John Fogerty has posted another video clip from Q&A in which he and his upcoming tourmate George Thorogood took part. In the segment, Fogerty revealed the sweet inspiration that led him to write the classic 1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival song “Green River.”
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“Green River” was featured on CCR’s 1969 album of the same name. The swamp-rock tune reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Fogerty shared that the title of the song came from a green soda pop he used to drink as a child.
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“When I was about eight years old, I was sitting at the little soda fountain in the pharmacy that was right up at the end of my street,” he recalled. “One of the … things you could get [there] was a Green River, and, basically, it was this green syrup stuff that tasted vaguely like lime, I remember. And they put fizz water in it, maybe some ice, in a little kind of paper cup in a steel holder.”
Fogerty also remembered that the soda’s label also made an impression on him.
[RELATED: Watch John Fogerty and George Thorogood Recall Being “Gobsmacked” by Jimi Hendrix]
“It said Green River, and then it had kind of a stylized drawing of a creek flowing towards you,” he explained. “[A]nd then, the banks were very high … on both sides of this creek, and I think [there] was some sort of sunset going on. Later, it always reminded me of Sun Records.”
Fogerty Remembered Thinking Green River Might Make a Good Song Topic
Fogerty noted that at the time, he hadn’t even started playing an instrument, but he’d already started “toying around with songwriting,” and he thought “Green River” might be something interesting to write a tune about.
“I looked at that Green River and said, ‘I got to remember that. I’ll save that,’” he told Thorogood. “And then a little later, of course, ended up putting my childhood [memories] together with that title, and wrote a song called ‘Green River.’”
About Green River Soda
Green River is a lime-flavored soda that was first created in 2016, and is still produced today. A little online research shows that the soft drink did have a logo featuring a creek or river and a setting or rising sun.
About Fogerty’s Q&A with Thorogood
The Q&A event Fogerty and Thorogood actually appears to have taken place in 2015, while Fogerty was promoting his autobiography, Fortunate Son. The two veteran rockers have been using video clips from the event to promote their upcoming joint tour.
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A video of Fogerty performing “Green River” with Thorogood at the same event has been posted on YouTube.
Fogerty’s and Thorogood’s 2024 Tour Plans
As previously reported, Fogerty will launch a U.S. tour featuring George Thorogood and the Destroyers as his support act on June 2 in Simpsonville, South Carolina. The trek, which features about 30 dates, is mapped out through a September 1 show in Santa Barbara, California.
The trek kicks off June 2 in Simpsonville, South Carolina, and is mapped out through a September 1 show in Santa Barbara, California.
Fogerty will play a series of European gigs in July, and has a few late-summer U.S. performances lined up without Thorogood and his band.
Meanwhile, Thorogood and the Destroyers also have plenty of headlining concerts lined up in addition to their shows opening for Fogerty. Their next concert is scheduled for this Friday, April 19 in Onamia, Minnesota.
Tickets for Fogerty’s tour dates and Thorogood and the Destroyers’ shows are available now via various outlets, including StubHub.
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