John Fogerty “really happy” CCR scored first #1 song on a ‘Billboard’ chart with “Have You Ever Seen the Rain”

Credit: Joel Selvin

Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s classic 1971 hit “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” is spending its second week at #1 on Billboard‘s Rock Digital Song Sales chart.

Amazingly, CCR had never had a song reach #1 on any Billboard chart before.

Founding Creedence frontman and main songwriter John Fogerty tells ABC Audio that he’s very pleased, and a bit baffled, by his old tune’s sudden chart resurgence.

“[I’m] not really sure how to react,” Fogerty admits. “I mean, a 50-year-old song becoming #1 is kind of astounding. You know, there’s no movie release or…no cataclysmic event to pin this to.”

He adds, “I guess people all at the same time started liking this song, and I’m really happy about it…I’m very happy that there is attention being given to the song. I’ve always thought it was certainly one of my best songs.”

“Have You Ever Seen the Rain” was featured on CCR’s next-to-last studio album, 1970’s Pendulum, and was released as a two-sided single with “Hey Tonight,” which peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Fogerty recalls that when he wrote the song, tension between him and his band mates was leading CCR toward breaking up, even though the group was at the height of its success.

“The picture that I got in my head was…there can be a sunny day and yet rain is falling,” he explains to ABC Audio. “It’s a weird atmospheric event…caused by a cloud far away from your view, but yet the wind is carrying the rain from that cloud…over to where you’re standing…And that seemed to be kind of what was happening [figuratively with CCR].”

Pendulum was reissued as a 180-gram vinyl LP in February.

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