Creedence Clearwater and the Vietnam War :: Music Musical History Essays

For those of us born at the residual of the Vietnam state of war, much of the euphony from that time period can remain hidden unless we make a point of seeking it out. Radio is replete with virtuous rock format stations, but like all other forms of bargain media, listeners are relegated to a passive role, with little means of changing work out lists that more-often-than-not overstate the effect of the British Invasion to the detriment of American rockers. For each Led Zeppelin garnering large amounts of airplay, there is a Creedence Clearwater Revival that is overlooked. The line of work with British rockers from the era of the Vietnam War is one of credibility each British musician (such as toilet Lennon) who tried to remonstrance the Vietnam War sounded contrived at best. How could a British group object to a war in which they had no direct stake? These attempts at protest by foreign streaks against the Vietnam War have the appearance of an orchestrated lather to get on the bandwagon and sell albums by using the charged feelings of the hoi polloi toward an unpopular military action. While this is a cynical view, it is one that that deserves consideration. To the persistent individual, though, there is a body of music in founding that merits regard. It is powerful music written by the youth of America, youngsters who did have a stake in the Vietnam War. There can be little interrogative mood about the origins of the power which American protest music conveyed those who wrote such music lived each day with the real knowledge that they were losing friends in, and could possibly be oblige themselves to go to, Vietnam. One such group, Creedence Clearwater Revival, made its contribution to this genre set about the end of the Vietnam War. CCR sprang up in the San Francisco Bay area, the product of a music scene that was rife with talent. Creedence, however, never particularly sounded like that scene indeed, the betimes efforts of the band cause d many to question the groups origin, believing that the four-spot was a product of the bayou regions of Louisiana1 The musicians who made up the band - John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford - had been working on their style since the late fifties under several different monikers. Primarily responsible for the Creedence sound was John Fogerty, the major creative force in the band, with vocals that were to Creedence what Jim Morrisons were to the Doors,2 and a musical approach Fogerty himself described as a swamp topic