Willy and the Poor Boys
| Willy and the Poor Boys | ||||
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| Studio album by Creedence Clearwater Revival | ||||
| Released | November 2, 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1969 | |||
| Studio | Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California | |||
| Genre | Southern rock, roots rock, swamp rock, country rock, blues rock | |||
| Length | 34:31 | |||
| Label | Fantasy | |||
| Producer | John Fogerty | |||
| Creedence Clearwater Revival chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Willy and the Poor Boys | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  |
| Blender | |
| Rolling Stone (original) | (favorable) |
| Rolling Stone (40th Ann.) |  |
| The Village Voice | A+ |
Willy and the Poor Boys is the fourth studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records in November 1969, and was the last of three studio albums that the band released in that year (see 1969 in music). The album was remastered and reissued on 180 Gram Vinyl by Analogue Productions in 2006.
The album features the songs "Down on the Corner", from which the album got its name, and "Fortunate Son", which is a well known protest song. Creedence also makes their own version of "Cotton Fields" on this album, which reached #1 position in Mexico.
By the fall of 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival were one of the hottest rock bands in the world, having scored three consecutive #2 singles and the #1 album Green River. In addition, the group had performed at the landmark in August and made several high-profile television appearances, including The Ed Sullivan Show. Bandleader and songwriter John Fogerty had assumed control of the band after several years of futility but, despite their growing success, the other members – bassist Stu Cook, drummer Doug Clifford and guitarist Tom Fogerty, John's older brother – began to chafe under Fogerty's demanding, autocratic leadership. The band's output in 1969 alone – three full-length albums – was staggering considering that they were touring nonstop as well. "That was a bit of overkill and I never did understand that," Clifford stated to Jeb Wright of Goldmine in 2013 "Fogerty told us that if we were ever off the charts, then we would be forgotten...To make it worse, it might sound funny, but we had double sided hits, and that was kind of a curse, as we were burning through material twice as fast. If we'd spread it out, we would not have had to put out three albums in one year." The fiercely competitive Fogerty remained unapologetic, insisting to Guitar World's Harold Steinblatt in 1998, "Everyone advised me against putting out great B-sides. They'd tell me I was wasting potential hits. And I looked at them and said, 'Baloney. Look at the Beatles. Look at Elvis. It's the quickest way to show them all that good music."
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Wikipedia