Up Around the Bend : The Oral History of Creedence Clearwater Revival (For the Record Series Number 7) - Softcover

Werner, Craig; Marsh, Dave

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0380801531 ISBN 13: 9780380801534

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 1999

Synopsis

An intimate oral history of the turbulent career of one of rock music's most celebrated groups documents the story of Creedence Clearwater Revival from their early struggles, to their rise of stardom, to the battles that drove them apart. Original.

About this title

About the Author

GRAIG WERNER teaches in the Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin. His books include A Change Is Gonna Come: Music, Race and the Soul of America and Playing the Changes: From Afro-Modernism to the Jazz Impulse. A native of Colorado, he acquired first-hand knowledge of the CCR repertoire while playing in the garage band Armageddon. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife, Leslee Nelson, and their daughters, Riah and Kaylee Werner.

From Publishers Weekly

"From the beginning," Werner asserts, "there was something deeply mythic about Creedence Clearwater Revival." But the story of the four California suburbanites who transformed the American pop music landscape by tapping into Southern roots rock is a legend that has been hard to pin down, interpreted differently by rock critics, by the music industry and particularly by various members of the band. CCR's acrimonious breakup in 1971, fueled by escalating battles between frontman John Fogerty and his bandmates, revealed that each member of the band had different ideas about everything from musical philosophy to career ambitions to songcraft. Given that the truth about the band's rise and demise has been hotly contested, the kind of oral history that Werner weaves together here is particularly useful: each bandmember gets the opportunity to air his own perspective fully. While the antipathy between Fogerty and his bandmates has not abated over time, all four confront both their collective successes and crises articulately and with unflinching?and sometimes brutal?honesty. They still share a passion for music, focusing on their own songs and on the artists that influenced them. Fogerty in particular waxes lyrical about the profound role music has played in his life. Despite their animosities, the members of CCR celebrate the dynamic spirit of rock and roll: as drummer Doug Clifford puts it: "It was a wonderful thing. It was a dream of schoolboys growing up, the American dream.... It doesn't get any better than that." Photos.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0380801531
• ISBN 13: 9780380801534
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256