“Proud Mary” (1) 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 record company and is generally considered to have been released in early January 1969, although one source states that it came out just before Christmas 1968. The song became a major hit in the United States, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard in March 1969, the first of five singles to peak at No. 2 for the group.
In 1969 Solomon Burke had a small hit with his cover of the song, which was his second release for Bell and was co-produced by singer Tamiko Jones, who was being rehabilitated after a bout of polio, and was at the time Burke’s fiancée and manager. Burke recalls: “We went to Muscle Shoals and recorded Proud Mary, which they didn’t like at all. They thought it was stupid to record a song Proud Mary, which was already on the charts. I was explaining to them that it was a very big record, but it’s a very white record, a pop record. We will redo the record, open up the doors for it to get on the r&b charts and make the black stations to play the record.
Checkmates Ltd released a cover of Proud Mary Featuring Sonny Charles in 1969 and produced by Phil Spector. The song peaked at No. 69 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1969. It also reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 42 in France.
Ike & Tina Turner released “Proud Mary” In January 1971 as the second single from their 1970 album Workin’ Together. Their rendition differs greatly from the structure of the original, but is also well-known and has become one of Tina Turner’s most recognizable signature songs. According to Tina, Ike wasn’t keen on the original version, but the cover of “Proud Mary” by the Checkmates Ltd piqued his interest. Ike and Tina’s version was substantially rearranged by Ike Turner and Soko Richardson. The song starts off with a slow, sultry soulful tone in which Tina introduces the song and warns the audience that she and the band are gonna start it off “nice and easy” as “we never do nothing nice and easy” but say they would finish it “nice and rough”. After the lyrics are first sung softly by the Turners, the song is then turned into a funk rock vamp with Tina and the Ikeettes delivering gospel-influenced vocals.The single peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on March 27, 1971, two years after the original by Creedence Clearwater Revival was at its peak. It also reached No. 5 on the Billboard R&B chart, and earned the duo a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group in 1972.
he song continued to be an essential part of Tina’s performances. In 1988, a live version was included on the album Tina Live in Europe. In the biopic, What’s Love Got to Do with It, the song is performed in a timeline of events in Ike and Tina’s career in which the couple are transformed from an opening act for The Rolling Stones to a major headlining act in the 1970s. Tina re-recorded the song for the biopic’s 1993 soundtrack album of the same name. “Proud Mary” ranked at No. 155 on Rolling Stone’s 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Tina Turner has duetted with both Cher and Beyonce on Proud Mary. When she was hnoured by the Kennedy Centre in 2005, Beyonce performed a very creditable impression of Tina Turner whilst singing Proud Mary.
Finally, a very special perfomance from 12 year old Fayth Ifil from Britain’s Got Talent in 2020.
