"Lodi" is a song

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

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 performed by

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...

. Recorded in March 1969, it was released in April, four months before the album, as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of "Bad Moon Rising", the lead single from ''Green River''. The song describes the plight of a down-and-out musician whose career has landed him playing gigs in the town of Lodi (pronounced "low-die"), a small agricultural community in California's Central Valley, located around southeast of

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

and northeast of Fogerty's hometown of El Cerrito. After playing in local bars, the narrator finds himself stranded and unable to raise bus or train fare to leave. Fogerty later said he had never actually visited Lodi before writing this song, and simply picked it for the song because it had "the coolest sounding name." The song's chorus, "Oh Lord, stuck in Lodi again," has been the theme of several city events in Lodi. The song's

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

includes a change of key in the final verse of the track, emphasising the melancholy drama of the lyric, "If I only had a dollar for every song I sung...."

Reception

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 the single as having "an easy beat," being as powerful as its flip side "

Bad Moon Rising "Bad Moon Rising" is a song written by John Fogerty and performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was the lead single from their album '' Green River'' and was released in April 16, 1969 four months before the album. The song peaked at No. ...

" and as having a similar feel to Creedence Clearwater Revival's earlier single "

Proud Mary "Proud Mary" is a song written by John Fogerty and first recorded by his band Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was released by Fantasy Records as a single from the band's second studio album, '' Bayou Country'', which was issued by the same ...

." ''

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 ...

'' similarly described it as "powerhouse material" that is similar to and as strong as the group's previous single "

Songwriter's assessment

Fogerty stated, "On 'Lodi', I saw a much older person than I was, 'cause it is sort of a tragic telling. A guy is stuck in a place where people really don't appreciate him. Since I was at the beginning of a good career, I was hoping that that wouldn't happen to me."

Cover versions

The song has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by many musicians including: *

Advance Base Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (CFTPA) was the musical solo-project of musician Owen Ashworth (born April 22, 1977) of Redwood City, California. CFTPA was active from 1997 to 2010, and released five studio albums, alongside numerous other re ...

* Tesla *

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

Amy Ray Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964) is an American alto singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released six albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daem ...

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* Tom Jones *

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...

Jeffrey Foucault Jeffrey Foucault (born January 26, 1976) is an American songwriter and record producer from Whitewater, Wisconsin, United States, whose work marries the influence of American country, blues, rock 'n' roll, and folk music. He has released seven ...

The Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris ...

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

* Smokie *

Dan Penn Dan Penn (born Wallace Daniel Pennington, November 16, 1941) is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, who co-wrote many soul hits of the 1960s, including "The Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" wi ...

*Also in 1969, Al Wilson peaked at #67 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

with his version. *

The Blue Aeroplanes The Blue Aeroplanes are an English rock band from Bristol, the mainstays of which have been Gerard Langley, brother John Langley, and dancer Wojtek Dmochowski. All three had previously been members of the New wave music, new wave "art band" Ar ...

Tim Armstrong Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. ...

* FIDLAR *

Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Mos ...

*The Italian band

Stormy Six Stormy Six were an Italian progressive and folk rock band founded in Milan in 1966. They performed and recorded until 1983, mostly as a sextet but occasionally as a quartet, a quintet and a septet. Although their line-up changed considerably o ...

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

The Brandos The Brandos are an American rock band formed in 1985 in New York City by Dave Kincaid (vocals, guitar), Ernie Mendillo (bass, vocals), Ed Rupprecht (guitar, vocals) and Larry Mason (drums, vocals). The Brandos achieved commercial success in the ...

Eric Church Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released nine studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's '' Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billboar ...

* Lobo *In 1992 a free translation was a small hit as "Rocker in Holland" for Dutch singer

Jan Rot Jan Rot (25 December 1957 – 22 April 2022) was a Dutch singer-songwriter born in Makassar, who was famous in the Netherlands for his many translations of songs, pop as well as classical ones. His Dutch translation of Bach's ''St Matthew Pas ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lodi (Creedence Clearwater Revival song) 1969 singles Songs written by John Fogerty Creedence Clearwater Revival songs John Fogerty songs Lodi, California Song recordings produced by John Fogerty Songs about California Fantasy Records singles 1969 songs