When John Fogerty went solo in 1973, he wanted to distance himself from his Creedence Clearwater Revival days. So much so, in fact, that he released his first solo album under the name The Blue Ridge Rangers.
Fogerty’s name didn’t even appear on the cover of the album, and none of his songwriting appeared on it either. The Blue Ridge Rangers was a covers album, and it was truly a solo project–Fogerty played every instrument on the album.
Thirty-five years later, Fogery’s wife Julie suggested he make a sequel. John took his wife’s advice and recorded The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again (the bad grammar an intentional in-joke since The Blue Ridge Rangers was a one-man band). This time, though, John had a backing band in the studio.
Like the original, the sequel was also comprised entirely of covers, the last of which was The Everly Brothers’ “When Will I Be Loved.”
The Everly Brothers took “When Will I Be Loved” to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1960, and Fogerty vividly remembers the first time he heard it.
In 1975, Linda Ronstadt scored even higher chart success with “When Will I Be Loved” when she took it it all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Country & Western charts.
When John decided to include “When Will I Be Loved” on his new Blue Ridge Rangers album, his wife offered him one piece of wise advice:
John and his backing band recorded the basic tracks in October 2008, but John held off on the vocals, hoping he’d be able to secure Bruce’s participation. It was Julie who broached the subject with Bruce, who immediately agreed to do it.
John and Julie flew to New Jersey shortly in the early days of 2009, and somehow during a chain of events that included Bruce accepting a Golden Globe award for “The Wrestler,” performing “The Rising” at the inauguration of President Obama, releasing a new album, and playing the Super Bowl half-time show, Bruce found time to record duet vocals with John for “When Will I Be Loved” at his home in Colts Neck.
Bruce’s vocals are unmistakable on the track. John let him fly solo on a verse, but the high key of the chorus proved a challenge for Bruce’s range. As John remarked in an interview, however, “He got it done. He didn’t complain; he didn’t wimp out. It sounds great. It was remarkable how much of a chance he would take.”
“When Will I Be Loved” ended up as the closing track on The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again, as well as its first single, released in early August of 2009.
When it came time to film an official video for the new single, Bruce was touring the world in support of Working on a Dream. Still, he managed to make a brief cameo appearance in the video–see if you can spot him.
When Will I Be Loved
Recorded: October 2008 – January 2009
Released: The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again
Never performed
Wanted–“The Boss” (at 1:37). Good fun and good video.
I enjoyed Bruce and John singing the song penned by Phil Everly, great fun from everyone. Thanks