"Down on the Corner" is a song by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

band Creedence Clearwater Revival. It appeared on their fourth studio album, ''

Willy and the Poor Boys ''Willy and the Poor Boys'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records in November 1969. It was the last of three studio albums the band released that year, arriving just three mon ...

'' (1969). The song peaked at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 20 December 1969. The flip side, "

Fortunate Son "Fortunate Son" is a song by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival released on their fourth studio album, ''Willy and the Poor Boys'' in November 1969. It was previously released as a single, together with "Down on the Corner", in ...

", reached No. 14 on the United States charts on 22 November 1969, the week before ''Billboard'' changed its methodology on double-sided hits. In Canada, the single reached No. 4 in December 1969, and No. 5 in New Zealand. The song performed better in much of Continental Europe, where it made number 2 in Germany, number 9 in Austria, number 8 in the Netherlands, number 17 in Flemish-speaking Belgium and number 6 in French-speaking Belgium than in the United Kingdom, where it stalled at number 31.

Content

The song chronicles the tale of the fictional band Willy and the Poor Boys, and how they play on street corners to cheer people up and ask for

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

s. Songwriter John Fogerty explained how the lyrics were derived: The song makes reference to a harmonica, washboard, a

kazoo The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifie ...

, a Kalamazoo guitar, and a gut bass. In a 1969 appearance on The Music Scene TV show, the band performed the song dressed up as “Willy and the Poor Boys”.

Stu Cook Stuart Alden Cook (born April 25, 1945) is an American bass guitarist, best known for his work in the rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Career Cook, along with Doug Clif ...

played a gut bass, Doug Clifford the washboard, and Tom Fogerty the Kalamazoo, which mimicked the appearance of the band as they appear on the album cover. '' Billboard'' described the single as having "an infectious calypso beat."

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Down On The Corner Creedence Clearwater Revival songs Songs written by John Fogerty Jerry Reed songs Song recordings produced by John Fogerty 1969 singles 1969 songs Fantasy Records singles