| "Fortunate Son" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US single sleeve | ||||
| Single by Creedence Clearwater Revival | ||||
| from the album Willy and the Poor Boys | ||||
| B-side | "Down on the Corner" | |||
| Released | October 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1969, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:21 | |||
| Label | Fantasy | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Fogerty | |||
| Producer(s) | John Fogerty | |||
| Creedence Clearwater Revival singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Fortunate Son" on YouTube | ||||
"Fortunate Son" is a song by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released on the band's fourth studio album, Willy and the Poor Boys in October 1969. It was previously released as a single, together with "Down on the Corner", in September 1969.[4] It soon became a Vietnam anti-war movement anthem and an expressive symbol of the counterculture's opposition to U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War and solidarity with the soldiers fighting it.[5] The song has been featured extensively in pop culture depictions of the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement.[6]
The song reached number 14 on the United States charts on November 22, 1969, the week before Billboard changed its methodology on double-sided hits. The tracks combined to climb to number 9 the next week, on the way to peaking at number 3 three more weeks later, on 20 December 1969.[7] It won the RIAA Gold Disc award in December 1970.[8] Pitchfork Media placed it at number 17 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".[9] Rolling Stone placed it at number 99 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list in 2004 and 2010; it was moved down to number 227 in the 2020 edition. In 2013, the song was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
- ^ Perone, James E. (January 1, 2001). Songs of the Vietnam Conflict. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 60–. ISBN 978-0-313-31528-2.
- ^ Werner, Craig Hansen (2006). A Change is Gonna Come: Music, Race & the Soul of America. University of Michigan Press. pp. 152, 156. ISBN 9780472031474.
- ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (November 1, 2005). "John Fogerty Is Closer to Peace With a Label". The New York Times. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival". .telus.net. January 2, 1971. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
- ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival". Cleveland, Ohio: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
- ^ Brummer, Justin. "The Vietnam War: A History in Song". History Today. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1990). The Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Sixties (October 25, 1969 through December 27, 1969). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, Inc. ISBN 0-89820-074-1.
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs. London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 257. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ "Staff Lists: The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s". Pitchfork Media. August 18, 2006. Retrieved July 29, 2023.