up (with Booker T. Jones)
Bad Moon Rising
Have You Ever Seen the Rain
Ramble Tamble
Keep On Chooglin’
Who’ll Stop the Rain
Others:
The Hollies - Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)
Beastie Boys - Time to Get Ill
S.F.C. - Can’t Wait
MC Paul Barman ft. MF DOOM - Holy Guacamole
2 Young Brothers - Check Out the Hook
Backstreet Boys - Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) (Ultimix)
Adam Driver, Justin Timberlake, and Oscar Isaac - Please Mr. Kennedy
Lead Belly - Cotton Fields
Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys - Blue Moon of Kentucky
Oingo Boingo - Capitalism
Johnny Cash - Man in Black
Lead Belly - Midnight Special
Little Richard - Midnight Special
ABBA - Pick a Bale of Cotton/On Top of Old Smokey/Midnight Special
Booker T. & the M.G.’s - Green Onions
Booker T. & the M.G.’s - Jelly Bread
Booker T. & the M.G.’s - Home Grown
Booker T. & the M.G.’s - Tic-Tac-Toe
Booker T. & the M.G.’s - Chinese Checkers
Booker T. & the M.G.’s - Boot-Leg
Booker T. & the M.G.’s - Can't Be Still
Booker T. & the M.G.’s - Hip Hug-Her
Booker T. & the M.G.’s - Jingle Bells
Paul McCartney - Momma Miss America
Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Down by the River
The Beatles - Helter Skelter
Terry Cashman - Talkin’ Softball
John Fogerty - Rock and Roll Girls
The Golliwogs - Fight Fire
Band/album personnel
John Fogerty – lead vocals, lead guitar, piano, maracas, cowbell, harmonica, producer, arranger
Tom Fogerty – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Stu Cook – bass, washtub bass, backing vocals
Doug Clifford – drums, washboard
Credits
“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of:
Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf
Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste
The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...
Faith No More - Midlife Crisis
Herbie Hancock - Hornets
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Down on the Corner (this episode only)
You can buy or stream Willy and the Poor Boys and other albums by Creedence Clearwater Revival at your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich Bunnell, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, keep as cool as you can, and keep on chooglin’.