MatR: John Fogerty and Bruce Springsteen: Born on the Bayou

Now this is a killer single: “Proud Mary” on the A-side, and “Born on the Bayou” on the B-side.

In 1969, that combination gave Creedence Clearwater Revival their first of a long string of Top Ten hits. (Maddeningly, the band had five hits that stopped at #2; they never had a #1 single. That’s a record that stands to this day.)

“Born on the Bayou” may be the most atmospheric of those #2 contenders. It’s eerily haunting and authentic for a songwriter that never actually spent any real time on the bayou.

John Fogerty is on record as considering “Born on the Bayou” his favorite CCR song, so naturally when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, “Born on the Bayou” was on the all-star jam set list.

It wasn’t the first time Bruce and John had shared the stage; it wasn’t even the first time they’d performed “Born on the Bayou” together–that would have been five years earlier at a prior Rock Hall induction.

But on that earlier occasion John sang the lead vocals himself. This time, John and Bruce traded lead vocals, backed by a band that included Robbie Robertson, Don Was, Roy Bittan, and Benmont Tench of The Heartbreakers. Bruce brought his full-throated growl to match Fogerty’s powerful voices, and the result was smoking.

Bonus: Bruce and John performed “Born on the Bayou” once more together–two years later at John’s 50th birthday party at John’s house in Beverly Hills. Here’s a snippet of that performance.

Born on the Bayou
First performed: January 20, 1988 (New York City, NY)
Last performed: August 1, 2015 (Asbury Park, NJ)