Creedence Clearwater Revival Acoustic 10-Pack

Lessons

• Lesson 1: The Old Man Down The Road

  When John Fogerty released his comeback album Centerfield in 1985, he included this catchy tune. It has a riff similar to Run Through The Jungle, but different enough for a judge to rule for John in the plagiarism lawsuit brought against him by his old label, Fantasy Records.

• Lesson 2: Bad Moon Rising - Guitar Lesson

  Bad Moon Rising is probably the happiest song about an impending apocalypse ever written, although it was most likely written in response to the election of Richard Nixon in 1968. Like many of John Fogerty’s songs, it seems pretty timeless and still relevant today. John said that the inspiration came from a movie called The Devil and Daniel Webster, where a small town is hit hard by a hurricane.

• Lesson 3: Fortunate Son - Guitar Lesson

  CCR’s 1969 album Willy And The Poor Boys included this anti-war piece by John Fogerty. A great guitar lick, pounding chord changes, and searing vocals combined to make it one of their best.

• Lesson 4: Proud Mary - Guitar Lesson

  When he was a teenager, John Fogerty kept a little notebook with a list of potential song titles; Proud Mary was at the top of the list, although he envisioned it as referring to a housekeeper or domestic worker of some sort. When he came up with the opening chord sequence (C-A), it brought up a picture of a paddle wheel going around, which made him think of the Mississippi River. The signature riff is an unusual combination of chords that are not often played together as they are not in the same key.

• Lesson 5: Suzie Q - Guitar Lesson

  Suzie Q is an example of a blues tune that is not in the 12-bar format. It is an 8-bar progression that features a 2-measure riff based on the E blues scale. This 8-bar phrase is really a mini version of the A-A-B-A form that was common in jazz and standard songwriting starting in the 1920’s and is still popular today.

• Lesson 6: Who'll Stop The Rain - Guitar Lesson

  Most John Fogerty songs can be summed up as very tight arrangements of a common chord progression with some simple licks and fills. The opening to Who’ll Stop The Rain is a little 3-note sequence repeated over 2 chords. The chords progression just uses open chords in the key of G. The leads and fills are simple runs right out of the scale. This song is a great place for beginners to learn to change chords and keep a basic strumming pattern going, as well as explore some easy lead licks.

• Lesson 7: Green River - Guitar Lesson

  John Fogerty wrote Green River and it was the title song of their 3rd album, released in 1969. The real Green River that John spoke of was Putah Creek, near Winters, California, and was a place the Fogerty family would spend time during the summer when the boys were young. Most Creedence songs follow a pretty simple formula as far as instrumentation and arrangement. The three-piece rhythm section keeps a rock-steady beat driving with very regular accents. The lesson also includes tab to a Chord Solo arrangement, similar to the way Neil plays it in the Play Through segment.

• Lesson 8: Born On The Bayou - Guitar Lesson

  John Fogerty's classic tune from Bayou Country, basically a one chord song with an arpeggio picking pattern.

• Lesson 9: Have You Ever Seen The Rain - Guitar Lesson

  Considered by some to be the last classic hit for CCR, this song was on their 1970 album Pendulum and is a pretty straightforward strummer and singer.

• Lesson 10: Up Around The Bend - Guitar Lesson

  John Fogerty is a master of creating simple, memorable riffs and licks. Up Around The Bend is another great example of this with its sliding opening lick just done over 2 chords.