Once the pair had written all of the ten songs that would eventually make up California Gold, Clifford turned to his new songwriting partner and said, “You know, we’d better record these songs, or we’re going to forget them!”Ī studio lineup was assembled, featuring Clifford on drums and background vocals Whitlock on vocals, Hammond B3 organ, piano and guitars Duck Dunn on bass and Mike O’Neill on lead guitar. “We got together and started writing songs right off the bat,” Clifford recalls. “He was pretty broke,” Clifford recalls.Ĭlifford was interested, and so was Whitlock, who promptly drove up from Los Angeles to Clifford’s place in the Bay Area. But by 1978, Whitlock had fallen on hard times and was in semi-retirement. From there, he and guitarist Eric Clapton formed Derek and the Dominos. Dunn had known Whitlock for many years, since the Stax days when the singer was signed as the first white artist on the label.Īfter his Stax period, singer-keyboardist Whitlock joined legendary music collective Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. “You know anybody?” Dunn suggested Bobby Whitlock. “I’m looking for a singer,” he told Dunn. “I was at Duck Dunn’s house.” Dunn had already gained great fame as bassist for Booker T & the MG’s as well as for his session work on scores of Stax Records recordings.Ĭlifford explained to his friend that he was trying to put a band together. Clifford recalls the genesis of the project. The sessions for California Gold drew on some heavyweight talent. But now Clifford has rescued those tapes from obscurity: California Gold is set for release November 11. When those sessions were completed, the master tapes went into a vault, where they would remain, almost forgotten, for more than 40 years. Lifelong best friends, Cook and Clifford continued on with a group of their own, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, playing live until retiring the band in 2020.Īlong the way, Clifford recorded another album’s worth of music with some talented friends. And Clifford released an enjoyable solo album, Cosmo, in 1972. After CCR split, Cook went on to do some historic work as a record producer, working with psychedelic rock legend Roky Erickson on the album The Evil One. ![]() By most accounts they weren’t ready, and the results didn’t approach the quality of their best work.īut both Cook and Clifford had plenty of talent beyond playing their instruments. Internal dissension toward the group's end led Fogerty to insist that each of his band mates contribute songwriting to what would become the band’s swan song, Mardi Gras. But CCR might not have earned its place in rock history without the peerless rock-solid rhythm section of bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford. ![]() John Fogerty had been the group’s undisputed creative center of gravity: he wrote nearly all of the songs, sang and played guitar. After a highly successful run, beloved rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival broke up in 1972.
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