The Golliwogs

The Golliwogs were an American rock band that later evolved into Creedence Clearwater Revival.[1] After previously playing as The Blue Velvets (alternatively Tommy Fogerty and The Blue Velvets or The Blue Violets) beginning in 1959, the band changed its name to The Golliwogs in 1964. Over the next three years they released a string of singles written by brothers Tom and John Fogerty. They became Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1967, in an incarnation in which they would enjoy great commercial and critical success.

The Golliwogs
Origin	El Cerrito, California, United States
Genres	Roots rock psychedelic rock
Years active	1964–1967
Labels	Fantasy
Associated acts	The Blue Velvets, Tommy Fogerty and The Blue Velvets, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Creedence Clearwater Revisited
Website	www.creedence-online.net
Past members	John Fogerty Tom Fogerty Stu Cook Doug Clifford

History

The band started out in 1959, as an instrumental trio called The Blue Velvets.[2] The original line-up was John Fogerty (guitar), Stu Cook (piano), and Doug Clifford (drums). In 1960, John's older brother Tom, who had been in local bands since 1958, began singing with the group.

The Blue Velvets released three singles in the San Francisco Bay area, during 1961 and 1962, on Oakland's Orchestra Records. These recordings received only minimal sales although the second Blue Velvets single was added to Oakland's KEWB top 40 playlist by disc jockey Casey Kasem, who was employed at the station.

Following the Orchestra singles, Tom began playing rhythm guitar in addition to remaining the lead vocalist and front man while John continued as the lead guitarist. Meanwhile, Cook switched from piano to bass guitar.

In the middle of 1964, the band recorded two songs for Fantasy Records, a local label based in San Francisco. The band was attracted to Fantasy because, in 1963, it had released a national hit by Vince Guaraldi, "Cast Your Fate to the Wind".[3] Max Weiss, one of Fantasy's co-owners, initially changed the group's name to The Visions, but when their songs were released as a single in November 1964, Weiss renamed them The Golliwogs, an apparent reference to a once-popular minstrel doll called a Golliwog.[1] Seven singles were released in the San Francisco Bay area. For the composing credits on the first six singles, the Fogerty brothers adopted the pseudonyms "Rann Wild" and "Toby Green", and all songs were credited to Wild and Green.[4]

While none of the Golliwogs' singles broke out nationally, one, "Brown-Eyed Girl", was a near break-out in Miami, Florida, for four weeks beginning on February 26, 1966, when it reached No. 10 on Billboard's "Regional Breakout" chart for Miami (a chart one level below their Bubbling Under charts).

Eventually, John Fogerty took control of the group, writing all of their material, singing lead vocals, and blossoming into a multi-instrumentalist who played keyboards, harmonica, and saxophone in addition to lead guitar. By 1967, he was producing the group's recordings.

The group's final single, "Porterville", was issued in late 1967, with John Fogerty writing both sides of the single as "T. Spicebush Swallowtail".

In December 1967, the Golliwogs changed their name to Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR). The "Porterville" single was reissued the following month as the first single by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The band's first album was released in July 1968.

In 1975, Fantasy released Pre-Creedence, a compilation album of recordings by The Golliwogs. Fantasy also included an extensive collection of Blue Velvets and Golliwogs recordings in their 2001 CCR box set. Notably, the Blue Velvet tracks "Yes You Did" and "Now You're Not Mine" are not included, as they are thought to be lost to time.

Recordings

As Tommy Fogerty & the Blue Velvets

Title	Writer(s)	Studio	Recorded	Location	Released	Vocals	Producer
"Come on Baby"	Tom Fogerty	Orchestra 6177	Fall 1961	Orchestra Studios, Oakland, California	October 1961	Tom Fogerty
"Oh My Love"	Tom Fogerty	Orchestra 6177	Fall 1961	Orchestra Studios, Oakland, California	October 1961	Tom Fogerty
"Have You Ever Been Lonely"	John Fogerty	Orchestra 611010	Late 1961	Orchestra Studios, Oakland, California	February 1962	Tom Fogerty
"Bonita"	John and Tom Fogerty	Orchestra 611010	Late 1961	Orchestra Studios, Oakland, California	February 1962	Tom Fogerty

