This intimate history of the turbulent career of one of rock’s most celebrated groups documents the story of Creedence Clearwater Revival from their early struggles, to their rise of stardom, to the battles that drove them apart. “From the beginning,” author Craig Werner asserts, “there was something deeply mythic about Creedence Clearwater Revival.” But the story of the four California suburbanites who transformed the American pop music landscape by tapping into Southern roots rock is a legend that has been hard to pin down, interpreted differently by rock critics, by the music industry and particularly by various members of the band.

CCR’s acrimonious breakup in 1971, fueled by escalating battles between frontman John Fogerty and his bandmates, revealed that each member of the band had different ideas about everything from musical philosophy to career ambitions to songcraft. Given that the truth about the band’s rise and demise has been hotly contested, the kind of oral history that Werner weaves together here is particularly useful: each bandmember gets the opportunity to air his own perspective fully. While the antipathy between Fogerty and his bandmates has not abated over time, all four confront both their collective successes and crises articulately and with unflinching — and sometimes brutal — honesty. They still share a passion for music, focusing on their own songs and on the artists that influenced them. Fogerty, in particular, waxes lyrical about the profound role music has played in his life. Despite their animosities, the members of CCR celebrate the dynamic spirit of rock and roll. As drummer Doug Clifford puts it: “It was a wonderful thing. It was a dream of schoolboys growing up, the American dream … It doesn’t get any better than that.”