58 Years Ago, This Classic Rock Band Released Their First of Many Hit Singles Before Breaking Up
Creedence Clearwater Revival was a classic rock band formed in 1968. They went on to have nine top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 38 years ago today, the band released their debut album, which contained a cover of "Susie Q."
The song, which was originally performed by Dale Hawkins in 1957, was written about the daughter of Stan Lewis, the owner of Jewel/Paula Records at the time. It has catchy lyrics like, "I like the way you walk, I like the way you talk. I like the way you walk, I like the way you talk, Susie Q."
Creedence Clearwater Revival released their own version of the song in 1968, changing the spelling to "Suzie Q." This was their only Top 40 hit that wasn't written by their lead singer, John Fogerty. It reached No. 11 on the Billboard charts.
Despite the band's massive amount of success and the fact that their music is still popular on the radio to this day, Creedence Clearwater Revival disbanded in 1972. When speaking with Guitar Player in 2024, Fogerty spoke about the troubles he had with the band.
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The singer explained that in 1970, when they were preparing to make their sixth studio album, his bandmates held a meeting. "Everyone was demanding, 'We want to all write songs, and we want to make up our own parts on the records' - that sort of thing. And it was basically an ultimatum," he said.
However, he believed that he was the reason so many songs became hits. "I don't think we would've found any success some other way had I not written any songs or had someone else been the lead singer," he said. "Me and the fellas would've been playing down at a local club somewhere until the moment the wives all started saying, ‘Well, you better get a real job now.'"
He continued, "At some point human beings are the way they are. They get jealous of that guy getting the attention, or they want to try doing what he's doing. But that's why there's just one quarterback on a good team."
Fogerty turns 81 years old today, on May 28.
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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 1:06 PM.