As Tommy Fogerty & the Blue Violets

Title	Writer(s)	Studio	Recorded	Location	Released	Vocals	Producer
"Yes You Did"	Tom Fogerty	Orchestra OA-6252 / 201	1962	Orchestra Studios, Oakland, California	June 1962	Tom Fogerty
"Now You're Not Mine"	Johnny Fogerty	Orchestra OA-6252 / 201	1962	Orchestra Studios, Oakland, California	June 1962	Tom Fogerty

As The Golliwogs

Title	Writer(s)	Studio	Recorded	Location	Released	Vocals	Producer
"Don't Tell Me No Lies"	John and Tom Fogerty	Fantasy 590	Mid 1964	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	November 1964	John and Tom Fogerty
"Little Girl (Does Your Momma Know)"	John and Tom Fogerty	Fantasy 590	Mid 1964	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	November 1964	Tom Fogerty
"Where You Been"	John and Tom Fogerty	Fantasy 597	January 1965	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	April 1965	Tom Fogerty
"You Came Walking"	John and Tom Fogerty	Fantasy 597	January 1965	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	April 1965	Tom Fogerty
"You Can't Be True"	John and Tom Fogerty	Fantasy 599	April 1965	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	July 1965	John Fogerty
"You Got Nothin' on Me"	John and Tom Fogerty	Fantasy 599	April 1965	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	July 1965	John and Tom Fogerty
"I Only Met You Just an Hour Ago"	John and Tom Fogerty		April 1965	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	2001	John Fogerty
"Brown-Eyed Girl"	John and Tom Fogerty	Scorpio 404	August 1965	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	November 1965	John Fogerty
"You Better Be Careful"	John and Tom Fogerty	Scorpio 404	August 1965	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	November 1965	John Fogerty with Tom Fogerty
"Gonna Hang Around"	John and Tom Fogerty		November 1965	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	2001	John Fogerty
"Fight Fire"	John and Tom Fogerty	Scorpio 405	February 1966	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	March 1966	John Fogerty
"Fragile Child"	John and Tom Fogerty	Scorpio 405	February 1966	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	March 1966	John Fogerty
"Try Try Try"	John and Tom Fogerty		February 1966	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	2001	John and Tom Fogerty
"She Was Mine"	John and Tom Fogerty		Early 1966	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	2001	John Fogerty
"Instrumental No. 1"	John and Tom Fogerty		Early 1966	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	2001
"Action USA"		radio promotional spot	June 1966
"Little Tina"	John and Tom Fogerty		Mid 1966	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	2001	John Fogerty
"Walking on the Water"	John and Tom Fogerty	Scorpio 408	August 1966	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	September 1966	John Fogerty
"You Better Get It Before It Gets You"	John and Tom Fogerty	Scorpio 408	August 1966	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	September 1966	John Fogerty
"Tell Me"	John and Tom Fogerty	Scorpio 410, cancelled	May 1967	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	2001	John Fogerty
"You Can't Be True"	John and Tom Fogerty	Scorpio 410, cancelled	May 1967	Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California	2001	John Fogerty
"Porterville"	John Fogerty	Scorpio 412	October 1967	Coast Recorders, San Francisco, California	November 1967^1	John Fogerty	John Fogerty
"Call it Pretending"	John Fogerty	Scorpio 412	October 1967	Coast Recorders, San Francisco, California	November 1967^2	John Fogerty	John Fogerty

1. ^ Following its release as the A-side of the last Golliwogs single, this track was re-released, in January 1968, as the A-side of the first single credited to Creedence Clearwater Revival. In July 1968, it was included on Creedence Clearwater Revival's first album.
2. ^ Following its release as the B-side of the last Golliwogs single, this track was re-released, in January 1968, as the B-side of the first single credited to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Albums

The Golliwogs: Pre-Creedence (1975)
Fight Fire (The Complete Recordings 1964-1967) (2017)

References

1. Cavanagh, David (July 18, 2014). "Creedence Clearwater Revival – the full story, by John Fogerty, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford". Uncut. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
2. Fong-Torres, Ben (April 5, 1969). "Creedence C'water at the Hop". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
3. Moskowitz, David V. (2015). The 100 Greatest Bands of All Time: A Guide to the Legends Who Rocked the World p. 166. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-0340-6.
4. "Craft Recordings To Release Creedence Precursor Band The Golliwogs' Fight Fire: The Complete Records 1964-1967". Broadway World. August 15, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2018.

External links

• Detailed information on CCR: Box Set
• John Fogerty's beginnings with the Golliwogs