Bad Moon Rising
{{short description|1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival song}}
{{about|the 1969 song|other works|}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Bad Moon Rising
| cover = Bad Moon Rising label.jpeg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Creedence Clearwater Revival
| album = Green River
| B-side = Lodi
| released = {{Start date|1969|04|16}}
| recorded = March 1969
| studio = Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, California
| genre =
- Rockabilly{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/bad-moon-rising-mt0011355792 | title=Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival - Track Info | AllMusic | website=AllMusic }}{{cite book|first=Dave|last=Marsh|title=The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5t5DYDniSHEC|date=1989|publisher=Plume|isbn=0-452-26305-0|page=138}}
- blues rock{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Henry Mancini's "Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet"|website= Stereogum |date= November 27, 2018 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2023770/the-number-ones-henry-mancinis-love-theme-from-romeo-and-juliet/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= Creedence Clearwater Revival's apocalyptic blues-rock rambler “Bad Moon Rising” peaked at #2...|access-date= June 15, 2023}}
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=21}}
| label = Fantasy
| writer = John Fogerty
| producer = John Fogerty
| prev_title = Proud Mary
| prev_year = 1969
| next_title = Green River
| next_year = 1969
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|zUQiUFZ5RDw|"Bad Moon Rising" (lyric video)}}}}
}}
"Bad Moon Rising" is a song written by John Fogerty and performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was the lead single from their album Green River and was released on April 16, 1969 four months before the album. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on 28 June 1969 and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in September of that year (see 1969 in music). It was CCR's second gold single.Chronicle, Vol. 1 Liner Notes
The song has been recorded by at least 20 different artists, in styles ranging from folk to reggae to psychedelic rock.
In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 364 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.
It is one of five songs by the band that peaked at the No. 2 spot on the U.S. Billboard chart and did not get to No. 1. It was blocked by "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" by Henry Mancini.
On John Fogerty's 2013 album Wrote a Song for Everyone, the song is included featuring the Zac Brown Band.{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/wrote-a-song-for-everyone-mw0002349081 | title=John Fogerty - Wrote a Song for Everyone Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic | website=AllMusic }}
Composition
"Bad Moon Rising" uses weather imagery to make the point that something bad is lurking "out there."
Fogerty reportedly wrote the song after watching the 1941 film The Devil and Daniel Webster. It was inspired by a scene in the film in which a hurricane destroys the crops of several farms, but spares those of Jabez Stone (James Craig), the character in the film who makes a deal with the devil in exchange for wealth. Fogerty claims the song is about "the apocalypse that was going to be visited upon us".{{cite magazine
| first = Michael
| last = Goldberg
| date = February 4, 1993
| title = John Fogerty Looks Back on the Glory Days of Creedence Clearwater Revival
| magazine = Rolling Stone
| url = http://riverising.tripod.com/john-interviews/rollingstone2.html
| access-date = January 24, 2011
}} He also said that when the band was learning the song, he recognized the contrast between the apocalyptic words and the happy melody.{{cite book|title=Up Around the Bend|author=Werner, Craig|pages=144–145|publisher=Avon Books|isbn=0380801531|year=1998}} He said "It wasn't until the band was learning the song that I realized the dichotomy. Here you've got this song with all these hurricanes and blowing and raging ruin and all that, but it's 'I see a bad moon rising.' It's a happy-sounding tune, right? It didn't bother me at the time."
Reception
In 1969, the American music and entertainment magazine Billboard described the single as being "loaded with rhythm and drive" and predicted it "[couldn't] miss going
right to the top."{{cite news|newspaper=Billboard|access-date=2021-02-20|date=April 26, 1969|page=82|title=Spotlight Singles|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1969/Billboard%201969-04-26.pdf}} Cash Box, another contemporary music trade magazine, described it as a "blazing bayou-rock outing" that is "louder and bolder" than the group's previous single "Proud Mary."{{cite news|title=CashBox Record Reviews|date=April 26, 1969|page=22|access-date=2021-12-08|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1969/CB-1969-04-26.pdf|newspaper=Cash Box}} Cash Box ranked it as the No. 51 single of 1969.{{cite web|title=Top 100 Chart Hits of 1969|publisher=Cash Box|date=December 27, 1969|access-date=2021-12-08|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1969/CB-1969-12-27.pdf|page=22}}
Ultimate Classic Rock critic Cliff M. Junior rated "Bad Moon Rising" as Creedence Clearwater Revival's 5th greatest song, saying that "in a little more than two minutes, [Fogerty] unloads his mind and prompts you to think about what's troubling you in your life."{{cite web|title=Top 10 Creedence Clearwater Revival Songs |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/creedence-clearwater-revival-songs/|access-date=2022-06-11|publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock|date=September 9, 2012|author=Junior, Cliff M.}}
Use in other media
The song has been referenced numerous times by the Plants vs. Zombies franchise, including a use in an advertisement for Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 and an aptly-named trick card in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes. The song also appears in a 2023 TV commercial for Toyota.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
"Bad Moon Rising" plays as David nears the moment of changing into a werewolf in the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}
The song also plays at the beginning of the Las Vegas season 3 finale "Father of the Bride".
