Travelin' Band by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Album: Cosmo's Factory (1970)

Charted: 8 2

License This Song

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

Written by lead singer John Fogerty, this song is all about the hectic lifestyle of Creedence Clearwater Revival and their road warrior ways. In 1969, the band toured constantly and played many of the major festivals, including Woodstock. There was a rush of excitement in going from place to place, but as their drummer Doug Clifford explained, their baggage was constantly getting lost ("baggage gone, oh well") and they spent a lot of time waiting around in the heat during those famous festivals. The traveling got easier for the band when they got their own private plane.
"Travelin' Band" is very similar in style to the music of Little Richard, which Fogerty saw as a heartfelt tribute to the singer. Specialty Records, which owned Richard's catalog, saw things differently and sued the band, reaching a settlement to earn some royalties from the song.

The lawsuit claimed the Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly" was being copied, but Creedence bass player Stu Cook said he thought it sounded more like "Long Tall Sally." Cook described the song as a combination of '50s Rock classics, but not a ripoff of any one song.
After the basic track was cut, John Fogerty went back to the studio and added many of the instrumental parts, including horns and piano, which he played himself.

Comments: 5

Jennifur SunCharlie wondered the same thing but this song just ROCKS love it
Charlie Lammers from San Antonio, Tx What does the line "get me to the rhyme mean?
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn March 1st 1970, "Travelin' Band" b/w "Who'll Stop The Rain" it peaked at #2 (for 2 weeks) on Billboard's Hot Top chart...
It was the quartet's fifth in a string of nine straight records to make the Top 10; started with "Proud Mary" (#2 for 3 weeks), "Bad Moon Rising (#2 for 1 week), "Green River" (#2 for 1 week), "Down On The Corner" (#3), then this one, "Up Round The Bend" (#4), "Lookin' Out My Back Door" (#2 for 1 week), "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" (#8), and finally "Sweet Hitch Hiker" (#6)...
R.I.P. Tom Fogerty (1941 - 1990)...
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 25th 1970, "Travelin' Band" by CCR entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; and on March 1st it peaked at #2 (for 2 weeks) and spent 10 weeks on the Top 100 (and 5 of those 10 weeks were on the Top 10)...
The two weeks it was at #2, the #1 record for both those weeks was "Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel...
It was the quartets' 4th of five records to reached #2, and they never had a #1 hit...
Was track 3 of side 1 on the group's 4th studio album, "Cosmo's Factory", and on August 16th, 1970 the album peaked at #1 (for 9 weeks) on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart...
Three other tracks from the album made the Top 100; "Up Around The Bend" (#4), "Lookin' Out My Back Door" (#2), and "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" (#43).
Camille from Toronto, OhThis is just a rockin' song. Love it.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Killing An ArabThe Cure

"Killing An Arab" by The Cure was inspired by Albert Camus' book The Stranger.

Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" includes both gibberish ("Roma Roma-ma") and French ("Je veux ton amour et je veux ta revanche") in the lyrics. The French part translates to: "I want your love and I want your revenge."

Rocket QueenGuns N' Roses

The moans of pleasure in the Guns N' Roses song "Rocket Queen" are authentic.

Pork and BeansWeezer

The video for Weezer's "Pork and Beans" features YouTube stars Chris Crocker, The Chocolate Rain Guy, The "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" Banana, and the Star Wars kid.