Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCIV--John Fogerty: Rock and Roll Girls

After last week's nice character study, we're going back to fun--lookin' out my back door (so to speak) and just enjoying the view....

I wrote  about John Fogerty and Credence Clearwater Revival a while back so I won't rehash their history, other than to note that only the Beach Boys (and I'm not even sure about them) were their peers in the annals of American rock and roll bands.  After CCR's demise in 1972, Fogerty released solo albums in 1973 and 1975 before taking a hiatus from the music business.  He came back with a vengeance in 1985 with his album Centerfield  which would go on to hit #1 on the Billboard 200 and propelled Fogerty back into the mainstream of rock and roll.  He's released six more albums (for a total of nine solo LPs) since and solidified his stature as one of rock's greats.  Fogerty has won a Grammy, been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, toured the world over, and has often been a benefactor of veterans groups.  Not bad for a kid who grew up, like me, in the San Francisco Bay Area....

"Rock and Roll Girls" was released in 1985 on the aforementioned Centerfield LP and reached #20 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  Surprisingly, the song went to #10 in Austria--who knew there were so many cool kids in Austria?

Fans of CCR may notice the thematic similarity between their 1970 #2 hit "Lookin' Out My Back Door" and "Rock and Roll Girls" (each penned by Fogerty)--both songs are basically paeans to taking a moment to sit back and enjoy watching the world go by.  But while the former is full of dream-like imagery, the latter is based more in the here and now.  The song opens with a signature Fogerty guitar line, quickly introduces a pulsating drum (which more or less carries the song until its end), before Fogerty's vocals send us on our way.  Two facets stick out:  the first is the joyous saxophone (listen to Springsteen much?), and the second, which is one of those special moments that truly make a song great, is the way Fogerty gives the words in the stanza that end in a long "o" a yodelesque (pretty sure there is no such word) quality--it just takes it up a notch and is fun as all hell to sing along (loudly) to as you're flying down the highway...or mowing the lawn...or washing the dishes...you get the picture.  One thing is for sure--there are few songwriters who can pack as much into three minutes of music as John Fogerty can (most of his singles--even the ones with CCR--don't even hit three minutes in length), and "Rock and Roll Girls" is another that can be added to his pantheon of pop songs.

Lyric Sheet:  "If I had my way, I'd shuffle off to Buffalo/Sit by the lake and watch the world go by/Ladies in the sun, listening to the radio..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee