I don’t think that it’s controversial to say that Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of the greatest American rock bands of all time. Their swampy, rootsy, blues-infused, country-rock sound helped to codify Southern rock. At the same time, tracks like “Born on the Bayou,” “Fortunate Son,” “Run Through the Jungle,” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” defined the music of the early seventies. However, without the songwriting prowess of John Fogerty, I don’t think we’d be talking about CCR today.
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So, it’s not surprising to learn that CCR is one of the most-streamed bands on Spotify. According to The Music Universe, the only groups that get more streams than CCR are The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac. The California-based Southern rock legends regularly get more listens than even The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. Not bad for a band that dissolved less than five years after they released their debut album.
Recently, the John Fogerty-penned “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” reached a major milestone that puts into perspective just how popular the band is today. The song put Fogerty into Spotify’s Billions Club. This means that the song has pulled in over one billion streams.
This exclusive club consists of 372 tracks. Those other songs include classics like AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell,” The Eagles’ “Hotel California,” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”
John Fogerty on Entering the Billions Club
“I am honored and humbled that my song has been loved by so many for all these years. I am just so grateful,” John Fogerty said after hearing the news. “Ironically, I wrote this song about my band breaking up,” he mused. “Today, the song has found a new meaning for me. I love to dedicate it to my family because they are the rainbow that comes from the rain falling on a sunny day.”
John Fogerty will be celebrating more entries into the Billions Club in the not-so-distant future. The CCR classic “Fortunate Son” is currently sitting at 926,550,016 streams. “Bad Moon Rising” has racked up over half a billion streams.
This news comes just a couple of months after John Fogerty regained the rights to his Creedence Clearwater Rival songs. In January, Fogerty was able to purchase the rights to the songs he wrote for CCR. It didn’t give him back the years of missed royalties, nor did it immediately get him the master recordings of the songs. However, he still counted it as a major win.
“The happiest way to look at it is, yeah, it isn’t everything. It’s not a 100% win for me, but it’s sure better than it was,” he said at the time.
“Have You Ever Seen the Rain”
This John Fogerty-penned classic came out at just the right time. The band was at the peak of its fame. They had an iconic performance at Woodstock and a European tour in their back pockets. At the same time, as Fogerty noted above, the band was starting to fall apart.
“Have You Ever Seen the Rain” was a top 10 hit in the US, Australia, Singapore, and several other countries. It also topped the charts in Canada, South Africa, and Malaysia. Today, it is certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA.
The fact that it continues to hook listeners decades after its release is a testament to the strength of John Fogerty’s songwriting and the staying power of CCR.