The band Creedence Clearwater Revival brings us today’s classic song of the day, “Sweet Hitch-Hiker.” Released as a single in July of 1971, this one went to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the Cash Box Top 100.
“Sweet Hitch-Hiker,” which was written and sung by John Fogerty, was the band’s first single after the departure of John’s brother Tom, their former rhythm guitarist. That left the band as a trio—and one experiencing mucho internal dissent, with bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford bristling at John Fogerty’s stranglehold on the material they played. (And all those songwriting royalties.) For the album Mardi Gras, which is the one that included “Sweet Hitch-Hiker,” the band split songwriting and singing duties three ways. The result was less successful than when John was doing all the writing and singing; Mardi Gras would be CCR’s final album.
The “Sweet Hitch-Hiker” single was also the band’s last top ten hit. They had one more minor hit (“Saturday Never Comes,” which hit #25 in 1972), but that was it before the band broke up.
Due to their new one-guitar line-up, “Sweet Hitch-Hiker” sounds a little rougher and more raucous than CCR’s previous hits. It’s about a motorcyclist who is distracted by the lady of the title (“she was smiling there, yellow in her hair”) and crashes his bike. As he’s “busted up along the highway” he’s passed by the same young lady. “Lord, she’s flying high.”
And for your viewing pleasure, here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day. It’s CCR’s official music video for “Sweet Hitch-Hiker.” Won’t you ride on my fast machine?
