In Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1969 hit “Down on the Corner,” frontman John Fogerty sings jubilantly about a fictional group of young street musicians, Willy and the Poor Boys, who entertain crowds for nickels. In a new video posted on Fogerty’s social media pages, the 80-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer explained that the inspiration for the song, as well as the title of the CCR album on which it appeared, actually came from a famous Disney character.
Videos by American Songwriter
Fogerty recalled that while reading a local newspaper, he came across a full-page ad that caught his eye. It was for a Winnie the Pooh-themed item called a “Super-Pooh Package.” This sparked his imagination while he was trying to come up with an idea for a new song.
“Of course, I knew all the characters,” John noted. “I went, ‘Wow!’ and I thought about that—‘Winnie the Pooh. Winnie and the Pooh Boys. That’s kind of dumb.’ Then [I thought,] ‘Willy and the Pooh Boys … Willy and the Poor Boys! OK!’”
He added that “it was with that energy and that sort of childlike wonder about everything” that he approached writing what became “Down on the Corner.”
“Down on the Corner” was featured on the CCR album Willy and the Poor Boys, which was released in October 1969. The song, which was issued as a two-sided single with “Fortunate Son,” peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album, meanwhile, reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.
“Down on the Corner” was one of 20 classic CCR tunes that Fogerty re-recorded for his latest studio album, Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years.
More About “Down on the Corner”
In Fogerty’s 2015 memoir, Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music, he went into more detail about writing “Down on the Corner.” Like in the recently posted video, John mentioned in his book that he’d come across a newspaper ad for the Winnie the Pooh Super-Pooh Package.
“I just loved how that sounded, and I wanted to create a cartoonish Winnie-the-Pooh story in song, with a mythical group,” he wrote. “I had started writing ‘Down on the Corner’ when [CCR was] scheduled to be on The Andy Williams Show. We were staying in a hotel in Universal City, and I was in my room, duty-bound to come up with the next single, and I looked out my window and saw the fellas hanging out by the swimming pool, waiting to be picked up for the taping. Each character I name in the song is basically one of us.
He continued, “I’m Willy, the guy in the front playing his harmonica and doing a little dance. [Bassist] Stu [Cook] is Blinky, meaning somewhat myopic and somewhat nervous. [Rhythm guitarist] Tom [Fogerty] was Poorboy because he’d frequently sound like ‘Poor me. I shouldn’t be doin’ this, I should be doin’ that. This isn’t good enough.’ Of course [drummer] Doug [Clifford] was a Rooster, a name that he had earned out on the road by looking for whatever female companionship he could find or pay for.”
Fogerty’s Upcoming Touring Plans
Fogerty recently announced dates for a new North American trek dubbed The Legacy Tour, in honor of his new album. The outing includes an 11-show run of performances in the Eastern U.S. in late October and November.
Those concerts are plotted out from an October 31 gig in Atlantic City, New Jersey, through a November 14 show in Boston.
Fogerty also has just announced six new Las Vegas concerts at Planet Hollywood Resort & Caino. Those shows are scheduled for New Year’s Eve, January 2 and 3, and March 18, 20, and 21.
In addition, the CCR legend will be performing at Festival Vive Latino 2026, scheduled for March 14-15 in Mexico City.
You can check out Fogerty’s full list of tour dates at JohnFogerty.com.
(Courtesy of Craft Recordings)
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