In mid-1968 a band of four dedicated musicians from El Cerrito, California
skyrocketed to fame with their debut single “Suzie Q.” It took 10 years of gigging
to get there, but by the time “Suzie Q” peaked at #11 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart
Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) was an unstoppable force in rock’n’roll.
Over the next 2 years, they released 11 million-selling hit singles and 5 studio
albums, they toured the world as headliners, including an appearance at
Woodstock in 1969, and were ultimately inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of
Fame in 1993.
In the decades that followed CCR’s 2 year reign as the #1 band in the world,
Creedence drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford focused his creative energy on
producing album projects. His concept was to assemble a top shelf mix of
players, write an album’s worth of original songs, then record, mix and master
each album. When a project was completed, the masters were archived and
safely stored in Cosmo’s Vault until the time was right to release them. Fast
forward to 2021 and Cosmo has retrieved those masters and will be releasing
them one album at a time on his own label, Cliffsong Records. The first release
will be For All The Money In The World by Clifford / Wright.
Interviewed By: Kevin Rolfe
UCR: I’m sure you’ve told this story a million times ready now. But, you wrote this album, recorded it in the mid-80s. Was it just something like, over the pandemic, everybody is at home, and you kind of went to your archives and found this? Or did you know it was in there and just we’re waiting for the right time to release it? How are we getting this album after all this time?
Doug Clifford: Well, I knew that it was in there, but it wasn’t something that was in the front of my consciousness. It’s not something I really thought about and I was just sort of straightening things up in my studio and I found some two-track master boxes with tape on them and designated what it was on the outside, the order of the tunes, and so on and so forth.
So I knew that I had more and I went downstairs to my garage in a nice locker that’s cool and dark and a good place to store tape. Thank God for that. And I found a bunch of things. At least five albums worth with different artists. I have some more solo stuff. I had a solo album that was in there. I’ve got one with Bobby Whitlock. So I’ve got some real gems and all in due time.
Right now it’s For All the Money in the World, which is the Clifford/Wright record. Clifford of course is me, Wright is Steve Wright from the Greg Kihn Band. And we had a writing thing going on way back when and we decided we’ve got some pretty good tunes here let’s record them and then let’s see if we can get a label to be interested in it. And so we started recording.
I did it probably at least nine recording sessions with the core of that band which would be Steve myself and the singer, Keith England who did a really great job on the vocals. There are also three great guitar players from three different sessions. Joe Satriani is on there. Greg Douglas is in there from Steve Miller and also Greg Kihn Band and, and then Jimmy Lyon is all in there also from Greg Kihn Band and other projects, I think Eddie Money. So anyway, there’s kind of an all-star bunch of musicians, most of which were from the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. That’s where Creedence came from.
El Cerrito to be exact, I’m sure everybody knows where that is (laughing). So we got to a point where we continued to write and add material. And I said that we should go out and play so record company people, and A & R people can come by and meet us, see us play and etc., etc. Well, Steve didn’t want to do that. Didn’t want to go out and play. So that sort of took care of that. It’s great when you’ve got tapes. But a label guy is not going to come to a session. He wants to see a band performing. So guess what? Cosmos’ vault in she goes. Slide it in there with the rest of the stuff.
So when I found those other master reel boxes, some of which had the actual tapes in them, and some that didn’t, I went down and found out what was there. Then I talked to a friend of mine, an engineer. And I said I’m afraid to put this on a reel and start it. Because I could just see it just disintegrating.
UCR: Oh Yeah, yeah.
Doug Clifford: It’s 35 years old. I don’t know. Tape is a pretty delicate thing. And so he says, there’s a process, and we will bake it. I said, you know, I didn’t come here to make brownies. I came here to get my master reels. Ha-ha. A little humor. But there is a process where you heat it. I’m not sure of the temperature. I think it’s like 225 degrees, something like that. And you put it in for a certain period of time. Then you have like, two weeks to find out if it worked or not. And after that, that tape is gone.
So we of course went to digital to be able to preserve it and have it. And every single one of the tapes came out and was playable. And so I said, Well, I’d like to see what I could do with Pro Tools on these things. I have some edits I’d love to do. And some things I like to add on. So I brought in my old friend Russell DaShiell to man the technological end of it. I knew what I wanted, he knew how to get it. And so I said why don’t you just be become a co-producer with me on it? Give him something to do. He was retired.
