40-20-10. It’s the 40-year anniversary of Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s Chronicle: 20 Greatest Hits and it’s still earning certifications. Concord Records Group, which controls the band’s Fantasy Records catalog announced that the collection has officially received Diamond certification by the RIAA, representing 10 million copies sold.
Chronicle includes all of CCR’s charting hits, including such Top 5 singles “Proud Mary,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Down on the Corner,” “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” “Green River,” “Up Around The Bend” and “Travelin’ Band.” This doesn’t come as much surprise though, considering Creedence Clearwater Revival’s music is still a staple of U.S. classic rock radio. The band has sold more than 26 million albums in the United States.
Since the inception of the Diamond Award in 1999, only 110+ albums have achieved this benchmark status. CCR’s Chronicle will be joining a very select club. Other acts that have achieved that milestone include The Beatles (6x), Led Zeppelin (5x), The Eagles (3x), Fleetwood Mac, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Meat Loaf and Billy Joel, to name a few.
This honor truly signifies the indelible mark that Creedence Clearwater Revival’s music has made on popular culture. Between 1968 and 1972, the Northern California-based band released seven albums on Fantasy Records: Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bayou Country, Green River, Willy and the Poor Boys, Cosmo’s Factory, Pendulum and Mardi Gras.
Here’s the band performing “Proud Mary” live…
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1976’s Chronicle remains CCR’s best-selling album, representing the incredible creative output of John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Doug Clifford and Stu Cook as they dominated pop radio from 1969-71. The follow-up compilation album Chronicle: Volume 2 –Twenty Great CCR Classics was also well received when it was released in 1986. It included hits such as “Born on the Bayou” and “Hello Mary Lou” among others from albums past.
