Biography
Few bands demonstrate a moniker’s power as clearly as the Golliwogs, who remained unknown for three years until the quartet achieved sudden prominence after switching to Creedence Clearwater Revival. John Fogerty first encountered drummer Doug Clifford at El Cerrito High School in California, where the pair bonded over Little Richard and Fats Domino and resolved to launch a combo devoted to New Orleans-style rock & roll. They later added fellow El Cerrito student Stu Cook on piano and bass. When John’s older brother joined on lead vocals and guitar, the group initially billed itself as Tommy Fogerty & the Blue Velvets. In 1961 the outfit issued two singles on Oakland’s Orchestra Records, yet neither made an impression.
Fantasy Records, a San Francisco jazz imprint, scored an unexpected success in 1963 with Vince Guaraldi’s “Cast Your Fate to the Wind.” After a local television documentary chronicled the record’s rise, the Blue Velvets contacted the label seeking a contract. Co-owner Max Weiss signed the musicians but insisted on a name change; after briefly considering the Visions, he and his partners settled on the Golliwogs. The band’s debut Fantasy single, “Don’t Tell Me No Lies” backed with “Little Girl (Does Your Momma Know),” appeared in November 1964 and failed to chart. Over the next several years the Golliwogs recorded six additional sides for Fantasy and its Scorpio subsidiary, among them an early take of what later became Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Walking on the Water.” Their lone regional showing came when the original “Brown Eyed Girl” climbed to number ten on Billboard’s Miami Breakout chart.
Although Tommy Fogerty wrote and sang many of the early releases, John gradually assumed greater creative control and eventually produced the group’s final sessions. The last Golliwogs single, “Porterville” paired with “Call It Pretending,” surfaced in late 1967. Fantasy offered a fresh agreement only if the musicians adopted yet another name; they chose Creedence Clearwater Revival. Their self-titled debut album, containing reworked versions of both “Porterville” and “Walking on the Water,” arrived in July 1968. The tracks “Suzie Q” and “I Put a Spell on You” both became hits, finally bringing the quartet widespread recognition.
Following Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1974 breakup, Fantasy issued the compilation Pre-Creedence. In 1998 the song “Fight Fire” resurfaced on the garage-rock anthology Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968. Additional Golliwogs recordings appeared in the 2001 Creedence Clearwater Revival box set, and Fantasy released the comprehensive collection Fight Fire: The Complete Recordings 1964-1967 in 2017.
Fantasy Records, a San Francisco jazz imprint, scored an unexpected success in 1963 with Vince Guaraldi’s “Cast Your Fate to the Wind.” After a local television documentary chronicled the record’s rise, the Blue Velvets contacted the label seeking a contract. Co-owner Max Weiss signed the musicians but insisted on a name change; after briefly considering the Visions, he and his partners settled on the Golliwogs. The band’s debut Fantasy single, “Don’t Tell Me No Lies” backed with “Little Girl (Does Your Momma Know),” appeared in November 1964 and failed to chart. Over the next several years the Golliwogs recorded six additional sides for Fantasy and its Scorpio subsidiary, among them an early take of what later became Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Walking on the Water.” Their lone regional showing came when the original “Brown Eyed Girl” climbed to number ten on Billboard’s Miami Breakout chart.
Although Tommy Fogerty wrote and sang many of the early releases, John gradually assumed greater creative control and eventually produced the group’s final sessions. The last Golliwogs single, “Porterville” paired with “Call It Pretending,” surfaced in late 1967. Fantasy offered a fresh agreement only if the musicians adopted yet another name; they chose Creedence Clearwater Revival. Their self-titled debut album, containing reworked versions of both “Porterville” and “Walking on the Water,” arrived in July 1968. The tracks “Suzie Q” and “I Put a Spell on You” both became hits, finally bringing the quartet widespread recognition.
Following Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1974 breakup, Fantasy issued the compilation Pre-Creedence. In 1998 the song “Fight Fire” resurfaced on the garage-rock anthology Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968. Additional Golliwogs recordings appeared in the 2001 Creedence Clearwater Revival box set, and Fantasy released the comprehensive collection Fight Fire: The Complete Recordings 1964-1967 in 2017.
Albums