So on that record, he’s the co-producer because he also played guitar on it. So that was done and I put it out just about the time the pandemic hit. I mean it was just the worst time to do it. That one I’ll go to the end of the line and come out when it when it’s ready. But right now it’s For All the Money in the World. And that’s the name of the first single and the name of the album. And that’s out now and you can get that in any place. Downloads you can get it on my website, dougcosmoclifford.com, and few other places as I’m sure.
Next will be what’s next but we got to take care of business. I want to get this thing some airplay. I think it’s a really cool record for the time. It’s rock and roll. And it’s upbeat. There’s a lot of good things in there a lot of great players in there. Steve of course passed away and 2017 so you’ll hear a great bass player playing on this who’s was no longer around. So there are a lot of good things happening on this record.
UCR: Definitely. I think that’s such a good way to honor him. By allowing people to hear more of his music that’s been unheard. That was in your vault. For his fans who maybe have wondered if there’s anything else we could hear, well here’s some music! What a nice surprise for them. This album feels like a combination of music that I’ve never heard, but at the same time, almost like a throwback. So I think people are gonna really enjoy this when they get to hear it.
So between the time of being in Creedence Clearwater Revival, and then starting up with the Revisited era was this kind of the thing you were doing? Collaborating with other artists, trying to make albums, produce albums, is that kind of what was going on in the middle of those maybe two staple parts of your career?
Doug Clifford: That’s exactly what was happening. I did the same thing with Bobby Whitlock. We were the primary writers, we were co-writers if you will. And that’s what I like to do. If I’m going to co-write, I’m going to co-write with one other person. I don’t want to have more than that, because you start to drift. When people start worrying, we’re not about the number of lines or sentences. Lyrically, and this Well, I had, you know, half a sentence more written in this song. So I should get this much. I mean, wait a minute, we’re not talking money here, we’re talking art.
So when I get somebody that I know who has ideas, and they have something that I don’t have and I have something that they don’t have, and we get together and, put our heads together. Then usually I’ll note take with just a little cassette player of what we’re doing, and then go in and edit the good from the bad, and put that on a four-track machine. And then put the pieces together and have the basic parts for a song. Most of the time well, 95% of the time, I’m the lyricist. But also I come up with grooves and that’s another tool that I have that can start a song from nothing. And Steve would jump in and start playing something that he thought worked with that. It was pretty cool.
A lot of times I would take those sayings home and finish the writing at home and call him on the phone all excited as I finished and listen to this. And so, there’s that joy, you know, and you’re sharing with one other person and you know, nothing really gets in the way that way because, like I say when you start writing by committee, you’re losing the heart and soul of the song.
And the idea is to be pulled in with the other person’s ideas. Then take that and drive that bus down the road to the conclusion. That’s what I did with my solo album. I wrote with four different guys. If I write a song by myself with anybody else, then I use the piano for coming up with melodies and things like that. Now, I use the piano as a tool. I am not a pianist.
UCR: Well, I think the piano is a good tool to write from. If anything, it can give you structure to form the song. Then you can bring in all the other instruments with that framework in place.
Doug Clifford: In my career. I’ve always been fortunate to have good bass players, you know, if you’re going to be a drummer and a rhythm section, the best tool you have from the outside is a really good bass player, and Stu Cook and I have for 50 years, played together as a rhythm section. And we just finished a project called Creedence Clearwater Revisited, playing all Creedence songs all over the world for the last 25 years. We were hoping to get four years out of it. And we had 25. We just retired from that. And now I’m doing this and it’s pretty cool because I’m also starting up my own label.
UCR: Oh, nice.
Doug Clifford: This is one record company, I won’t have to audit. (Laughing)
UCR: Right. Exactly. And if I might ask, is the Creedence Clearwater Revisited thing retired? Has it just kind of run its course? Are you just tired of touring that much? It seems like you guys have had success all the way up until the point of retiring. Is it just kind of, you know, enough is enough and you want to go on to other things?
Doug Clifford: Well, it’s a combination of many things. We were hoping for four years, we got 25. We weren’t gonna record anything, we end up with a platinum album. You know, it’s the fans who wanted that. And so we took that to its great conclusion, and you always want to quit while you’re ahead.
UCR: Sure.
Doug Clifford: That’s the time to leave. I have Parkinson’s. It hasn’t gotten to me as a player yet. Well, it has but it wasn’t at that time, a year or so ago. Enough to say, “Oh, I can’t play drums anymore.” But I saw that coming. I can’t do that. You know, I don’t want to be on stage playing along and then not be able to finish.
UCR: Of course.
