Creedence Clearwater Revival “Lodi” – Americana UK

One way a town can attract tourists is to be mentioned by name in a song. Winslow, Arizona will forever be remembered as a place to take it easy, but for a Northern California town, being mentioned in a song was a double-edged sword. Located on Route 99 between Stockton and Sacramento, Lodi became the inspiration for a 1969 song about failure. A young John Fogerty led Creedence Clearwater Revival to international fame when he heard the town’s name and thought it sounded like exactly the kind of place he might end up if the band’s success was short-lived. The sound of the place alone – pronounced “load-eye” – struck him as unusual, and Fogerty imagined himself struggling to get by, barely having enough money to take the Greyhound bus home.

In just over three minutes, the song describes a young singer who sets out to “I strive for fame and fortune/And a pot of gold”But over the years “Things got bad and it got worse” while contacts are lost and the audience becomes a horde of disinterested drunks. Wishing to get a dollar for every song he sings in such an environment, he confronts reality with a chorus that concludes each of the four verses – “Oh God, I’m stuck in Lodi again”.

It’s often assumed that Creedence played a dreary show there, or their van broke down, or that the song is autobiographical in some way, but Fogerty claims it’s a piece of pure fantasy. The song’s apparent simplicity hides its genius, as the story speaks to anyone who has ever wanted to be in front of an audience.

Perhaps the mark of a great song is that it can be played in almost any style, from campfire to concert hall. The simple chord structure and spare arrangement make it suitable for a solo performance, but over the years it has been covered by artists as diverse as Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam on the one hand, and Ronnie Hawkins and Bo Diddley on the other. Blues and bluegrass versions work well, from Freddie King to Emmylou Harris and the Nash Ramblers, and a year after its release it was given a fully orchestral interpretation by Tom Jones on American television. The Welshman belts it out with the same powerful delivery that Fogerty would have in a song like ‘Lucky Child’ and there is a similarity in their voices, but the presence of a full string and brass section makes it harder to believe that Sir Tom is playing alone in a dive bar. Unlike Tina Turner’s big band treatment of ‘Proud Mary’it is a song that is better suited to a plaintive vocal style, such as the versions by Shawn Colvin and American blues singer Janiva Magness. These hit the nail on the head.

In 2013, Fogerty himself released a new version of ‘Lodi’accompanied by his sons Shane and Tyler, who also play in his touring band. It is a free-spirited, roaring blues in the style of Canned Heat’s version of ‘Rolling and tumbling’. It works well.

Fifty-five years after his death ‘Lodi’Fogerty continues to tour with his timeless songs and at his 2023 UK shows, a bottle of champagne was brought on stage to toast the regaining of the copyright. Among the well-known hits was ‘Lodi’. Originally released as B-side of ‘Evil Moonrise’it is one of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s best. Fortunately, it didn’t end badly for John Fogerty, and the people of Lodi didn’t have to suffer either, because the sentence “Oh God, stuck in Lodi again” is always the first thing they hear when a tourist stops by to explore this thriving city in California’s wine country.

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