Creedence Clearwater Revival

Aside from Gram Parsons, no one has influenced Americana music as much as Creedence Clearwater Revival. Their gritty fusion of swamp pop, country rock, hillbilly soul, and a driving dose of Southern-inspired R&B gave the band their trademark "chooglin'" sound. Formed by John Fogerty in 1967 out of El Cerrito, Calif., the band released seven futile singles on Fantasy Records as the Golliwogs. In 1968, they changed their name and CCR's first album was a hit, largely due to the rustic rendition of "Suzie Q." While they were geographically close to the Haight-Ashbury scene, songs like "Fortunate Son" revealed that the band didn't identify with the prevalent counterculture (in part made up of trust-funded hippie kids at the time). Fogerty's vision of a good party was painted in the bouncy strut of "Down on the Corner," a song that proved that white boys could get funky. CCR broke up in 1972, and Fogerty's successful solo career spawned similar songs, sealing any existing doubts that he was the central songwriter in the band.