CCR — Bad Moon Rising

I have arranged another song by one of the most popular American bands of the 1960s, Creedence Clearwater Revival: Bad Moon Rising. Alongside Proud Mary and Have You Ever Seen the Rain , it is one of their best-known songs. Those who attend ukulele meetupsare used to us playing a CCR song at almost every gathering, because they sound great on ukulele and are usually not difficult. Most of their songs can be covered with three or four chords, although there are of course a few more complicated exceptions.

The unmistakable character of CCR's songs comes above all from John Fogerty's powerful, high and highly distinctive voice, as well as the wonderful guitar playing. Reproducing all of that is difficult — really, impossible — because there is only one Fogerty, and a ukulele is no substitute for an electric guitar. Still, with a good strumming pattern and carefully placed accents, I think we can create a great accompaniment to CCR songs, including Bad Moon Rising.

As I mentioned above, the key to a convincing ukulele accompaniment for Bad Moon Rising is getting the accents right while maintaining the correct rhythmic feel. I would like to demonstrate this through the song's intro, which also serves as the accompaniment pattern for the verse. Here it is:

You can find the chords written into the lyrics at this link .