Willy and the Poor Boys

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Willy and the Poor Boys
Willy and the poor boys.jpg
Studio album by
Creedence Clearwater Revival
ReleasedNovember 2, 1969 (1969-11-02)[1]
Recorded1969
StudioWally Heider (San Francisco)[2]
GenreRock and roll[3]
Length34:31
LabelFantasy
ProducerJohn Fogerty
Creedence Clearwater Revival chronology
Green River
(1969) 		Willy and the Poor Boys
(1969) 		Cosmo's Factory
(1970)
Singles from Willy and the Poor Boys
  1. "Down on the Corner" b/w "Fortunate Son"
    Released: October 1969[1]

Willy and the Poor Boys is the fourth studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records in November 1969. It was the last of three studio albums the band released that year, arriving just three months after Green River.[1]

Overview[edit]

The album features the songs "Down on the Corner", from which the album got its name, and "Fortunate Son", which is a well-known protest song.[4] Creedence also released its own version of "Cotton Fields" on this album, which reached the #1 position in Mexico.[5]

The album was planned to be formed around a concept introduced in "Down on the Corner", with Creedence taking on the identity of an old-time jug band called "Willy and The Poor Boys". However, this was dropped rather quickly, except for the cover, where the band remains in character.

Background[edit]

By the fall of 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival was one of the hottest rock bands in the world, having scored three consecutive #2 singles and the #1 album Green River. In addition, the group had performed at the landmark Woodstock Festival in August and made several high-profile television appearances, including The Ed Sullivan Show. Bandleader and songwriter John Fogerty had assumed control of the band after several years of futility, but, despite their growing success, the other members – bassist Stu Cook, drummer Doug Clifford and guitarist Tom Fogerty, John's older brother – began to chafe under Fogerty's demanding, autocratic leadership. The band's output in 1969 alone – three full-length albums – was staggering considering that they were touring nonstop throughout. "That was a bit of overkill and I never did understand that," Clifford stated to Jeb Wright of Goldmine in 2013, "Fogerty told us that if we were ever off the charts, then we would be forgotten... To make it worse, it might sound funny, but we had double-sided hits, and that was kind of a curse, as we were burning through material twice as fast. If we'd spread it out, we would not have had to put out three albums in one year." The fiercely competitive Fogerty remained unapologetic, insisting to Guitar World's Harold Steinblatt in 1998, "Everyone advised me against putting out great B-sides. They'd tell me I was wasting potential hits. And I looked at them and said, 'Baloney. Look at the Beatles. Look at Elvis. It's the quickest way to show them all that good music."

Songs[edit]

In August, CCR released its third LP, Green River. Shortly after, it began recording songs for its next LP, Willy and the Poor Boys. Two months later the band released its eighth single, "Down on the Corner" b/w "Fortunate Son".[1] The single's A-side reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and its B-side made it to #14.[6] "Down on the Corner" chronicles the tale of the fictional band Willy and the Poor Boys, and how they play on street corners to cheer people up and ask for nickels. The song makes reference to a washboard, a kazoo, a Kalamazoo Guitar, and a gut bass.[7] In a 1969 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show[citation needed], the boys performed the song as Willy and the Poor Boys. Stu Cook played a gut bass, Doug Clifford the washboard, and Tom Fogerty the Kalamazoo, which mimicked the appearance of the band as they appear on the album cover.

"Down on the Corner" b/w "Fortunate Son" peaked at #3 on December 20, 1969, on the Hot 100. "Fortunate Son" is a counterculture era anti-war anthem, criticizing militant patriotic behavior and those who support the use of military force without having to pay the costs themselves (either financially or by serving in a wartime military).[8] The song, released during the Vietnam War, is not explicit in its criticism of that war in particular, but its attacks on the elite classes (the families that give birth to eponymous "fortunate sons") of the United States and their withdrawal from the costs of nationalistic imperialism are easy to contextualize to that conflict. The song was inspired by the wedding of David Eisenhower, the grandson of United States President Dwight David Eisenhower, to Julie Nixon, the daughter of President Richard Nixon, in 1968.[9] Fogerty told Rolling Stone:

Julie Nixon was hanging around with David Eisenhower, and you just had the feeling that none of these people were going to be involved with the war. In 1968, the majority of the country thought morale was great among the troops, and eighty percent of them were in favor of the war. But to some of us who were watching closely, we just knew we were headed for trouble.[10][11]