Doug Clifford: That’s not fair to the people who came to see ya and that’s not fair to the band. We took it as far as we could and, and we’re very proud of it. And now it’s time to do what I’m doing now. So this is a totally different trip for me. Because I’m not going out and playing. I’ve been going out and playing for 50 years.
UCR: You’ve seen some things I’m sure.
Doug Clifford: I missed the fans. And I missed the guys in the band. Other than that, the other 22 and a half hours during the day you can have it. The travel is tough. It’s worse than ever with everything going on in the world. It was a good time to go out. And the way we went out we planned it gave everybody a year’s warning so they could get things together for their future. We ended it when we said we would and then then the pandemic came and it would have been over anyway. We wouldn’t have been able to go on tour.
UCR: Right. Yeah, seems like he ended it at a perfect time because you would have had to take a year hiatus from touring anyway. Right? So you ended it and there wasn’t any speculation for a year what you’re gonna do you kind of already knew.
Doug Clifford: Yeah, yeah. And now this is fun. I’ve got a distribution deal with Sony. My little label has the giant in my corner. I’ve got a great publicist that gets me to be able to get in contact with people like yourself and go out and spread the word. I’ve got a record out there that that is really good. And it’s got really good people. And if you like, the pedigree guitarists, I’ve got them.
UCR: Oh, yeah, definitely. When I saw the list, it’s impressive. People from The Steve Miller band and Joe Satriani. People who’ve played with Eddie Money, these huge bands, and, and here they are, you know, playing on this album. It’s very obvious that they’re exceptional musicians on this album. So I think people who have followed your career, I don’t know if they’re gonna expect like a CCR kind of sound, but it’s not quite that. It’s its own style. I think if they’re drawn to the album, just because of your name or your history I think that’s okay. Because once they get to it, I think they’ll be very pleased.
Doug Clifford: Yeah. As I say, I’ve been fortunate in my career to be surrounded and associated with good, good people and talented people. And the idea of the record, you know, Steve and I had the songs as far as getting those songs recorded, so they can be presented to anyone on everyone. But when you get guys that are as talented as the group that I had around me, I get excited!
We had fun doing it. I said, Listen, this is rock and roll and here we go. Let’s do it. And it’s quite a bit different than Creedence. And that’s good. Because I’ve already done that. That was the first dream come true. We started that dream when we were 13 years old. Stu, John, and myself started as an instrumental trio. And then Tom came in and took us into the recording studio and backed him up, as he was trying to make deals in LA.
So that’s how that started took us 10 years to have our first hit. So, you know, if you have a dream, it’s not going to just happen. You have to go out and work it, be passionate about it. Stick with it. Put your heart and soul into it. I get a kick out of people that sit sitting on the couch having a dream and I ask, “What’s your dream?”, “I want to be a rock star”, “Well what are you doing? You play an instrument?” “No, but you know, I still want it. That’s my dream.” Well, I hate to tell you but, you’re unqualified.
UCR: It’s going to be a little tough to be a rock star if you don’t know how to rock.
Doug Clifford:(Laughing) That’s right. So anyway, dreams are good, and that’s a good thing to have. It gives you an incentive to do something that is special to you. But you need to be forthcoming. And put everything you have in it.
UCR: Absolutely. I’m glad you brought it up because I actually wanted to ask you about the I don’t think I had realized that it was 10 years before CCR had their first hit. And I know you’re there’s different formations of the band. And I know a little bit of that history. So during that time was it just, “We’re doing this, we love it, it’s fine.” Or was there like a point ever, where you thought, “I don’t know if this is gonna happen, and maybe we should move on with our lives”?
I mean, I know, the Vietnam War was going on. I know, at least a couple of you had to enlist. So maybe that kind of slowed the progress of the band. But other than that, was there a point where you just felt like, I don’t know if this is gonna happen. And then “Suzie Q” came along?
Doug Clifford: Well, there was a point, and Stu and I were going to San Jose State. So we were 50, 60 miles away, going to school. We weren’t there and available every day to practice or to do a gig. That sort of started having things drift if you will. And then there was a time where we were very close to packing it in. And then we saw the Beatles. We’re totally blown away. And we said, “you know, if these Englishman can come in here, and play American rock and roll better than the Americans”, they have the same setup that we have. Drums, bass, rhythm guitar, and lead guitar and vocal, you know, wow, “If they can do we can do it.” We need to take a lesson from our friends across the pond. That was a big one for us. So that totally rejuvenated us.
