One of America’s most loved bands performed on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ in 1969. Creedence Clearwater Revival, also known as CCR, performed their signature style known as ‘Swamp Rock’ for Sullivan’s TV audience.
John Fogerty handled the rhythm guitar and the soulful lead vocals. He was flanked by a drummer, bassist, and lead guitar player. Each one of the band members is rocking a scruffy, 70s hairstyle.
The band wears flannel shirts and jeans while the Sullivan TV studio lights flash quick colors from red to blue to yellow. There’s some cool 60s psychedelic film stuff going on too, as overlays of the band playing create a double of each band member close-up.
In the middle of the classic tune ‘Good Golly Miss Molly,’ there’s a nice bluesy guitar solo. John Fogerty’s raspy rock voice frames the entire song with soul. At the end of the song, a few band members wave, and some bow and smile.
John Fogerty was one of the founders of ‘Creedence Clearwater Revival,’ which had nine top-10 singles and eight gold albums from 1968 to 1972. ‘CCR’ was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
John continued his career with solo success and landed on ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine’s list of 100 greatest songwriters at number 40. While CCR didn’t last long, their impact on rock music is still being felt.
Their performance on Sullivan proves that they could take any song and make it a CCR song. Their unique sound was all thanks to the tremendous talent of John Fogerty on lead vocals and the other band members playing that classic ‘Swamp Rock.
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