Proud Mary

"Proud Mary"
Single by Creedence Clearwater Revival
from the album Bayou Country
B-side	"Born on the Bayou"
Released	January 1969 (1969-01)[1][2]
Format	7" 45 RPM
Recorded	1968
Studio	RCA Studios in Hollywood, California[3]
Genre	Roots rock swamp rock[4]
Length	3:07
Label	Fantasy
Songwriter(s)	John Fogerty
Producer(s)	John Fogerty[1]
Creedence Clearwater Revival singles chronology
"I Put a Spell on You" (1968) "Proud Mary" (1969) "Bad Moon Rising" (1969)
Music video
"Proud Mary" (lyric video) on YouTube

"Proud Mary" is a rock n' roll song written by John Fogerty and first recorded by his band Creedence Clearwater Revival. The song was released by Fantasy Records as a single from the band's second studio album, Bayou Country, which was released by the same record company in January 1969. The single is generally considered to have been released in early January 1969,^[1][2] although at least one source^[3] states that it came out just before Christmas 1968. The song became a major hit in the United States, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1969, the first of five non-consecutive singles to peak at #2 for the group.^[5]

Background and recording

In a 1969 interview, Fogerty said that he wrote it in the two days after he was discharged from the National Guard.^[6] In the liner notes for the 2008 expanded reissue of Bayou Country, Joel Selvin explained that the songs for the album started when John Fogerty was in the National Guard, that the riffs for "Proud Mary", "Born on the Bayou", and "Keep on Chooglin'" were conceived by Fogerty at a concert in the Avalon Ballroom, and "Proud Mary" was arranged from parts of different songs, one of which was about a washerwoman named Mary.^[3] The line "Left a good job in the city" was written following Fogerty's discharge from the National Guard, and the line "rollin' on the river" was from a movie by Will Rogers.^[7]

"Proud Mary's" singer, a low-wage earner, leaves what he considers a "good job," which he might define as steady work, even though for long hours under a dictatorial boss. He decides to follow his impulse and imagination and hitches a ride on a riverboat queen, bidding farewell to the city. Only when the boat pulls out does he see the "good side of the city"—which, for him, is one in the distance, far removed from his life. Down by the river and on the boat, the singer finds protection from "the man" and salvation from his working-class pains in the nurturing spirit and generosity of simple people who "are happy to give" even "if you have no money." The river in Fogerty and traditionally in literature and song is a place holding biblical and epical implications. ...Indeed, the river in "Proud Mary" offers not only escape but also rebirth to the singer.^[8]

The song is a seamless mix of black and white roots music..."Proud Mary" is, of course, a steamboat traveling up and down the river. Fogerty's lyric sketches out a vivid picture of the protagonist finding a comfortable niche in a community of outsiders...The story connects back to Mark Twain; it brings the myth [of "the rambling man and life along the Mississippi"] into the sixties.^[9]

In the Macintosh program "Garage Band", Fogerty explained that he liked Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and wanted to open a song with a similar intro (descending by a third), implying the way "Proud Mary" opens with the repeated C chord to A chord. Fogerty wanted to evoke male gospel harmonies, as exemplified by groups he was familiar with such as the Swan Silvertones, the Sensational Nightingales, and the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi; especially on the line, "Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river"; and in the guitar solo he did his, "best [imitation of] Steve Cropper."^[10] The basic track for "Proud Mary", as with the other songs on the album, was recorded by John Fogerty (lead guitar), Tom Fogerty (rhythm guitar), Stu Cook (bass), and Doug Clifford (drums) at RCA Studios in Hollywood, California, with John overdubbing instruments and all the vocals later.^[3]

Chart performance

Solomon Burke version

I know a lot of you folks would like to know what the old Proud Mary is all about. Well, I'd like to tell you about her. She's nothing but a big old boat. You see, my forefathers used to ride the bottoms of her as stokers, cooks, and waiters, and I made a vow that when I grew up I'd take a ride on the old Proud Mary...

— intro

In 1969 Solomon Burke had a small hit with his cover of the song, which was his second release for Bell and was co-produced by singer Tamiko Jones,^[22] who was being rehabilitated after a bout of polio,^[23] and was at the time Burke's fiancé and manager. Burke recalls: "We went to Muscle Shoals and recorded Proud Mary, which they didn't like at all. They thought it was stupid to record a song Proud Mary, which was already on the charts. I was explaining to them that it was a very big record, but it's a very white record, a pop record. We will redo the record, open up the doors for it to get on the r&b charts and make the black stations to play the record... It was a Solomon Burke record made in Muscle Shoals. We proved that we can make a hit record without Jerry Wexler eating sandwiches with us. This record was a hit without anybody's help. Proud Mary was only promoted by Tamiko Jones and myself." According to Mark Denning, "While that may have seemed like a bald-faced bid for pop radio play, in Burke's hands the song became a bracing tale of life in the Deep South as African-Americans searched for liberation aboard the ship that carried them as slaves and put them to undignified labor serving wealthy whites."^[24]

