Hip Hop Fan's First Reaction to Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival 

'Hail to the Chief' is the song played when the US President enters the room. They are referencing the people that were able to get OUT of the Vietnam draft. 'It ain't me', because he's been sent to fight.

Hail to the chief is not,referring to Native Americans, it’s played at every Presidential event when u see military bands. And yes, the wealthy (many in govt. also) children were safe in college, while other young men were fair game for the draft. My late husband got a free tour of Asia, as he called it, in ‘69.

Draftee here... '68. Guys were disappearin' from the neighborhood. Then, that feelin' you get in your gut when you read the word, "Greetings" is surreal. "Really? Me?" But I gotta say, was the bes' thing ever happened to me. Yea, I did a tour in Nam (1970), but since I was lucky (and that is all it was), there is a sense of relief and a weird melancholy. CCR to me were the 'Anthem Makers' of our generation. Can't listen to any of their stuff without a wet cheek. To those who've seen the rain... Welcome Home, Brothers.

I think the best 10 years of rock music are from 1967 to 1977

CCR's strength was that they sang to an Everyman audience, not specifically to a hippy subculture or an affluent, white suburb, with all the weight of blues and gospel in their rhythm. Try "Lodi" (about failure), "Long As I Can See the Light" (about love & faith), or "Run Through the Jungle" (again Nam and nightmares).

Fogerty has a great voice that has stood up well through the years. This song rips the plastic patriots waving the flag. And yeah, if you were a rich kid you didn't have to go die in Vietnam.

John Fogerty has one of my favorite voices in all music. So distinctive that it makes you pay attention to the lyrics. I love this song volume fully up.

"Hail to the Chief" is a piece of music they used to play when the President was being introduced at events, like a fanfare. Fyi, he (John Fogerty) actually served in the Army before his music career.

He was singing about the draft during the Vietnam war where the rich kids were sent to college avoiding the draft and the poor kids were drafted and sent to Vietnam.

I think you're correct that the great music at this time was partially inspired by the tumultuous times of the 60s with the Vietnam war and the the 60s cultural revolution. The young people weren't afraid to question authority as their lives were on the line due to the draft. There are many other forces responsible for the explosion of superb music in the 60s and 70s. We had no PCs, video games and social media to distract us from interacting with each other, master an instrument or collaborate on music. Another factor that fostering great music was that the music industry was not run like it is today.

Just about the perfect rock song. Great lyrics, great melody, great hooks, awesome vocal and a brilliant overall band performance. You can't go wrong with Creedence, man. It's just wall to wall great song after great song.

Part of the reason you had SO much great music then was that the first wave of baby boomers were coming of age….and so we dominated the culture just by shear numbers. Combine that with the opposition to the war by a good chunk of young people, the race riots and fight for civil rights…you had a culture in turmoil. Add to that the extremely high importance of music at that time to the youth culture as a means of expression and bonding of “the tribe” so-to-speak….and you get talented artists who seek to enter music as a career……and you get cultural “hot spots” like LA (Laurel Canyon) San Francisco in America….London….where these artists congregate and share ideas, riffs etc……and build upon each other’s ideas and sing on one another albums. And the music scene just explodes. It has been described as akin to a type of Renaissance if you will.

Songs like this serve as reminders that as crazy as things seem right now, they've been just as crazy (or crazier) in the not-too-distant past. Many of the same problems folks were working on solving are still problems that need solving.

To make it as simplistic as possible, it's a song about how the rich didn't send their kids to die in Vietnam, but the poor had to.

References to Vietnam were sometimes hidden in songs "last train to Clarksville" by Monkees and "Galveston" by Glenn Campbell. for example.

CCR was one of the best bands of the era. Their rendition of "Heard it Through the Grapevine" and their anti-Vietnam war songs "Who'll Stop the Rain", "Have you ever seen the Rain" & "Run though the Jungle" are terrific and their rendition of "American Band" is unforgettable. Thanks for playing this & your comments.

This song served as an anthem for those of us who opposed the Viet Nam conflict- hearing it still takes me back to '69, when I was 20 & 'draft-eligible'!

I was eight years old when this came out my dad had every one of their albums. CCR is probably one of my most favorite bands of all.

