The early days of Creedence Clearwater Revival are steeped in nostalgia and friendship, beginning with a chance encounter in junior high school. Bassist Stu Cook recently opened up about this formative period during an interview with the VRP Rocks YouTube channel.
For decades, John Fogerty has had a strained relationship with his fellow bandmates, Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford, but their journey began as young friends in El Cerrito, California. Cook reminisces, "We met back in eighth grade at junior high. Doug discovered John in the music room, drawn by the sounds of someone playing the piano. Doug said to John, 'I'm looking to form a band.' To which John replied, 'I’m looking to form a band too!' That’s when Doug mentioned that he knew a guy named Stu who played the piano and had a place for rehearsals."
This interaction marked the inception of their musical journey. They initially formed an instrumental group called The Blue Velvets, which quickly gained traction in their local community.
"We played at school dances," Cook recalls. "Eventually, we performed at assemblies where the entire student body gathered in the gym for entertainment, speeches, and award ceremonies. As our reputation grew throughout the East Bay region, we were invited to perform at other high schools' assemblies, which was quite a perk since it meant time off from school!"
In addition to their performances, the trio's collaboration extended to recording sessions with John Fogerty's older brother, Tom. Cook elaborates, "Just two weeks after I joined The Blue Velvets, we found ourselves in a recording studio. Tom, who was a singer in another band seeking to break into the rock scene, needed a backup band, and that’s how we became his support act. Initially, we were known as Tommy Fogerty & The Blue Velvets."
The lineup of Tommy Fogerty & The Blue Velvets mirrored what would later become the iconic formation of Creedence Clearwater Revival. They released a few singles in the early 1960s. By 1964, they signed with Fantasy Records, where co-owner Max Weiss took on the role of their manager and renamed them first Vision, and then The G*lliwogs. However, this last name did not sit well with the band. Cook pointed out, "It wasn't a name we held any pride in, especially considering it had racist connotations from Britain’s colonial history. Nonetheless, we hesitated to change it because he was our only manager."
Under the Glliwogs moniker, they released seven singles from 1964 until late 1967, during which John gradually assumed leadership of the group. Their final single as the Glliwogs was "Porterville." Shortly thereafter, when Fantasy Records changed ownership to Saul Zaentz, the band seized the opportunity to request a new name, which Zaentz readily agreed to.
When it came to choosing their new identity, the band aimed for a name reminiscent of contemporary groups like Jefferson Airplane and Quicksilver Messenger Service. "We wanted something meaningful to us but ambiguous enough that others wouldn’t easily decipher it," Cook stated. "We sought a name with a mysterious quality."
The name "Creedence" was inspired by Credence Newball, a person known to Tom Fogerty, with the band deciding to tweak the spelling slightly. Cook explains, "The word 'credence' signifies belief, and we thought adding an extra 'e' gave it a unique twist. 'Clearwater' was influenced by an environmental ad featuring a Native American man by a creek, shedding a tear over pollution. That imagery resonated with us."
As for "Revival," it represented a personal renaissance for the band members, signifying their renewed dedication after nearly a decade of perseverance. Cook remembers, "John combined the three elements and proposed, 'I think we should be called Creedence Clearwater Revival.' We all chuckled at how lengthy it sounded and joked it might not fit on a marquee. However, we acknowledged its uniqueness, and the fact that no one else had taken that name made it all the more appealing."
After rebranding, "Porterville" was re-released as their inaugural single under the new name, marking the beginning of a remarkable chapter in rock history.
