Learn How to Play 'Bad Moon Rising' by Creedence Clearwater Revival

By 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival had already enjoyed a modicum of success on the backs of songs like "Suzie Q," "Born on the Bayou" and the smash "Proud Mary."

But that also meant the pressure was on during a time when bands were releasing singles every few weeks. To take Creedence Clearwater Revival to the next level - and catapult them into the conversation of the greatest rock band on the scene - frontman John Fogerty set out to pen his next hit.

Eventually, "Bad Moon Rising" was born.

Fogerty claimed that the track was inspired by the 1941 movie The Devil and Daniel Webster, which was shot in black-and-white noir and focused on a down-on-his-luck protagonist who sells his soul to the Devil. In one particularly notable scene, a hurricane wipes out a town.

Fogerty referenced that hurricane when he sang, "I feel the hurricane blowin' / I hope you're quite prepared to die" and other apocalyptic lines throughout the tune.

"Bad Moon Rising" also came out in 1969 as the Vietnam War raged and a year after Martin Luther King Jr. and senator Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated, which made its allusions to paranoia even more poignant, even though Fogerty has noted that it wasn't specifically political in nature.

"When you're a very tuned-in young person, you're tied to everything that affects your generation," he told Rolling Stone. "So I think it was there, but I was more into the idea of natural phenomena and unavoidability."

The catchy swamp-rock riffs of "Bad Moon Rising" was perfectly in line with Creedence Clearwater Revival's overall vibe and helped the album Green River become the band's most acclaimed LP.

"Bad Moon Rising," CCR's second gold single, reached No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 chard and No. 1 on the UK Singles chart, and it was named No. 364 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.

Creedence Clearwater Revival officially became part of rock royalty in 1993 when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and you can live in that rarified air by learning how to play "Bad Moon Rising" with Fender Play.

In the video above from Fender Play instructor Matt Lake, you can run through a simplified version of the blockbuster track with the use of the D, A and G chords.

Check it out above, and if you're not a member of Fender Play yet, click here for a free trial.