CCR is from Berkeley, CA. YET, they sound pure swampy Louisiana! A must listen is “ Born On the Bayou”- it’s so swampy you can feel it!

this was a time that required real singing and musicianship, REAL TALENT

The thing about this song that gets to me is its grace in a horrific situation. I don't know how they did it. When guys like Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon were literally murdering your friends and trying to send you to your death, how do you just rise above and sing a song like this? So amazing.

It was the best time in music! I was fortunate enough to grow up during this time. Loved your reaction. Another CCR song is Run Through the Jungle.

This song was released during the Vietnam war and many, many American citizens did not believe we should be over there. You should check out The Times They Are A-Changing, Blowing In The Wind and A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall by Bob Dylan.

He’s talking about Vietnam, the draft, and hypocrisy of the whole situation. By ‘69 the US has been sending boys to die since the Kennedy Administration which ended in ‘63. Back then as well as today the majority of soldiers were boys straight outta high school. If you were in university you weren’t drafted, unless u dropped out. But if you’re family had the money you could stay in school or even go abroad to avoid the draft. The movie “Platoon” or “Born on the 4th of July” are great little snap shots of America during the war. ✌🏼💗🤗

Would love to see your reaction to Santana. "Soul Sacrifice" 1969 Woodstock is a real banger. The studio version of "Black Magic Woman" is another one.

“Hail to the Chief” is the music that is played whenever the American President comes into a room. Like playing God Save the Queen when she enters, I would assume.

I love the drumming.

One of the most humorous and sardonic anti-war songs was "Fixin' to Die Rag" by Country Joe and The Fish, the album version is the one, thank you.

A great song, and delivered brilliantly. Sadly, it's still a song with relevance, especially the verse about the rich and their (lack of) taxes. And yeah, right in the heart of the Vietnam war - it wasn't the rich and powerful who were forced into being drafted - there were always loopholes if you had enough sway. As Steve Earle sang in "Copperhead Road", "they draft the white trash first 'round here anyway". One of the great anti-Vietnam War songs.

It was a protest song about the Vietnam war. There were 490 thousand US troops there when this song came out. We were sick of the war.

At school in 1969-70, we had a junior study room, a record player, and two LPs: Beatles White Album and CCR Willie And The Poor Boys. Played constantly

Rock and roll and also the blues comes from the struggle of black Americans in the South. Overcoming slavery, cruel discrimination, and horrible suffering. As bad as that is, we can thank them for most of the music we love today. You are correct. Great music often comes form great suffering. Sad but true.

Very insightful reaction. 52,000 young American men, 18-22, died in Vietnam with twice that many severely injured and poisoned with Agent Orange (herbicide) sprayed by the US Government to reduce foliage in the jungle. The public was constantly lied to by our government about how the war was going and our role to help the South Vietnamese people (who also hated us) against communism. The war couldn't be won the way the US decided to approach it. Very similar to Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. This song in particular conveys the sentiment of the US teens who were about to be drafted.

Speaking of the Vietnam jungle, you need to do "Run Through The Jungle" by CCR. You're doing a great job with your reactions!!

Vietnam veterans seemed to have loved CCR!!! I love their grit!! Song is a classic! Been in so many shows, movies, & much more!!!🇺🇸✌🇺🇸✌

Warrior nations produce the greatest Art

Great reaction An excellent companion piece to this to consider is ‘For What Its Worth’ by Buffalo Springfield 👍

Whats really sad is how young this men were. My husband was at this time the head of his unit at 21 and the men under him were 17, 18, 19. What a profound loss!!

Such a great song! Great reaction again sir thank you!!

I have heard that the Fogerty brothers were Vietnam vets and this was one of their protest songs. "Hail to the Chief," is played for US Presidents.

This is an anti-war song. Others have already explained, but, I thought I'd chime in. Excellent reaction. Thank you.

Well said bro... Kicking back to this video was worthy of rolling up a blunt.

The President is referred to as the Commander in Chief, Hail to the Chief is the musical flourish that is played when the president makes an appearance.

I love the way Syed says water with the t silent! Adorable!

One of the most misused tracks of all time - ironic, given the power and message of the lyrics. Definitely an iconic piece of music - I'd put it in a similar category with Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" as being emblematic of the Vietnam War era, thanks to (over)use in media depicting that time period. Anyway, it's hard to beat CCR for great music - give "Bad Moon Rising" a listen when you get a chance. Will definitely concur in regards to "struggle and art'; this was definitely one of the most creative periods in American music.

Awesome reaction and understanding.

