Tom Fogerty was as responsible as anyone for the formation of Creedence Clearwater Revival. As the band’s original lead singer and guitarist (before they adopted the CCR name), Tom eventually recognised that his brother John had the voice that would lead them to fame. As John took control of the band’s creative side, Tom dedicated himself to rhythm guitar and backing vocals.
As CCR found their sound, Tom became essential to the group’s signature “chooglin” style. As defined in their song ‘Keep On Chooglin’, the “choogle” was a chunky rhythm style that gave CCR their rock-solid drive. Tom was an essential part of that, and one of the best examples of the “choogle” can be heard in the menacing single ‘Run Through the Jungle’.
“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,” John later observed. “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.”
CCR were taking in many different influences at the time, but when fans tried to compare ‘Run Through the Jungle’ with the work of blues great Charley Patton, Fogerty was at a loss. “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,” Fogerty admitted.
“I read about him, and about a month or two later, I realised there were recordings of his music. To me, that was like 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!”
For his part, Tom Fogerty later claimed that ‘Run Through the Jungle’ was a high point for him in the CCR catalogue. “My all-time favourite Creedence tune,” he claimed. “It’s like a little movie in itself with all the sound effects. It never changes 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.”
Check out ‘Run Through the Jungle’ down below.
