Proud Mary

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Proud Mary is the title of a rock song written by John Fogerty . The piece became known in 1969 in the version of the Californian band Creedence Clearwater Revival , of which Fogerty was co-founder. The song covers the Mississippi River and the city of New Orleans ; the Proud Mary is a paddle wheel steamer .

Publication and Success

John Fogerty had written the play in 1968 at the age of 23, shortly after he had been discharged from the National Guard . It was released as a single in January 1969; on the B-side is the song Born on the Bayou . The single stayed in the Billboard charts for over a year and reached number 2. In Germany it was number 4 in the charts, in Great Britain number 8 and in Austria number 1.

The piece was named the best song of the year by Bob Dylan . Almost simultaneously with the single, the song was released on the album Bayou Country ; for the success of this LP, Creedence Clearwater Revival was first awarded platinum. The band also played the piece at the Woodstock Festival . Proud Mary occupied in the list of the 500 best songs of all time the music magazine Rolling Stone Place 155th

Of Proud Mary numerous existing covers . One of the most famous versions comes from Ike & Tina Turner (1970), the arrangement of which differs considerably from the original. This version reached number 4 on the Billboard charts.

Song structure

The song has three stanzas and is set in D major . In the Creedence Clearwater Revival version, a guitar solo is played between the second and third verses. Another characteristic of the piece is the prelude, which is played in the original before the first, instrumental and third stanza.

literature

  • Peter Koers: Creedence-Clearwater-Revival: Rocking All Over The World . Sonnentanz-Verlag, Augsburg 1994, ISBN 3-926794-17-8 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Creedence Clearwater Revival - Proud Mary , allmusic.com
  2. ^ Proud Mary's placement in Germany , chartsurfer.de
  3. ^ Proud Mary placement in Great Britain , officialcharts.com
  4. ^ Proud Mary ranked in Austria , austriancharts.at
  5. ↑ Ike & Tina Turner - Grammy Award for Proud Mary 1971 at Allmusic (English)