UCR: The cool part for you guys is, I think the saying goes, the day after The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show 1000s of bands were formed, but for you guys, you had already been around. You were already an established band. So maybe it gave you a leg up to get going there. Coincidentally, I just happen to have heard a podcast recently where John (Fogerty) was the guest. And he talked about how in your school that you guys were the only band. And how that was something that he kind of took pride in that before the Beatles Ed Sullivan appearance you guys were an actual band and then being inspired by that Ed Sullivan Show performance just kind of really was the driving force after that.
Doug Clifford: That’s true. And we were the only band and it was great, Later on, we had to compete when we decided that one of the decisions we made after seeing The Beatles is we’re a part-time band and we had a part-time hit. It was number one in San Jose number one in Sacramento and someplace back east. And it was called “Brown Eyed Girl”. It wasn’t the one by Van Morrison, but it was one that John and Tom had written. But I could hear us on the radio, going to school.
In fact, I was going to a history class and boomboxes were big at San Jose State back then. And this guy had his boombox playing away in between classes. And there’s our song, you know, and I came up to him, I said, “Hey, that’s me playing drums. That’s, that’s my band right there.” And he says, “No, it’s not.” “I’m telling you that’s, that’s me!” and he says, “Fuck you.” Wow, this is really weird. So obviously, I quit talking to that guy.
UCR: Right. I would too!
Doug Clifford: The next move is you know, one on the top of his head. But it was shocking. Here we are, we’re number one and nobody knows us. So it was just a funny thing. But we made enough money to be able to buy new equipment. Nobody bought a new car. Nobody bought fancy clothes. We all reinvested in ourselves, and I got a new drum set. The guy’s got amps and or guitars and that was a help that way. And, and it helped also that, you know, we got very close to having a legitimate hit. And so that was another little tidbit that happened on the journey to “Suzie Q”.
UCR: So how happen for one of your songs to become a local hit? Is it a small local label? Is it a local promoter? Because I’m sure once you had that Bay Area hit, then, nationally, I’m sure somebody noticed you too. Is that how it worked? Then you get signed? And then you’re able to, to make a guess what we might call a proper album that’s got major distribution? How did you first get your song on the radio back then?
Doug Clifford: Well, we tried several different ways over the years. But we were signed to Fantasy Records at that time a jazz label. They were certainly happy to see that because the only reason they signed a rock and roll band was they didn’t like rock and roll. And but they said rock and roll bands make money. And that was there, their sole drive was to have a band have a hit and make money. They kept telling us “You need a gimmick you need a gimmick” And we go “How about a hit record”?
They named us The Golliwogs and put us in these ridiculous uniforms. And that was what they thought would get us on the charts. It was so embarrassing! So that was the Golliwogs. We did a lot of recording as The Golliwogs. There’s a two record set at the time it was because it was vinyl. I think there were like 24 songs on it. It’s a, I think you can get it online, but it’s the pre-Creedence thing. But you could see the progression of the band. And toward the very end, we were very close to where “Suzy Q” fell into the slot.
UCR: So at that moment, like you said, they’re putting you in the uniforms, and the giving you the name, is the thought to just keep the eye on the prize to eventually get to it do how we want to do it. This is kind of what we have to do to appease the label. Was it just that you were young, and you’re just going along with what they’re telling you? How does that happen?
Because it really is fortunate that you got out of that name and, and out of those uniforms to then become the great rock band that you became. But in the moment, are you happy you’re at least making music? Is it kind of a tug of war internally? Like “We got to get out of this name!” I just wonder if you’re like, “I hate that this is how we’re making it, but we’re starting to make it.”
Doug Clifford: Well. All of the above. Atlantic, or Columbia or whoever, none of them came to us and signed this. So we did have a label anyway. The other thing about it is they didn’t tell us what to record because they didn’t know the music.
So we were fortunate enough to be able to do what we wanted to do. Play songs that the way we wanted to play them. So we had that going for us. But we also had this kind of thick thinking from the label that you have to have a gimmick. That’s really how much respect they had for the music. They had none. They were just licking their chops going “I think these boys are gonna have a hit and we’re gonna make some money.” So there were a lot of pros and cons involved that and eventually, the label was bought out.
Then we were recording on a three-track machine. It was a four-track with one track that didn’t work and it was pretty hokey. And so we got some money. I think we recorded four songs that were going to be on the first album and “Suzie Q” was in there.