The song is played on the radio in the video game Mafia III, although its usage is anachronistic since the game takes place in 1968.
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Weekly chart performance for "Bad Moon Rising" ! scope="col"| Chart (1969) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| scope=row|Australia (Go-Set){{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}
|align="center"|3 |
|---|
| {{single chart|Austria|8|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|song=Bad Moon Rising|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Flanders|4|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|song=Bad Moon Rising|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Wallonia Tip|22|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|song=Bad Moon Rising|rowheader=true}} |
| {{singlechart|Canadatopsingles|5|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|song=Bad Moon Rising|chartid=6026|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Germany|8|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|song=Bad Moon Rising|songid=101|rowheader=true}} |
| {{singlechart|Ireland2|1|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|song=Bad Moon Rising|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Dutch40|10|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|song=Bad Moon Rising|rowheader=true}} |
| scope=row|New Zealand (Listener){{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}
|align="center"|1 |
| {{single chart|Norway|3|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|song=Bad Moon Rising|rowheader=true}} |
| scope=row|South Africa (Springbok Radio){{cite web|url=http://rock.co.za/files/sa_charts_1969_1989_songs_(A-B).html|title=SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Songs A–B|website=South African Rock Lists|access-date=January 14, 2020}}
|align="center"|1 |
| {{single chart|Switzerland|9|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|song=Bad Moon Rising|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|UK|1|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|song=Bad Moon Rising|date=19690920|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|2|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|song=Bad Moon Rising|rowheader=true}} |
| scope=row|US Cash Box Hot 100{{Cite web |url=http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/19690614.html |title=Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 14, 1969 |access-date=September 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220093255/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/19690614.html |archive-date=February 20, 2017 |url-status=dead }}
|align="center"|2 |
| scope=row|US Record World
|style="text-align:center;"|1 |
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+2021 weekly chart performance for "Bad Moon Rising" ! scope="col"| Chart (2021) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| scope="row"|Canada Digital Song Sales (Billboard){{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/creedence-clearwater-revival/chart-history/cns/|title=Creedence Clearwater Revival Chart History (Canadian Digital Song Sales)|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 18, 2022}}
|align="center"|13 |
|---|
| scope="row"|US Digital Song Sales (Billboard){{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/creedence-clearwater-revival/chart-history/hds/|title=Creedence Clearwater Revival Chart History (Digital Song Sales)|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 16, 2022}}
|align="center"|22 |
| {{singlechart|Billboardrocksongs|12|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|rowheader=true|access-date=November 9, 2021}} |
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2024 weekly chart performance for "Bad Moon Rising" ! scope="col"| Chart (2024) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| scope="row"| Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan){{cite web|url=https://www.sverigetopplistan.se/chart/215?dspy=2024&dspp=9|title=Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 9|publisher=Sverigetopplistan|access-date=March 2, 2024}}
| 11 |
|---|
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Bad Moon Rising"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=single|title=Bad Moon Rising|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|award=Platinum|relyear=1971|certyear=2023|id=13242|access-date=December 7, 2023}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|type=single|title=Bad Moon Rising|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|award=Gold|relyear=1971|certyear=2025|access-date=March 11, 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|title=Bad Moon Rising|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|award=Gold|relyear=1971|certyear=2024|id=12651|access-date=June 4, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|title=Bad Moon Rising|award=Platinum|number=4|type=single|relyear=1971|access-date=December 16, 2024|certyear=2024|source=radioscope}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|title=Bad Moon Rising|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|award=Gold|relyear=1971|certyear=2024|id=creedence-clearwater-revival-bad-moon-rising|access-date=March 6, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|title=Bad Moon Rising|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|award=Platinum|relyear=2005|certyear=2022|id=13999-1136-1|access-date=April 25, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|title=Bad Moon Rising|artist=Creedence Clearwater Revival|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1971|certyear=2016}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Creedence}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bad Moon Rising (Song)}}
Category:Songs written by John Fogerty
Category:Creedence Clearwater Revival songs
Category:Jerry Lee Lewis songs
Category:UK singles chart number-one singles
Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand
Category:Number-one singles in South Africa
Category:Song recordings produced by John Fogerty