In 1993, Fogerty confessed to Rolling Stone's Michael Goldberg, "It was written, of course, during the Nixon era, and well, let's say I was very non-supportive of Mr. Nixon." The song has been widely used to protest military actions and elitism in Western society, particularly in the United States; as an added consequence of its popularity, it has even been used in completely unrelated situations, such as to advertise blue jeans.[citation needed] It attracted criticism when Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, and Zac Brown performed the song together at the November 2014 Concert for Valor in Washington, D.C. Fogerty, a military veteran, defended their song choice.[12]

Fogerty's revulsion with President Nixon can also be found on the album's closing track, "Effigy." In 2013 the singer-songwriter told David Cavanagh of Uncut that the tune was his response to Nixon emerging from the White House one afternoon and sneering at the anti-war demonstrators outside, with Fogerty remembering, "He said, 'Nothing you do here today will have any effect on me. I'm going back inside to watch the football game.'"

"Don't Look Now" displays Fogerty's concern for the working poor ("Who will take the coal from the mine? Who will take the salt from the earth?"). As recounted in the VH1 Legends episode on the band, Fogerty once stated to Time magazine, "I see things through lower class eyes."

The Chuck Berry-guitar romp "It Came Out of the Sky" tells the tale of a farmer who finds a UFO in his field and unwittingly becomes the most famous man in America. The album also includes two instrumental tracks in "Poorboy Shuffle" and "Side o' the Road", the former of which segues directly into the song "Feelin' Blue."

The album contains two songs associated with blues and folk legend Lead Belly: "Cotton Fields" and "The Midnight Special". In 2012, Fogerty explained to Uncut, "Lead Belly was a big influence. I learned about him through Pete Seeger. When you listen to those guys, you're getting down to the root of the tree." In 1982, the band's rendition of "Cotton Fields" made #50 on Billboard magazine's Country Singles chart.[6]

When the band members were finalizing the album, they and photographer Basul Parik went over to the intersection of Peralta St. and Hollis St. in Oakland, California and shot the cover photograph at Duck Kee Market, owned by Ruby Lee.[13]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Blender[14]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[15]
Rolling Stone (original)(favorable)[16]
Rolling Stone (40th Ann.)[17]
The Village VoiceA+[18]

Willy and the Poor Boys was released in November 1969 as Fantasy 8397,[1] and in 1970 made the Top 50 in six countries,[19][20][21][22][23][24] including France, where it reached #1.[20] On December 16, 1970, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the album gold (500,000 units sold). Almost 20 years later, on December 13, 1990, the album was certified platinum (million units sold) and 2× platinum (2 million units sold).[25]

The album was well received, exemplified by the original review in Rolling Stone, which stated it was the band's "best one yet".[26] In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau also believed it was the group's best record and wrote, "Fogerty's subtlety as a political songwriter (have you ever really dug the words of 'Fortunate Son'?) comes as no surprise."[18] He later included it in his "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).[27]

In a retrospective review, AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album "one of the greatest pure rock & roll albums ever cut". He contrasted Willy and the Poor Boys with CCR's previous album, Green River, saying the songs on this album are softer and more upbeat, except for "Effigy". Erlewine went on to state that "Fortunate Son" is not as dated as most of the other protest songs of the era, though he also felt the song was a little out of place on the album, and compared "Poorboy Shuffle" to songs performed by jug bands.[3] In the Blender magazine review of the album, it was called the opposite of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and psychedelic rock, which the reviewer felt was because of the band's performance at the Woodstock Festival.[14][clarification needed] For his Rolling Stone review of the album's 40th anniversary reissue, Barry Walters called it "relaxed" and gave credit to Fogerty for writing a protest song, "Fortunate Son", that has a good beat to it.[17]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 392 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time;[28] the 2012 edition of the list had it ranked number 309,[29] and the 2020 edition of the list included the album at number 193.[30]

The album was remastered and reissued on 180-gram vinyl by Analogue Productions in 2006. On June 10, 2008, it was remastered and released by Concord Music Group as a compact disc, with three bonus tracks.[4]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by John Fogerty, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Down on the Corner" 2:46
2."It Came Out of the Sky" 2:53
3."Cotton Fields"Huddie Ledbetter2:56
4."Poorboy Shuffle" (instrumental) 2:25
5."Feelin' Blue" 5:06
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fortunate Son" 2:19
2."Don't Look Now (It Ain't You or Me)" 2:11
3."The Midnight Special"Traditional, arr. John Fogerty4:13
4."Side o' the Road" (instrumental) 3:24
5."Effigy" 6:26
  • Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–10 on CD reissues.
40th Anniversary Edition CD bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Fortunate Son" (live in Manchester, September 1, 1971)2:13
12."It Came Out of the Sky" (live in Berlin, September 16, 1971, recorded for Live in Europe)3:26
13."Down on the Corner" (Jam with Booker T. & the M.G.'s)2:49