In those days AM radio had “tip sheets”. The guys who had a good ear for what a hit was at that time. They would so they would put these sheets together, “we think this song would do well in this market” or whatever. The stations would buy these tip sheets and, and to a large extent, use them to put together their playlists. And a fella named Bill Drake, he’s the guy that said, “Suzie Q” is a hit. And without him doing that, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now. He was right. It went to 11 so I still call it a top 10 song.
UCR: Close enough for me.
Doug Clifford: It broke the barrier. It was a legitimate hit, it got airplay, and sold records. Then we had to follow it up. The second album had “Proud Mary” and “Born on the Bayou”. We thought that “Born on the Bayou” would be the one because the groove on “Born on the Bayou” is a quarter note groove. In other words, I’m playing four beats to the bar with my right hand. “Suzie Q” it’s the same thing and I’m playing for beats to the bar with my right hand. But the in between eighth notes I played on my bass drum. It sounded like a freight train. It wasn’t anything like the original “Suzie Q” was, which was a rockabilly song. “Suzie Q” was not one of my favorite songs.
So I changed that beat to a dance beat when we’re in the clubs. It did two things. It got three songs out of one because we could play it long. For 10 minutes people like the dance groups, they don’t want to have to get up and down and get up and down. They wanted to get out there and do whatever it is they’re doing. And the and the barkeeps like it because the economics of bars small-time bars is beer. So they’re dancing, they’re sweating and they’re buying beer so everybody’s happy.
So anyway, back to Bill Drake. We put “Bayou” out thinking that that would be the perfect next thing to follow “Suzie Q”. And it got airplay but it didn’t get sales and the way you charted you have airplay and you have to have sales. Then you get chart numbers and go up from whatever it is to number one hopefully.
UCR: Right.
Doug Clifford: So Bill Drake, the guys are saying is this not working. It’s a “Turntable Hit”. And this is so cool. He says “You’ve got the right record, just turn it over.” And on the other side was “Proud Mary”.
UCR: Incredible. There it is.
Doug Clifford: Boom! So people got the message from Bill Drake. “We better play this other side.” We had five double-sided hits. So yeah, that all came down the road. We didn’t do that intentionally. We didn’t say “Okay, now we’re going to have two hits out of this”. You just don’t do that. You put one on and then you think you have a b-side. Next thing you know the b-side is chasing the a-side you’ve got and you got a double-sided hit. Not too many people have them.
The Beatles, Elvis Presley just a very few people had double-sided hits. It kind of kept us busy because we had half the time in other words as we’re putting singles out because we had two at the same time. It made us have to record more because John’s theory was if we’re ever off the charts will be forgotten. Which it’s not true. All of our peers were off the charts. And after they had a hit single, they went out and toured. And that’s how that happened. Then they went off the charts. Eventually, they put another one out. And that one went up the charts. And they were not forgotten. But anyway, that was John’s theory. So, okay, well, let’s get busy. So that’s one of the reasons we were so prolific and those less than four years.
UCR: It was an amazing run. It’s just incredible. Because normally, that might happen once to a band where the A & B side is a hit. But for you guys, what did you say five times that happen? I mean, incredible.
Doug Clifford: Yeah. Well, what do you do, you know? You just do whatever you do, and we dominated radio. We’re number one in the world and record sales and the number one concert draw as a result of what we’re doing with songs, and our relationship with the radio. Without radio, we never would have happened, we would have been on that label that wouldn’t have kept us in the golliwog suits. And you know, “You need a gimmick” Well, I proved my point. There’s nothing like a hit record.
UCR: Amen to that. As far as like CCR, I mean, we don’t need to go into everything. Obviously, the history of the band has been well documented many times. So I don’t want to turn up any of that. I guess the thing that I’ve always wondered, is, you have this incredible history and have these incredible hits, and you’re arguably the greatest American rock band ever. If somebody doesn’t think that they at least have to have the conversation, because there’s validity to that, in my opinion. Tumultuous times take place. How do you balance everything in your mind? You’re able to continue on, like you said, for 25 years, performing that music. How do you look past anything that’s been difficult in there and just embrace what was so great about you guys?
Doug Clifford: Well, the legacy is the music. Everybody has heard the horrible, nightmarish stories and they’re all true. Most of them anyway. But in the end, what do we have? Look at this great, great legacy of music and, it’s so good. I don’t mean to be, you know braggish or conceited or anything like that. It’s good. I mean, we have three generations of fans. You don’t get that in a pop medium unless you’re above reproach. I mean, we see all of that when we went out as Revisited.
