Sweet Hitch-Hiker

"Sweet Hitch-Hiker"
Single by Creedence Clearwater Revival
from the album Mardi Gras
B-side"Door to Door"
ReleasedJuly 1971
Genre
Length2:59
LabelFantasy
SongwriterJohn Fogerty
Producers
Creedence Clearwater Revival singles chronology
"Have You Ever Seen the Rain?"
(1971) 		"Sweet Hitch-Hiker"
(1971) 		"Someday Never Comes"
(1972)

"Sweet Hitch-Hiker" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was first released as a single in July 1971 and reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their 9th and final top 10 hit. It was later included on the 1972 album Mardi Gras.

Background

"Sweet Hitch-Hiker" was written by CCR frontman John Fogerty and tells the story of a freewheeling motorcyclist who crashes after being distracted by an attractive blonde hitch-hiker.[4] Biographer Hank Bordowitz speculates the song might have reflected on Fogerty's newfound freedom after separating from his wife.[5] The line "We could make music at the Greasy King" references a hamburger stand in the band's hometown of El Cerrito, California.[4] It was the band's first single recorded without rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, who had left the group in early 1971 after the completion of their album Pendulum.[6]

After the expiration of Fogerty's previous unfavorable publishing deal with Fantasy Records, "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" was the first of only two CCR singles whose publishing he owned, a fact he reflected upon bitterly in his autobiography.[7] The single's B-side, bassist Stu Cook's "Door to Door," was the product of the band's democratic decision-making after the departure of Tom Fogerty, where all members would write and sing their own material. Fogerty wrote that the "results were, to put it mildly, underwhelming."[8]

Reception

The single peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 36 on the Record Retailer UK Singles Chart.[9]

Bordowitz called "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" a "classic John Fogerty stomper," while Michael Oldfield, reviewing Mardi Gras for Melody Maker, called it "the only cut [on the album] which sounds like Creedence."[10]

Chart performance

Certifications

Country Certification
United States Gold[27]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). Precious and Few: Pop Music of the Early '70s. St. Martin's Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-312-14704-4.
  2. ^ Kitts, Thomas M. (August 27, 2015). John Fogerty: An American Son. Routledge. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-317-96126-0.
  3. ^ Pohlmann, Sascha; Holtsträter, Knut (2024). Americana: Aesthetics, Authenticity, and Performance in US Popular Music. Waxmann Verlag GmbH. p. 91. ISBN 978-3-830-99756-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b Kitts, Thomas M. (2016). John Fogerty: An American Son. New York: Routledge. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-415-71346-7. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  5. ^ Bordowitz 2007, p. 126.
  6. ^ Fogerty & McDonough 2015, p. 226.
  7. ^ Fogerty & McDonough 2015, p. 180.
  8. ^ Fogerty & McDonough 2015, p. 222.
  9. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-8230-7499-0. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
  10. ^ Bordowitz 2007, p. 139.
  11. ^ "Go-Set Australian chart". Go-Set. 1971. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  12. ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  13. ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  14. ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  15. ^ "Library and archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Library and Archives Canada. July 17, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  16. ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  17. ^ https://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qsongid=3733#n_view_location search Listener retrieved 17-11-2025
  18. ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker". VG-lista.
  19. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  20. ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker". Swiss Singles Chart.
  21. ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  22. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, August 28, 1971". Archived from the original on June 7, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  23. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  24. ^ "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  25. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  26. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1971". Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  27. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved June 19, 2023.

Bibliography

  • Hank Bordowitz (2007). Bad Moon Rising: The Unauthorized History of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press, Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-55652-661-9.
  • Fogerty, John; McDonough, Jimmy (2015). Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music. New York: Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-35189-8.
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