#33 - The Old Man Down The Road

Artist: John Fogerty

Album: Centerfield
Video: From YouTube.

John Fogerty was sued for releasing this song, because it sounded a lot like "Run Through The Jungle", a song by Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR).  You know who the lead singer and founder of CCR was?  JOHN FOGERTY.

Ridiculous.  It is an original.  From whom else would you have to hidey-hidey-hide?  The Grim Reaper, of course, cleverly disguised as "The Old Man Down The Road".

Peaking at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, this was the highest charting song from Fogerty's comeback album.  The song "Centerfield" is a timeless classic, but oddly it whiffed on both the MTV countdown and the Billboard top 40.

The video is a long sequence shot, beginning in the swampiest of jungle swamps.  The camera settles on a friendly kemosabe, who lifts a blanket to reveal a speaker with extension cord attached.  As the scene progresses, a variety of colorful characters are found along the path of this unusually lengthy cord.

After passing a couple having a picnic, a cheerleader at a call box, motorcycle riders, a pregnant woman, and a grave digger, the cord finally ends with Fogerty himself in a somewhat residential neighborhood, rocking out on his gee-tar.

#95 - Rock 'n' Roll Girls

Artist: John Fogerty
Album: Centerfield
Video: No commercials!

After a nine year break from his music career, John Fogerty returned in 1985 to release the #1 album "Centerfield". He was the lead singer and guitarist from legendary '60s southern rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. I was not aware of CCR in 1985, I didn't learn about them until the late 80s. Chronicle, Vol. 1 is great road trip music.

"Rock 'n' Roll Girls" was not as big a hit as the title track "Centerfield" and "The Old Man Down The Road", but it did reach #5 in the Billboard Hot 100 and was a very catchy tune. Nothing complex, a classic female appreciation song.

The video is another live performance. Love the auxiliary percussion section. Tamborine, maracas and what have you. Also a very small audience, only about 4 rows that I can see. Where did this take place, in an Elks Club?

Other blog stuff: The link that I provided at the beginning of this blog, with the list of the top 100 video of 1985 according to MTV, appears to be broken. Sorry about that. Here is another list.

Birthdays: Going with a couple of sports birthdays. Willie Mays is 81 years old today. And on this day in 1985, NBA All-Star point guard Chris Paul was born! Go Clips! (by that I mean, go just far enough to lose to the Lakers in the conference finals).