NEW CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM IN PRODUCTION WITH UNRELEASED FOOTAGE FOUND IN LONDON VAULT AFTER 50 YEARS IN STORAGE
ACTOR JEFF BRIDGES TO NARRATE
Craft Recordings, Concord Originals and Marathan Films are excited to announce the production of the documentary concert feature filmย Travelinโ Band:ย Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall, directed by two-time GRAMMYยฎ Award winner Bob Smeaton (The Beatles Anthology and Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsies) and narrated by Academy Awardยฎ-winning actor Jeff Bridges, who like his iconic characterย โThe Dudeโย inย The Big Lebowski, is a fan of the band.ย The film features the ONLY full concert footage of the original Creedence Clearwater Revival to ever be released.
The film is aย Craft Recordings, Concord Originals and Marathan Filmsย productionย and is produced by Sig Sigworthย (R.E.M. by MTV), Jonathan Clydeย (The Beatles: Get Back), Martin R. Smithย (The Beatles: Sgt Pepperโs Musical Revolution)ย and John Beugย (Running Down a Dreamย Tom Petty). Concordโs Scott Pascucciย (Martin Scorseseโs: Living In The Material World), Bob Valentine and Concord Originalโs Sophia Dilleyย (Billie) executive produce.ย Wesley Adams, Charles Hopkins and Taylor Umphenour are serving as co-producers.
Travelinโ Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall takes the viewer on a journey from the bands humble, yet formative years in El Cerrito, CA, to their meteoric rise in 1969, from headlining Woodstock to selling out the Oakland Coliseum before traveling through Europe and taking the stage at the Royal Albert Hall.ย Featuring a wealth of unseen footage (including the concert itself), this film documents the story of Creedence Clearwater Revival up to the moment they leave the Royal Albert Hall stage as the biggest band in the world.ย The audio for the concert was mixed and restored from the original multitrack tapes by GRAMMYยฎ winnersย Giles Martin and Sam Okellย (The Beatles: Get Back/Rocket Man).
Director Bob Smeaton recalls:
โAs a kid growing up in the UK during the late sixties, early seventies, Creedence were a band that I was only really aware of through their hit singles. Therefore making this film was an education for me, I was able to see and hear why they are worthy of their status as one of the greatest bands of all time. I knew they were good, I never knew they were that good.โ
โUnveiling the power of Creedence at a high-point in their career with this long-lost footage is extraordinary in its own right,โ said Sigworth. โTo have Jeff Bridges narrate us through that discovery is when pop culture collides into something bigger.โ
Jeff Bridges said โWhat a band! Love listeningโ to โem, love playinโ Fogertyโs tunes. Theyโre certainly favorites of mine. Creedence, yeah, man.โ
As 1969 wasย drawing to a close, Creedence Clearwater Revival were challenging The Beatles for the title of the top-selling act in the world and John Fogerty was becoming one of Americaโs most politically significant songwriters.
In April of 1970, Creedence began their first-ever European tour, where the bandโs British debut would take place at the most prestigious music venue in the UK: Londonโs Royal Albert Hall.ย Only days after the breakup of The Beatles, the concert would be one of the defining shows of their career.ย The concert was filmed, but never fully released until now.
Years of research, discovery and restoration have gone into the project including finding the original concert footage in a London vault which has been fully restored after 50 years of storage.ย The film also includes previously unreleased 16mm footage of the legendary performance, fly-on-the-wall band intereactions and interviews unearthed from the Fantasy Records vault, plus what is believed to be the earliest known footage of Creedence performing live.
CAA Media Finance represents the filmโs distribution rights.
Creedence Clearwater Revival:ย During their short time together as a band (1968 โ 1972), Creedence enjoyed an unparalleled period of creativity โ releasing seven studio albums (two of which went to Number One), playing over 150 tour dates around the world, including a headlining spot at Woodstock and scoring 14 Top Ten singles.โฏA mainstay band till today, Creedence accrued 4 billion streams in 2021.ย Over the past 50-plus years, Creedenceโs canon has become a part of the Great American Songbook. Songs like โBad Moon Rising,โ โDown on the Corner,โ โFortunate Son,โ โHave You Ever Seen the Rain,โ โProud Mary,โ โBorn on the Bayou,โ โTravelinโ Bandโ and โUp Around the Bendโ have been ingrained into pop culture โ not just as rock staples, but as timeless standards. With so many memorable compositions that continue to grace the radio waves, television and film screens, and lyrics that still resonate today, Creedence Clearwater Revival is, truly, Americaโs Greatest Rock Band.