John Fogerty, the song's composer, was impressed by Burke's version of his song: "Two thousand miles away this man had crawled right up inside my head to learn what Proud Mary was all about. Sure, it's great when someone sings your song, but when he understands it, you listen like it was the first time." "Reworked as a celebration of black consciousness, his potent mix of gospel and country – the kind that defined his earlier sides for Atlantic – and driven by a Southern funk-like strut, .... it returned Burke to the US R&B Top 20",^[25] with the single reaching #15 on the R&B charts and #45 on the pop charts. According to Burke in a 2002 interview: "I was in Vegas for sixteen weeks at the Sands Hotel. I missed this record being a hit, because we weren't there to promote the record, we had no backing. The greatest thing I ever did was tell Ike Turner, "Hey man, you should get on this record… I think you and Tina could tear this thing up."^[26] On 24 May 1969 Burke sang his version of "Proud Mary" on American Bandstand.^[27][28][29]

Tina Turner versions

"Proud Mary"
Single by Ike & Tina Turner
from the album Workin' Together
B-side	"Funkier Than a Mosquita's Tweeter" (U.S.) "Honky Tonk Women" (Intl.)
Released	January 30, 1971
Format	45 single
Recorded	1970, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Funk rock soul roots rock progressive rock
Length	5:00 3:15 (7" version)
Label	Liberty Records
Songwriter(s)	John Fogerty
Producer(s)	Ike Turner
Ike & Tina Turner singles chronology
"Workin' Together" (1970) "Proud Mary" (1971) "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" (1971)

"Proud Mary"
Single by Tina Turner
from the album What's Love Got to Do with It
B-side	"Disco Inferno"
Released	November 19, 1993
Format	Promotional recording
Recorded	1993
Genre	Rock soul
Length	5:27
Label	Parlophone
Songwriter(s)	John Fogerty
Producer(s)	Chris Lord-Alge Tina Turner Roger Davies
Tina Turner singles chronology
"Why Must We Wait Until Tonight" (1993) "Proud Mary" (1993) "GoldenEye" (1995)

Ike & Tina Turner first covered "Proud Mary" in 1970. This version was released as a single from their Workin' Together album and the song differed greatly from the structure of the original, but is also well known and has become one of Tina Turner's most recognizable signature songs. The Turners' version was substantially rearranged by Soko Richardson^[30][31] and Ike Turner. The song started off with a slow, sultry soulful tone in which Tina introduced the song and warned the audience that she and the band were gonna start it off "nice and easy" as "we never do nothing nice and easy" but said they would finish it "nice and rough". After the lyrics are first sung softly by the Turners, the song is then turned into a funk rock vamp with Tina and the Ikettes delivering gospel-influenced vocals. It reached #4 on the pop charts on March 27, 1971, two years to the week after Creedence Clearwater Revival's version was at its peak, and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group in 1972.

In the Tina Turner biopic, What's Love Got to Do with It, the song is performed in a timeline of events in Ike and Tina's career in which the couple are transformed from an opening act to The Rolling Stones to a major headlining act by the mid-1970s. However, the film took significant liberties with that timeline; for instance, the film has the group performing the song in 1968 when they reportedly opened for The Stones in the UK, the Turners first opened for them in the UK in 1966. When they opened for the Stones in 1969 the song was in their set list. Following the original version's release and its success, Ike and Tina included the song in their live act and first performed a version of the song on The Ed Sullivan Show. It was also performed in 1971 (the year of the Turners' version's release) and 1974. The Turners performed the song on Soul Train on April 22, 1972.^[32]

In 1988, a live solo version was included on the album Tina Live in Europe. Tina Turner later re-recorded the song in the studio for the biopic's 1993 soundtrack album of the same name. This version was released as a promotional single issued to radio stations and DJs. Tina's solo version was later included on her 2004 greatest hits album All the Best. After a contestant's performance of the song on The X Factor in 2010, this version entered the UK Singles Chart at #62 and fell to #121 the next week, it also entered the Scottish Singles Chart at #40.

Another live version was released in 2009 on the Tina Live album. It was recorded on March 21, 2009 in Arnhem, Netherlands as part of Turner's 50th Anniversary Tour. The song has now become a staple in all of Tina's live shows, including live duet versions with Beyoncé and Cher.

Certifications and sales

Ike & Tina Turner version

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[44]	Gold	1,000,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[45]	Silver	200,000
^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Accolades

"Proud Mary" placed at #155 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.^[46] Both CCR and Ike & Tina Turner's versions of the song received Grammy Hall of Fame Awards, in 1998 and 2003, respectively.^[47]

Other versions

"Proud Mary" has, over the years, been covered by a number of artists. Anthony Armstrong Jones' 1969 version reached number 22 on the U.S. country charts. Also in 1969, a version recorded by the Checkmates, Ltd. and produced by Phil Spector reached number 30 on the U.K. Singles Chart and number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[48] In 1970, the song was recorded by Leonard Nimoy, in his album The New World of Leonard Nimoy.

Elvis Presley began incorporating "Proud Mary" into his live shows in 1970. Presley's version is a full out rocker and is featured in his 1972 concert film Elvis on Tour and on his albums On Stage (1970) and As Recorded at Madison Square Garden (1972).

References

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics