Green River (song)

"Green River"
Single by Creedence Clearwater Revival
from the album Green River
B-side "Commotion"
Released July 1969[1]
Format 7" 45 RPM
Recorded Sometime from March to June 1969[2] at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, California[3]
Genre Roots rock
Length 2:36
Label Fantasy
Writer(s) John Fogerty
Producer(s) John Fogerty
Certification Gold (RIAA)[4]
Creedence Clearwater Revival singles chronology
"Bad Moon Rising"
(1969)		 "Green River"
(1969)		 "Down on the Corner"
(1969)

"Green River" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. The song was written by John Fogerty and was released as a single in July 1969, one month before the album of the same name was released (see 1969 in music).[1]

Background

The song "Green River" was based on a vacation spot for John Fogerty.[5][6] In an interview Fogerty gave to Rolling Stone in 2012, Fogerty states:

What really happened is that I used a setting like New Orleans, but I would actually be talking about thing from my own life. Certainly a song like "Green River" – which you may think would fit seamlessly into the Bayou vibe, but it's actually about the Green River, as I named it – it was actually called Putah Creek by Winters, California. It wasn't called Green River, but in my mind I always sort of called it Green River. All those little anecdotes are part of my childhood, those are things that happened to me actually, I just wrote about them and the audience shifted at the time and place.[7]

Fogerty adds that the "actual specific reference, 'Green River,' I got from a soda pop-syrup label... My flavor was called Green River."[6]

Sales and airplay

"Green River" was certified gold (500,000 units sold) by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 13, 1990.[4]

Chart (1969) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 5
Canada (RPM)[9] 5
Germany (Media Control Charts)[10] 8
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[11] 19
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 2

Cover versions

Mary Wilson of The Supremes worked with UK record producer Gus Dudgeon on a cover version in the early 1980s. It remains unreleased. Country band Alabama recorded a cover version of the song that appears on their 1982 album Mountain Music. The Minutemen included a live performance cover of the song on their 1984 EP Tour-Spiel. Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings covered it on their first album, Struttin' Our Stuff.

Appearances in other media

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits (CD liner). Creedence Clearwater Revival. United States: Fantasy Records. 1991. FCD-CCR2-2.
  2. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Overview: Green River by Creedence Clearwater Revival". Allmusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  3. ↑ Green River (Expanded Reissue) (PDF) (CD liner). Creedence Clearwater Revival. United States: Concord Music Group. 2008. FAN-30877-02.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 RIAA Certification Search
  5. ↑ Thompson, Art. "John Fogerty Summons His Creedence-Era Spirit on Revival"
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Michael Goldberg (1993). Jann S. Wenner, ed. "Fortunate Son: John Fogerty - The 1993 Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone (United States: Jann S. Wenner). Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  7. ↑ Greene, Andy. Q&A: John Fogerty on All-Star Duets LP, Unlikely Creedence Reunion, Rolling Stone, May 4, 2012
  8. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  9. ↑ "RPM - Item Display: Top Singles - Volume 12, No. 5, September 20, 1969" (PHP). Library and Archives Canada. March 31, 2004.
  10. ↑ "Chartverfulgong > Creedence Clearwater Revival > Green River – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  11. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1969-12-27" UK Singles Chart.
  12. ↑ "Creedence Clearwater Revival - Billboard Singles". Allmusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 29, 2010.

External links