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Born on the Bayou

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Wikipedia article




"'Born on the Bayou'" (1969) is the first track on Creedence Clearwater Revival's second album, 'Bayou Country', released in 1969. It was released as the B-side of the single "Proud Mary" that reached No. 2 on the 'Billboard' charts. The song was covered by Little Richard.

Background



Songwriter John Fogerty set the song in the South, despite neither having lived nor widely traveled there. He commented:

"Born on the Bayou" is an example of "swamp rock", a genre associated with Fogerty, Little Feat/Lowell George, the Band, J.J. Cale and Tony Joe White. The guitar setting for the intro is over-driven with amp tremolo on a slow setting; Fogerty uses a Gibson ES-175 (which was stolen from his car soon after recording this track).

Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug Clifford has said of the song in 1998:

According to Clifford, "Born on the Bayou" was originally supposed to be released as the A-side of the single with "Proud Mary." Clifford said of the song "I didnt think 'Proud Mary' was that good, if you want to know the truth about it. I just didnt like it. I liked 'Born on the Bayou' to this day, its still my favorite Creedence song. Its nasty, and I was disappointed when [the single] got flipped." Clifford added that I must say Ive had a change of heart over 40 years, and I love Proud Mary.

Creedence Clearwater Revival performed the song at Woodstock.

Reception



'Ultimate Classic Rock' critic Cliff M. Junior rated "Born on the Bayou" as Creedence Clearwater Revival's 2nd greatest song, saying that "John Fogerty doesnt just sing this ominous ode to the New Orleans area he howls it."

References



Category:Creedence Clearwater Revival songs

Category:1968 songs

Category:Songs written by John Fogerty

Category:Etta James songs

Category:Song recordings produced by John Fogerty

Category:Fantasy Records singles

Category:Southern United States in fiction

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