Creedence Clearwater Revival’s rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty surely had a big contribution to the band’s origin. The original lead singer had great talent which led to the fame they have now in the world of music. Also, the sudden and late realization that his brother John could help them lead to a big place in the rock nation was his biggest reward.
With the discovery of his brother’s talent, John was attached to rhythm guitar and backing vocal. He also handled the band’s creative side. He was a vital point in the group and became an icon with his signature ‘Chooglin’ style which was defined in many of their songs. ‘Keep On Chooglin’ and ‘Run Through the Jungle’ is two of them.
The influence of CCR is not really mentioned. And many only had speculations about songs. Many of the fans tried to compare ‘Run Through the Jungle’ with the songs of Charley Patton. He said that it was weird as he had never heard of Charley Patton. He revealed, “There were so many more people I’d never heard of – like Charley Patton (an early Delta bluesman). I’m ashamed to admit that, but he wasn’t commercially accessible, I guess.” He added,
“I read about him, and about a month or two later, I realized there were recordings of his music. To me, that was as if Moses had left behind a DAT with the Dead Sea Scrolls or something! ‘You mean you can hear him?! Oh my God!’ And then when I did hear Patton, he sounded like Howlin’ Wolf, who was a big influence on me,” Fogerty said. “When I did ‘Run Through the Jungle,’ I was being Howlin’ Wolf, and Howlin’ Wolf knew Charley Patton!”
While talking about ‘Run Through the Jungle’ he also said, “I think a lot of people thought that because of the times, but I was talking about America and the proliferation of guns, registered and otherwise.” He also later on said,
“I’m a hunter and I’m not anti-gun, but I just thought that people were so gun-happy – and there were so many guns uncontrolled that it really was dangerous, and it’s even worse now. It’s interesting that it has taken 20-odd years to get a movement on that position.”
Tom Fogerty, later on, disclosed that ‘Run Through the Jungle‘ was a high point for him in CCR. He said, “My all-time favorite Creedence tune,” he went on, “It’s like a little movie in itself with all the sound effects. It never changes the key, but it holds your interest the whole time. It’s like a musician’s dream. It never changes key, yet you get the illusion it does.”
Listen to ‘Run Through the Jungle’ on any major music platform.