Insightful reaction as usual. And it's interesting that he did actually serve in the Army, although not in a combat situation. It's not just that his voice tears through things with that edge, this guy had one of the greatest singers four months, when he hits that resonance oh my God. There's so many you need to check out that really illustrate that. Also they illustrate the complete variety of what he's capable even though the band had this fairly nice sound which was always immediately recognizable. But I mean check out, Hideaway. Check out, feeling blue. Check out, every Mother's Son. Check out, it came out of the sky. Each one of these are brilliant songs in the band is great and his singing is just so incredible. I would also say go back to some of the very early stuff like, crosstie Walker, or he's talking about traveling the railroads and being disenchanted with Society. There's just such a wealth of amazing stuff here. But I love the fact that you're reviews are so intelligent. Man I love it man I'm a musician myself and it's great to have someone that can speak the same language.

You are so right about the opening. Great take

You're right. Best music in my era. 😊

The Vietnam War deeply affected my life, and I was born in '73. It chewed up / spit out so many of my parent's generation.

Please,Please do Run Through The Jungle by the same band! It gives me goosebumps to this day!

They actually got this on the Ed Sullivan show, middle America's (highly rated) Sunday night variety TV show. Ed was famous for fighting off drug references by the acts he featured.

Great point on the conflict between the message of this song and the way it is used.

Welcome to CCR land. For a period of about 4 yrs they were unbelievable

The opening of "Fortunate Son" has become Hollywood shorthand for, "And now we cut to the Vietnam Nam war."

"It seems like great turmoil creates the best art." It ain't art unless you been through it. Without the personal experience there's no heart and soul to it. That's where commercialized pop music comes in.

If I recall correctly they did many takes of the vocals until his voice was basically raw. That was the take he chose to use.

John Fogerty is/was the master of the sub-3 minute song. And yes, 3 records…full on albums in less than a calendar year. He was an extremely prolific writer.

Best two minute song of all time.

You are absolutely right! The turmoil of the age; the end of innocence; assassinations; racial conflicts; Detroit burning; and especially Vietnam. Vietnam. Vietnam! From the first time I was old enough to watch Walter Cronkite on the evening news until I was in eleventh grade, part of my nightly prayer was "please have the war in Vietnam stop". It all created powerful music that you just can't get in an age like today.

American swamp-rock if you will.

"It seems that great turmoil creates the best art..." -- That's the HOPE because that is one of art's true roles in society -- to help people make better sense of events around them. This only works when art is nourished and rewarded for the sake of art. Today art is seen as more valuble for building a brand for cars or ED drugs, etc. Many comment that music (art in general) today sucks. It isn't because our times aren't difficult enough to generate meaningful art. Art today sucks because we have multiple generations with zero exposure to playing an instrument or who are unable to distinguish by name the instruments in an orchestra or a four piece rock band. I think that's the goal... To water down music education and anesthetize the masses with bland, indistinguishable mush so that no artist ever calls BS on the powers that be by releasing songs like Fortunate Son, For What It's Worth or Masters of War.

Just one of the reasons the 60's - 90's was such a great time for music was bands and record company's were allowed to make money. The big labels produced everything they could and put it out there and sold it for the public to decide. In this day of digital sharing there's no money in producing unknown artists because as soon as the music is recorded it's distributed across the internet. That's one reason today's music sucks.

John Fogerty was my first concert ever when I was 14. Saw him with Aaron Neville in Atlanta back in the 90s. I had just started learning guitar and was obsessed with CCR and Fogerty. Check out "Long as I can See the Light" by CCR

Pretty amazing, right at the start, just hearing the opening chords, you can tell it’s got that Southern Rock.

If I remember, Bill Wyman (original Stones bassist) had a side band called Willie and The Poor Boys, due to his admiration for CCR.

Yes the 'Chief,' is the President.

Speaking of conflict creating art, there is a great statement by Orson Welles’ character Harry Lime from The Third Man who says, “In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”

They were always standing up for the little people, not the rich and powerful. Born on the Bayou: 'When I was just a little boy standin' to my daddy's knee, my papa said son, don't let the man get you, and do what he done to me.' The Midnight Special: 'Ain't no food upon the table, and no pork up in the pan, but you better not complain boy, you get in trouble with the man'. (know your place)

I mean this with all respect, you got Hail To The Chief totally wrong, but that was one of the best, most insightful, intellectual, educated wrong guesses I’ve ever heard. I love your channel.

