Fortunate Son - wikipedia Fortunate Son For other uses, see Fortunate Son ( disambiguation ). `` Fortunate Son '' Single by Creedence Clearwater Revival from the album Willy and the Poor Boys A-side `` Down on the Corner '' Released September 1969 Recorded 1969, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California Genre Hard rock rock and roll Length 2 : 21 Label Fantasy Songwriter ( s ) John Fogerty Producer ( s ) John Fogerty Creedence Clearwater Revival singles chronology `` Down on the Corner '' ( 1969 ) `` Fortunate Son '' ( 1969 ) `` Travelin ' Band '' ( 1970 ) `` Down on the Corner '' ( 1969 ) `` Fortunate Son '' ( 1969 ) `` Travelin ' Band '' ( 1970 ) `` Fortunate Son '' is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival released on their fourth studio album, Willy and the Poor Boys in 1969. It was released as a single, together with `` Down on the Corner '', in September 1969. It soon became an anti-war movement anthem ; an expressive symbol of the counterculture 's opposition to U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War and solidarity with the soldiers fighting it. The song reached # 14 on the United States charts on November 22, 1969, the week before Billboard changed its methodology on double - sided hits. The tracks combined to climb to # 9 the next week, on the way to peaking at # 3 three more weeks later, on 20 December 1969. It won the RIAA Gold Disc award in December 1970. Pitchfork Media placed it at number 17 on its list of `` The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s ''. Rolling Stone placed it at # 99 on its `` 500 Greatest Songs of All Time '' list. In 2014, the song was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being `` culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. '' Contents 1 Origin 2 Interpretive legacy 3 Cover versions 4 Licensed uses 4.1 Video games 4.2 Film and television 4.3 Commercials 5 Certifications 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Origin The song, released during the peak period of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, is not explicit in its criticism of that war in particular, rather, it `` speaks more to the unfairness of class than war itself, '' according to its author, John Fogerty. `` It 's the old saying about rich men making war and poor men having to fight them. '' In 2015, while on the television show The Voice, he also said : The thoughts behind this song - it was a lot of anger. So it was the Vietnam War going on... Now I was drafted and they 're making me fight, and no one has actually defined why. So this was all boiling inside of me and I sat down on the edge of my bed and out came `` It ai n't me, it ai n't me, I ai n't no senator 's son ! '' You know, it took about 20 minutes to write the song. According to his 2015 memoir, Fogerty was thinking about David Eisenhower, the grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who married Julie Nixon, the daughter of President Richard Nixon in 1968, when he wrote `` Fortunate Son. '' ' Fortunate Son ' was n't really inspired by any one event. Julie Nixon was dating David Eisenhower. You 'd hear about the son of this senator or that congressman who was given a deferment from the military or a choice position in the military. They seemed privileged and whether they liked it or not, these people were symbolic in the sense that they were n't being touched by what their parents were doing. They were n't being affected like the rest of us. Interpretive Legacy The song has been widely used to protest military actions as well as elitism in a broader sense in Western society, particularly in the United States ; as an added consequence of its popularity, it has even been used in completely unrelated situations, such as to advertise blue jeans. It attracted criticism when Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, and Zac Brown performed the song together at the November 2014 Concert for Valor in Washington D.C.. Fogerty, a military veteran, defended their song choice. Cover versions The song has since been recorded or performed by many artists. U2 made a cover during Zoo TV Tour era in 1992, appearing in Who 's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses single and the anniversary album Achtung Baby ( Deluxe Edition ) of 2011. Wyclef Jean 's cover of the song was played over the beginning and ending credits of The Manchurian Candidate ( 2004 ). Fogerty recorded a version of the song with Foo Fighters for his 2013 album Wrote a Song for Everyone ( Forced Entry ). Licensed uses This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2016 ) Video games The song is used in the introduction sequence of the game Battlefield Vietnam where it is among a list of in - game playable tracks. The song was also used during the E3 announcement trailer for Battlefield : Bad Company 2 : Vietnam and is also the main menu song for the game and plays mid-game in vehicle radios. `` Fortunate Son '' was also included in the game Call of Duty : Black Ops at the start of the level S.O.G. Its use is an anachronism, as the level S.O.G. takes place during the Battle of Khe Sanh, a year before the song is released. In Homefront, the song is played during the chapter `` Golden Gate ''. A cover of the song was released as DLC for Rock Band in 2007. The first