On This Day 57 Years Ago, Creedence Clearwater Revival Released This Apocalyptic Hit Inspired by John Fogerty’s Favorite Black and White Film

April 16, 2026, 4:51pm

Although Creedence Clearwater Revival broke the record for most No. 2 singles on the Hot 100, you could hardly dismiss the California-based rockers as also-rans. Their 1976 compilation Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits, still holds a spot on the Billboard 200 half a century later. It notched 750 weeks in June 2025. However, they only managed to land one No. 1 hit in the United Kingdom with “Bad Moon Rising”, released on this day (April 16) in 1969.

“Bad Moon Rising is the lead single from Creedence Clearwater Revival’s third studio album Green River. It is a deceptively upbeat tune that employs weather imagery to imply that there is “trouble on the way.”

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Frontman John Fogerty drew inspiration from the 1941 film The Devil and Daniel Webster, which he had watched on television as a child. The film’s protagonist strikes a deal with Satan in exchange for wealth, then cowers in his barn as a terrible hurricane destroys his neighbors’ crops.

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On this day in 1969, John’s song “Bad Moon Rising” was released. It was the lead single on his album Green River. Here’s the story of how the song came to be. Watch the full video on John’s official YouTube channel: #badmoonrising #anniversary #johnfogerty #legacy #ccr
♬ Bad Moon Rising (John’s Version) – John Fogerty

“Bad Moon Rising” came at a critical juncture for the band, which had recently shed its one-hit wonder status (from 1968’s “Suzie Q”) thanks to the success of their single “Proud Mary”.

“I was desperately worried we were about to fall flat on our faces,” Fogerty said. “In those days, you put out singles every few weeks, so when ‘Proud Mary’ was on the radio I knew we had to write the next one.”

This Creedence Clearwater Revival Hit Was Almost a Disaster

Notably, “Bad Moon Rising” very nearly lived up to its doomsday lyrics. Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Fogerty recalled the disaster he experienced just days before Creedence Clearwater Revival was set to record the song.

The “Fortunate Son” singer, now 80, drove to Oakland for a meeting with executives at Fantasy Records, the band’s label. After the meeting ended, he walked outside to see that someone had shattered his car’s rear window with a brick.

“When I looked inside, my new 175 and my old Tremolux Fender amp were gone,” he said. “Now, we were about to record ‘Bad Moon Rising’ in just a few days. This was an emergency. I needed a guitar to play on Bad Moon Rising.’”

A panicked Fogerty then drove to a newly opened music store in nearby Albany. “I said to the man, ‘Do you have any Les Paul guitars?’” he recounted.

The man had just one. With the store owner’s permission, Fogerty carefully tuned the guitar and gave it a strum.

“Well, it was magical—epical, really,” he said. “Made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. My eyes got real big. I looked at the man and I said, ‘I’ll take it’… So anyway, that little event in a music store in Albany set me off on a lifelong love of Les Paul guitars.”

Featured image by Tucker Ranson/Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images