If you want to hear some of their way over 3 minute really great blues tracks try 'Born on the Bayou' and 'Graveyard Train'. Other long songs are 'Heard it thru the Grapevine'(cover of Marvin Gaye - have to play the 11 min album track not the edited for single track), 'Susie Q' and 'Keep on Chooglin''.

The Chief part itself is referring to the songs that plays when the President enter a building and the chief comes from the Commander in Chief which is also called our president

During the late sixties there was the draft. Your number came up you were drafted into military duty. On your way to Vietnam. Some youth burned there draft card and left for Canada

brilliant

You are great at interpreting musical meaning and the meaning of the music as well as the lyrics. How do you do that? You seem like a writer at heart, as writers are researchers too.

The bassline into is one note, a G, played 80 times as a quarter note. Then 8 more times as the first line of the verse.

My fiancé was drafted, in the jungle riding in a tank got shot in the stomach. He survived the incident but he ended dying of cancer due to the chemicals they used.

This a banging song.

Yes and being that beginning was in the movie Forrest Gump when Forrest and Bubba land in Vietnam.

Also White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane. Great anti-war song around the same time with some really interesting lyrics.

Hail to tje Chief is the title of the played whenever the Presodent walls into a room.

Intersting, John was in the Army prior to creating CCR.

You wil want to hear CCRr cover of Screaming' Jay Hawkins' song, "I Put A Spell Cn You."' Hawkins said that CCR "Owned" that song after he heard it. It is one of my personal favorites of theirs (and a favorite of many other fans). As for the lyrics to this song, as others have said, "Hail to the Chief" is the fanfare played whenever the President appears in public. The President is called the Commander in Chief of the US miliatry. The term "fortunate son" also refers to the fact that while the sons of the wealthy and US politicians were able to avoid the draft, the average 18 year-old male was immediately subject to the military draft on his 18th birthday.

"Born in the USA" is the Springsteen song you're looking for; You're definitely right about the misuse of this song. I remember seeing a Tommy Hillfiger commercial a while back where they played this song over the top of models strutting around in red-white-and-blue. They cut the song off right before the chorus, and I remember thinking "Hey, wait - isn't the next line "IT AIN'T ME??" It was a pretty surreal experience.

while this song isn't so much an antiwar song, which it is, it's more of an anti-draft song. it points out that the senator's, the millionaire's and the high ranking military official's sons could easily skip the draft while the poor people couldn't.

I hear the opening of this song and istantly hear Huey's flying over the jungle.

"Hail to the chief" is played whenever the president enters a room. But you are right about everything else!!!😊

"Hail to the Chief" is the song that is played when the president arrives at an event.

I think at it's core, it's about how so many of the people waving the flag and calling for war, aren't the people who pay the price of going to war, or losing their children fighting the wars.

I think the artists of the late 60’s and 70’s tapped into the Zeitgeist of the time and the collective energy and consciousness to create a lot of great art. John Fogerty specifically enlisted in the Army Reserve to avoid being drafted in the military.

“ Hail to the Chief “ is the music played whenever the president appears at a function. It is a salute to the president.

You now need to check out "The Band", another great band from back in the day.

Run Through the Jungle Born On the Bayou Have You Ever Seen the Rain Up Around the Bend Green River Heard it Through the Grapevine (extended version) There are tons more. That's a good starting point.

Man, I been loving your reviews for a few months now! you're very aware and erudite! I really should subscribe to your channel, sorry I haven't done it yet!, forgive me I'm an old Bastard!! But please keep on doing what you're doing ! It's very entertaining!! Love from the UK! X

"Bad moon rising" is another song of theirs that is still relevent!!

By the way, in movies it’s often used to subtly undercut the rah rah impulses of the characters and audience.

Please do more CCR ,DOWN ON THE CORNER , MIDNIGHT SPECIAL , UP AROUND THE BEND , SWEET HITCH HIKER , BORN ON THE BUYOU, LOOKING OUT MY BACK DOOR ,

I like reaction videos. I like to see pretty naive people watching great songs for the first time. I guess you are pretty well eduacated. It´s nice to hear a more intellectual person like you react to some of my favorite songs

Check out Heard it Through The Grapevine. It's a Motown track CCR made their own.

Run thru the jungle feels like it’s putting you in the jungles of Vietnam. Also into the swamps of down south in born on the bayou