On July 16, 1970, "Cosmo's Factory", the fifth album of "Creedence Clearwater Revival", was released.
This is the band's fifth album in two years, a crazy figure on any scale, which certainly does not indicate a low quality of materials, but quite the opposite.
The name of the album came from drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford who referred to a warehouse that was converted into a recording studio as a "factory" - hence "Cosmo's Factory".
It is perhaps the band's most successful album in terms of sales and is definitely one of its creative highlights.
Some believe, by mistake, that the band reached meteoric success in a short time, when just one year after releasing their debut album, was among the first bands to be cast for the legendary Woodstock Festival, but this is not the case.
In the beginning, Credence had to fight for its place. It started as a band called "the Blue Velvets", which was formed in the late fifties by three school members - guitarist/singer John Fogerty, drummer Doug Clifford and pianist Stu Cook. It later became the backing band of Tom Fogerty, John's older brother, in the early 1960s, but even six singles they released in the early 1960s failed to achieve their long-awaited recording contract.
In 1964 the band finally manages to get a recording contract with "Fantasy Records", they change their name to "the Golliwogs" and change instruments when Stu Cook moves from piano to bass guitar, Tom Fogerty moves from the lead singer position to rhythm guitar and John Fogerty took over and became its lead writer.
But just then, Doug and John were drafted to the U.S. Army and the band was forced to postpone the recording of their debut album until further notice.
After Doug and John were released in January 1968, the band changed its name to "Creedence Clearwater Revival" and decided to change its style concentrating on American-rooted rock that influenced bands such as "the Beatles" and "the Rolling Stones". However, in contrast to the changing trend of "the Beatles" and "the Stones", who in those years moved towards psychedelia and progressive rock, CCR clung to the roots of American rock that influenced those British bands.
Indeed, many of the band's songs as well as the first two singles they released, "Susie-Q" and "I Put a Spell on You", were cover versions of basic blues and rock n' roll songs from the 1950s and 1960s.
The album "Cosmo's Factory", which is celebrating its birthday today, continues in the same formula that characterized the previous four albums, combining cover versions of rock and blues classics with new and original material.
Thus, on the one hand we enjoy a remake of rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues classics such as: "My Baby Left Me" by Arthur Crudup, which was recorded in the early fifties and became famous thanks to Elvis, "Before You Accuse Me" by Bo Diddley from 1957 and Allen Richard Penner & Wade Lee Moore's "Ooby Dooby" from 1955, sang by Roy Orbison, alongside a stunning rendition of Mottown's 1966 solo classic - "I Heard It Through the Grapevin", by Marvin Gaye.
On the other hand, we are witnessing original hits from the talented of John Fogerty, who beyond the fact that he wrote all the original songs, plays on a wide variety of instruments such as harmonica, piano and saxophone in addition to the guitar. On top of all that, Fogerty also produced the album.
Among the original songs is the opening track "Ramble Tamble" which pulls in the psychedelic direction and crosses the 7 minute, even though it is based on one riff that evolved from a jam session.
"Travelin 'Band" was influenced byt Little Richard and is reminiscent of the song "No Time" by "The Monkees". Fogarty had hoped to perform the song "Good Golly, Miss Molly" by Richard, but due to copyright issues wrote the song, thinking it had similar characteristics to Richard's song.
"Lookin' Out My Back Door" which opens with the sound of "Train" produced by Fogerty from his guitar, was considered drugs song for years, but Fogerty explained that he wrote it for his son Josh inspired by the book "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" Of Dr. Seuss.
"Run Through the Jungle", which served as part of the Vietnam Films soundtrack, was inspired by the Second Amendment to the US Constitution and its dangerous weapons culture.
"Who'll Stop the Rain" which was written in the wake of the pouring rain at the Woodstock Festival and the audience's attempts to sing to make it stop. The song took on a completely different meaning in the face of the protest of that period as it becomes a kind of song of innocence and hope that perhaps the younger generation will be able to stop the evil and atrocities.
"Long as I Can See the Light" is the ultimate wandering song, which was influenced by the character of Jeremiah and chapter 27 in the Psalms.
Over the years, "Cosmo's Factory" became a classic, with many songs from it becoming memorable hits. Very sadly, this mighty band did not survive long after that. Precisely at the height of its success, the first signs of the crisis were discovered with friction and quarrels. The band members did not like the focus that John Fogerty received and the critics' treatment of them as his backing band. A few months later, in December 1970, the band's sixth album - "Pendulum" - was released. The album reached the top of the charts thanks in part to "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" Which also predicted the end of the band.
In 1971 Tom Fogerty retired from the band, and it continued as a trio and in 1972 released their latest album "Mardi Gra", which was a complete failure. In October 1972, the band officially announced its dissolution.
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