One of the Biggest Bands… in Sweden!
One of the most popular American bands in Sweden—where I’m from—is Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Whenever I played in pubs, the crowd would, by tradition, know almost the band’s entire catalogue, which always fascinated me.
Hits like Have You Ever Seen The Rain?, Bad Moon Rising, Lookin’ Out My Back Door, Up Around The Bend, and Down On The Corner always went down well when I was gigging in the ’90s—and I’ve been assured the same was true for decades before.
I’m not sure how this translates to other countries, but when I first started out, CCR was a safe bet for the set list. So, weirdly enough, I grew up with this band.
Even when I played tourist resorts in Greece and the French Alps, Creedence seemed to work—at least their biggest hits.
I think it comes down to that chirpy, upbeat sound that gets people excited when there’s a party going on. Bad Moon Rising is the perfect example—it sounds so cheerful, yet the lyrics are incredibly dark. That contrast gives their songs a certain charm.
Since moving to England, I’ve stopped playing in pubs (though I still frequent them). Over here, I’ve rarely heard anyone play Creedence tunes—apart from Proud Mary (the Tina Turner version), which is the encore for about 50% of all soul bands!
Speaking of covers, Creedence also did a brilliant version of Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through the Grapevine—well worth checking out.
As for my personal favourite, it has to be Midnight Special, probably because of that fantastic tremolo. If you dig a little deeper than the obvious hits, Green River and Born On The Bayou are also great—though dropping them into a set might be pushing it!
Creedence Clearwater Revival Tunes | Related Pages
Bad Moon Rising | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival using chords, chord analysis, lyrics, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| D A G | D6 riff | D A G | D6 riff |
I see the bad moon a-risin’, I see trouble on the way…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Have You Ever Seen The Rain? | Chords + TAB
Learn how to play Have You Ever Seen The Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| C | C | C | C |
Someone told me long ago, there’s a calm before the storm…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Have You Ever Seen The Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
I Heard It Through The Grapevine | Chords + TAB
Learn how to play I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye using chords, lyrics, a backing track, a chord chart, and video guitar lessons.
| Ebm | Ebm | Bb Ab | Ab6 Ab |
I bet you’re wonderin’ how I knew, ’bout your plans to make me blue…
Start learning with the full lesson series: I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Proud Mary | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Proud Mary by Tina Turner using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| D | D | D | D |
Left a good job (down) in the city, working for my man every night and day…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Proud Mary (Tina Turner) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Rockin’ All Over The World | Chords + TAB
You can learn to play Rockin’ All Over The World by Status Quo using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| C5 (C6) | C5 (C6) |
Oh here we are and here we are and here we go…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Rockin’ All Over The World (Status Quo) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Creedence Clearwater Revival on the web