appearance of the song came out before real instruments were integrated. The original version was made available to download on March 1, 2011, for use in Rock Band 3 PRO mode which takes advantage of the use of a real guitar / bass guitar, along with standard MIDI - compatible electronic drum kits in addition to vocals. The master recording by CCR was made available as well in 2010. The song is also playable on basic controllers in Guitar Hero : Warriors of Rock. The song is briefly played as both its original recording and a solo a cappella rendition, sung by Jessy Carolina, in BioShock Infinite. The song is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto V on the in - game radio station Los Santos Rock Radio, though the song is only available for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC versions of the game. An instrumental version of the song is also played as background music in Indianapolis 500 Legends. The song is also featured on the soundtrack for MLB The Show : 09 on PS3. The song is featured in the 2016 video games Mafia III, where its use is an anachronism, as the game takes place a year before the song was released, as well as Watch Dogs 2. Film and television In the 1980 film Melvin and Howard the song is played after Melvin drops Howard off in Los Vegas. In the 1994 film Forrest Gump, `` Fortunate Son '' is featured, and is the introduction song in the scene where Forrest and Bubba are shown flying in a U.S. Army UH - 1C Huey Helicopter, to the combat zone, in South Vietnam, c. 1966, in the Vietnam War. In the 2004 version of the film The Manchurian Candidate, a cover version of this song performed by Wyclef Jean is featured and is the opening track of the closing credits. In the 2007 film Live Free or Die Hard this song is featured several times. In the 2009 episode In Country... Club from American Dad ! this song plays when Stan brings his son to a Vietnam War reenactment. The song however was not credited. In the 2010 film Little White Lies ( called the French Big Chill, in part for its use of American rock classics ), `` Fortunate Son, '' performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival is featured. In the 2010 episode `` Chuck Versus the Beard '' ( season 3 episode 9 ) from the spycom Chuck, this song is covered by the band Jeffster !. In the 2012 film Battleship, the original CCR version plays over the closing credits. In the 2016 film War Dogs this song is featured. In 2016, this song was included in the soundtrack album for the 2016 film Suicide Squad. In the 2017 film Logan Lucky this song is featured during a montage sequence. Commercials A highly edited version was used in a Wrangler commercial because John Fogerty `` long ago signed away legal control of his old recordings to Creedence 's record label, Fantasy Records. '' In this case, the advertiser eventually stopped using the song, as Fogerty related in a later interview : Yes, the people that owned Fantasy Records also owned all my early songs, and they would do all kinds of stuff I really hated in a commercial way with my songs... Then one day somebody from the L.A. Times actually bothered to call me up and ask me how I felt, and I finally had a chance to talk about it. And I said I 'm very much against my song being used to sell pants... So my position got stated very well in the newspaper, and lo and behold, Wrangler to their credit said, `` Wow, even though we made our agreement with the publisher, the owner of the song, we can see now that John Fogerty really hates the idea '', so they stopped doing it. Certifications Region Certification Certified units / Sales United Kingdom ( BPI ) Silver 200,000 United States ( RIAA ) Platinum 1,509,000 ( digital ) sales figures based on certification alone shipments figures based on certification alone sales + streaming figures based on certification alone See also List of anti-war songs References Jump up ^ James E. Perone ( January 1, 2001 ). Songs of the Vietnam Conflict. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 60 --. ISBN 978 - 0 - 313 - 31528 - 2. Jump up ^ `` Creedence Clearwater Revival ''... telus.net. January 2, 1971. Retrieved June 12, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Creedence Clearwater Revival ''. Cleveland, Ohio : Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 4, 2017. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 1990 ). The Billboard Hot 100 Charts : The Sixties ( October 25, 1969 through December 27, 1969 ). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin : Record Research, Inc. ISBN 0 - 89820 - 074 - 1. Jump up ^ Murrells, Joseph ( 1978 ). The Book of Golden Discs. London : Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 257. ISBN 0 - 214 - 20512 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Staff Lists : The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s ''. Pitchfork Media. August 18, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival ''. Songfacts.com. Retrieved June 12, 2010. Jump up ^ The Voice ( US ), Season 9 Episode 7. Originally aired October 12, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Is Creedence Clearwater Revival 's ' Fortunate Son ' About Al Gore ? ''. Urban Legends Reference Pages. Snopes.com. Retrieved August 25, 2006. Jump up ^ Fogerty, John ( 2015 ). Fortunate Son : My Life, My Music. With Jimmy McDonough. Little, Brown. p. 190. ISBN 0316244562. ^ Jump up to : Baker, Bob ( November 1, 2002 ). `` Fogerty to Wrangler : Song in ad ' ai n't me ' - SFGate ''. Articles.sfgate.com. Retrieved March 26, 2010. Jump up ^ Lewis, Randy ( November 12, 2014 ). `` John Fogerty defends ' Fortunate Son ' song choice at Concert for Valor ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 14, 2014. Jump up ^ Greene, Andy ( June 6, 2013 ). `` Fogerty and Friends Go Back to the Bayou ''. Rolling Stone ( 1184 ) : 23. Jump up ^ Battlefield : Bad Company 2 : Vietnam debut trailer Jump up ^ Gaddo, Kyle ( February 25, 2011 ). `` Eleven Legacy Rock Band Tracks Getting PRO Upgrades March 1st ''. DualShockers. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2012. Jump up ^ Snider, Mike ( June 10, 2010 ). `` Rock Band 3 : What 's New, What 's Notable ''. USA Today. Retrieved November 8, 2012. Jump up ^ Pinchefsky, Carol. `` Irrational Games Makes Serious Misstep with ' BioShock : Infinite ' Soundtrack Offering ''. Forbes magazine. Forbes magazine. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2014. Jump up ^ `` The Manchurian Candidate ( 2004 ) - Soundtracks ''. IMDb. Retrieved October 8, 2014. Jump up ^ `` ' American Dad ! ' In Country... Club ( TV Episode 2009 ) - Soundtracks ''. IMDb. Jump up ^ Kaufman, Gil ( June 17, 2016 ). `` ' Suicide Squad ' Soundtrack : Skrillex & Rick Ross, Panic ! at the Disco Cover ' Bohemian Rhapsody ' & More ''. Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2016. Jump up ^ Baker, Bob ( October 23, 2002 ). `` Their ' Son ' was Fogerty 's baby ; The last thing the singer wants is a Creedence corporate revival, but he does n't own the rights, so ' Fortunate Son ' now sells jeans ''. Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved March 29, 2010. Jump up ^ `` John Fogerty Experiences a Musical and Personal ' Revival ' ''. Spinner. October 5, 2007. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2010. Jump up ^ `` British single certifications -- Creedence Clearwater Revival -- Fortunate Son ''. British Phonographic Industry. Enter Fortunate Son in the search field and then press Enter. Jump up ^ `` American single certifications -- Creedence Clearwater Revival -- Fortunate Son ''. Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH Jump up ^ `` Nielsen SoundScan charts -- Digital Songs -- Week Ending : 7 / 6 / 2017 '' ( PDF ). Nielsen SoundScan. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on August 8, 2017. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Classic Tracks : Creedence Clearwater Revival `` Fortunate Son '' Library of Congress essay on the song 's addition to the National Recording Registry. Creedence Clearwater Revival Doug Clifford Stu Cook John Fogerty Tom Fogerty Studio albums Creedence Clearwater Revival Bayou Country Green River Willy and the Poor Boys Cosmo 's Factory Pendulum Mardi Gras Live albums Live in Europe The Concert Compilations Creedence Gold More Creedence Gold Pre-Creedence Chronicle, Vol. 1 The Best of Creedence Clearwater Revival 20 Golden Greats Creedence Country Hits Album At the Movies Chronicle, Vol. 2 Rollin ' on the River Heartland Music Presents Creedence Clearwater Revival Keep On Chooglin ' Creedence Clearwater Revival : Box Set Bad Moon Rising : The Best of Creedence Clearwater Revival Platinum Creedence Clearwater Revival Covers the Classics Singles `` Porterville '' / `` Call It Pretending '' `` Suzie Q. ( Part 1 ) '' / `` Suzie Q. ( Part 2 ) '' `` I Put a Spell on You '' / `` Walk on the Water '' `` Proud Mary '' / `` Born on the Bayou '' `` Bad Moon Rising '' / `` Lodi '' `` Green River '' / `` Commotion '' `` Down on the Corner '' / `` Fortunate Son '' `` Travelin ' Band '' / `` Who 'll Stop the Rain '' `` Run Through the Jungle '' / `` Up Around the Bend '' `` Lookin ' Out My Back Door '' / `` Long As I Can See the Light '' `` Have You Ever Seen the Rain ? '' / `` Hey Tonight '' `` Sweet Hitch - Hiker '' / `` Door to Door '' `` Someday Never Comes '' / `` Tearin ' up the Country '' `` I Heard It Through the Grapevine '' / `` Good Golly Miss Molly '' Related articles Discography Song list The Blue Velvets The Golliwogs Creedence Clearwater Revisited Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc. Saul Zaentz Fantasy Records Book : Creedence Clearwater Revival Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fortunate_Son&oldid=818888718 '' Categories : 1969 singles 1969 songs Anti-war songs Cat Power songs Counterculture of the 1960s Creedence Clearwater Revival songs Death Cab for Cutie songs Dropkick Murphys songs Fantasy Records singles Hard rock songs Pearl Jam songs Song recordings produced by John Fogerty Songs of the Vietnam War Songs written by John Fogerty United States National Recording Registry recordings Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from April 2016 Articles with hAudio microformats Articles needing additional references from December 2016 All articles needing additional references Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom Certification Table Entry usages for United States Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 6 January 2018, at 05 : 26. 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Question: who sang i ain't no fortunate one
Answer: Creedence Clearwater Revival