In just a couple of years, Creedence Clearwater Revival generated one of the most amazing runs of hits inAmerican pop history: from “Proud Mary” to “Green River,” “Bad Moon Rising” to “Travelin’ Band.”Reportedly, they even outsold the Beatles in America in 1969. But for all their success with those JohnFogerty–penned classics, CCR never held the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100. All of those hits were No. 2s: adubious Billboard chart record they hold to this day, for most No. 2s without a No. 1. True, it was the late ’60s,and CCR had the bad luck to be competing with such chart titans as Paul Simon and Sly Stone…butsometimes they were held back by No. 1 songs that are barely remembered today. In this episode of HitParade, we break down the sequence of events that relegated CCR—a future first-ballot Rock and Roll Hall ofFame band—to the charts’ permanent runner-up slot.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices