"Almost Saturday Night" is a song written by

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American mu ...

and first released on his 1975 album ''

''. It was released as a single and reached No. 78. It has been covered by a number of artists, including

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has alwa ...

, who also released it as a single to more success,

Gene Clark Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...

, Ricky Nelson,

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Wa ...

, The Georgia Satellites and

Ned LeDoux Ned LeDoux is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released two studio albums. He also has his own live show on Instagram with Big Das Lawrence. History Ned LeDoux was born in Kaycee, Wyoming, also the hometown of his father, ...

. The song describes the hero looking out the window and getting excited about the approaching weekend. Fogerty released the song as the second single from ''John Fogerty'', as a follow up to " Rockin' All Over the World, which reached No. 27. However, "Almost Saturday Night" could only reach No. 78. "Almost Saturday Night" had more success when covered in a

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

style by

in 1981 from his album '' Twangin...''. Edmunds' version reached No. 54 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 18 on Billboard's

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

. Others who have since covered the song include

on ''Play for Today'' in 1981, Ricky Nelson on ''Playing to Win'' in 1981 and ''The Memphis Sessions'' in 1986 and

and

Carla Olson Carla Olson (born July 3, 1952) is a Los Angeles-based songwriter, performer and record producer. Biography Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Olson moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1978 where she formed the Textones, whose debut album ''M ...

on ''So Rebellious a Lover'' in 1987. The Flying Burrito Brothers covered the song in 1984. Their version peaked at number 49 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart. A cover by

Bob Woodruff Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was ...

peaked at number 89 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Country Tracks chart in Canada in 1997.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic Mark Deming considers "Almost Saturday Night" one of Fogerty's best songs and describes the song as "a gloriously passionate hymn to the promise of the weekend." Deming felt that Fogerty's "gritty" vocals were better suited to the song than Edmunds' "smoother" vocals, but praised Edmunds' enthusiasm and "killer"

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...

. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' critic

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...

praised the song's

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

-like guitar part and

double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...

ed vocal performance, claiming that it is the only song on ''John Fogerty'' which breaks the album's "predictable pattern." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described it as "top notch rock." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that "loose guitar strings lend a

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

-like sound to the musical hookline within another pure rock tune from the master of simplicity-and-roll" ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said that "Punctuated by his gravelly vocals and a distinctly Creedence Clearwater sound, ogertyis in top form producing, arranging, and doing just about everything here." Others who have described the song as "great" include

critic William Ruhlmann and author Billy Poore.

References

{{Authority control 1975 singles 1975 songs 1981 singles John Fogerty songs Dave Edmunds songs Ricky Nelson songs The Flying Burrito Brothers songs Bob Woodruff (singer) songs The Searchers (band) songs Songs written by John Fogerty Song recordings produced by John Fogerty Swan Song Records singles