Personnel[edit]

Per liner notes[4][31][32]

Creedence Clearwater Revival
Additional musicians
Production
  • Basul Parik – photography
  • Chris Clough – 2008 compilation producer
  • Ed Ward – 2008 liner notes
  • Joel Selvin – 2008 liner notes
  • Rikka Arnold – project assistance
  • Bill Belmont – project assistance
  • Jennifer Peters – project assistance

Charts[edit]

Chart (1970) Peak
position
Canada RPM 100 Albums[19] 2
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[33] 3
France (InfoDisc)[20] 1
Netherlands (Top 100)[21] 7
Norway (Top 40)[22] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[23] 10
US Billboard 200[34] 3
US Billboard R&B Albums[24] 28

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[35] Gold 10,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[36] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits (CD booklet). Creedence Clearwater Revival. U.S.A.: Fantasy Records. 1991. FCD-CCR2-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ "Classic Tracks: Creedence Clearwater Revival "Fortunate Son"". March 2009. Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Willy and the Poor Boys Review". Retrieved November 1, 2004. It all adds up to one of the greatest pure rock & roll records ever cut.
  4. ^ a b c Ward, Ed; Selvin, Joel (2008). Willy and the Poor Boys [Expanded Reissue] (PDF) (CD booklet). Creedence Clearwater Revival. U.S.A.: Concord Music Group. FAN-30879-02. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2012.
  5. ^ stated in our article "Cotton Fields" without further refs. But does it work there, it should do in this article as well
  6. ^ a b "Music Charts, Top 40 Hits, Top 40 Hits by Year". Top 40 USA. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  7. ^ "Lyrics for 'Down on the Corner'". Metrolyrics. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival Biography". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on May 25, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  9. ^ "The story behind the lyrics and the identity of the "Fortunate Son"". Snopes.com. August 15, 2006. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  10. ^ "Fortunate Son Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  11. ^ "Fortunate Son — Creedence Clearwater Revival". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  12. ^ Lewis, Randy (November 12, 2014). "John Fogerty defends 'Fortunate Son' song choice at Concert for Valor". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 20, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  13. ^ DelVecchio, Rick (September 30, 1998). "Vandals Rip Rock History from Store in Oakland" (.DTL). San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
  14. ^ a b "Review: Creedence Clearwater Revival – Willy and the Poor Boys". Blender.com. Alpha Media Group. Retrieved November 20, 2010.[dead link]
  15. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Creedence Clearwater Revival". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  16. ^ Dubro, Alec (January 21, 1970). "Records". Rolling Stone. No. 50. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. p. 44. Archived from the original on March 24, 2008. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  17. ^ a b Walters, Barry (October 2, 2008). "Creedence: Back to the Bayou". Rolling Stone. No. 1062. p. 74. Archived from the original on March 5, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  18. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (April 23, 1970). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on November 20, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2006.
  19. ^ a b "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  20. ^ a b c "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste". Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  21. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Willy And The Poor Boys". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  22. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Willy And The Poor Boys". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  23. ^ a b "Creedence Clearwater Revival | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  24. ^ a b "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
  25. ^ "American album certifications – Creedence Clearwater Revival – Willy". Recording Industry Association of America.
  26. ^ Dubro, Alec (January 21, 1970). "Creedence Clearwater Revival Willy and the Poor Boys > Album Review". Rolling Stone. No. 50. Archived from the original on March 24, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  27. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0899190251. Archived from the original on March 12, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  28. ^ Levy, Joe; Steven Van Zandt (2006) [2005]. "392 | Willy and the Poor Boys – Creedence Clearwater Revival". Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (3rd ed.). London: Turnaround. ISBN 1-932958-61-4. OCLC 70672814. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2006.
  29. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  30. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. September 22, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  31. ^ Willy and the Poor Boys (Vinyl sleeve). Creedence Clearwater Revival. Fantasy Records. 1969. back cover. 8397.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  32. ^ Everett, W, 2008. The Foundations of Rock: From "Blue Suede Shoes" to "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes". 1st ed. U.K.: Oxford University Press. p. 92.
  33. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Creedence Clearwater Revival". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. pp. 53–54.
  34. ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  35. ^ "Danish album certifications – Creedence Clearwater – Willy and the Poor Boys". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  36. ^ "American album certifications – Creedence Clearwater Revival – Willy". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 23, 2023.

External links[edit]

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