We look out in the audience. We see not only young faces, but they’re singing the songs! They’re invested in this stuff. It’s part of their whole trip. In their life. That kind of effect on people. That’s pretty real and I just hang my hat on that. Under, under the circumstances that we had, we always put the music in front. And, and worked as a unit. And as a result of that, what matters is what is the most successful part of the whole thing. This music is gonna outlive me for darn sure. And then down the road, it’s going to be around for a long, long time. I see a fourth generation coming. What’s important is important, that other stuff is just crap. It’s not worth putting your foot in.
You know, I try to stay away from it. Less and less now, are those questions asked, because they’ve been asked for 50 years or whatever. What mattered, mattered. We worked and we worked straight and sober and stayed focused, and got a lot done in a short period of time. Quality. Hats off to John for his writing and talent. But, you know, it was a team effort. Once he got rid of the guys that were holding him back, we had, I don’t know how many hits? Maybe, I guess, I think it was 10 or more top 10 hits in less than four years. And, and he’s had two in over 40 years.
So in terms of that, that’s how I answer that question. We were a team. We brought a lot to the table. He wrote the songs, and he even said this in a book that Joe Smith wrote, we may not have been the best musicians, but we were the best band in terms of what we were doing. The music we were making. I’m proud of it. And I’m proud of all of us. It is what it is. But all you have to do is look at that, that wall over there that’s full of gold and platinum records. Our dream was to have our songs played on the radio. And they’ve been doing it for 53 years. So…
UCR: If you get in your car and drive for even an hour a CCR song is going to come on. Guaranteed. So that’s something to be said and have all those hits. It’s such an impressive catalog and one that I’ve really enjoyed. Which leads me to this current release that you’re about to have. What is the main thing you hope people pull from this All the Money in the World?
Doug Clifford: Well, it’s a couple of things really. I’m a drummer, and I’m in a big band. And that’s been my career. I know how to produce I know how to write. Also, some of the guys that were are on that record, I would love to see them have a hit record. Keith England, the singer for one. He’s not a guy that was on Eddie Money’s band or in Greg Kihn Band. He was a background singer for Allmans. I would love to have him be able to go “Yeah, you know, I’ve got a platinum record on my wall”.
UCR: Sure!
Doug Clifford: He’s been in there for 30 years with the same dream. He loves his music and he’s got a studio in his house and he can make a living doing music. I would love to see him have that. And I’ve talked to him about it. I said, ‘You know, I really want you to have this success.”
I would love to have some of the songs be favorite songs of people. And to have fans out there go, “I love this song”. I hear the Creedence stuff all the time. “You guys got me through Vietnam.”. I get that one a lot. And I say the same thing, “We didn’t get you through Vietnam. You got you through Vietnam. We might have helped a little bit.” But that’s my answer to those guys.
When you hear the that, you know, the scope man what they went through, and that we were in their hip pocket. I’d like to be on that side of the coin. It’s not money, it’s not about money at all. It’s about being one of the guys that somebody said, “Hey, that’s a good song”. You know, I want to do more than be the drummer in the band. I’m still the drummer in the band.
UCR: You’ve just got a lot more irons in the fire as they say.
Doug Clifford: Speaking of. I don’t know if you knew this or not, but last week, I think it was on Billboard, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” went to number one on the download charts?
UCR: Really?
Doug Clifford: Yeah. Check it out online. And it within the top 10 “Fortunate Son” and “Bad Moon Rising”, “Fortunate Son” was seven, and “Bad Moon Rising” was eight.
UCR: Wow!
Doug Clifford: And the greatest hits album was in the top five on the album charts. But we had a number one, our first number one single. CCR had more number twos than anyone else. We never had a number one single on the Billboard charts. We have it now. And it was like last week. And that’s really remarkable.
UCR: That’s amazing. Is there anything that’s attributed to that? Is it a song on a show?
Doug Clifford: Well, I think that the label might have had a sale. And that helps. But it wasn’t big enough to generate a number one position in a present day chart. The label has been putting out specials, every once in a while. That song has been the one that’s selling the most. It’s not “Proud Mary”. You would think that would be the case. But “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” for over the last several years has been what’s been downloaded of ours the most often?
UCR: Wow.
Doug Clifford: Yeah! And it was in Forbes magazine that said Creedence after 50 years, had their first Billboard number one. And I went what? Just a mind-blower.
You can download or stream, All the Money in the World, on August 27, wherever you purchase music. For more information about Doug Clifford and his future projects, go to dougcosmoclifford.com