James Beaty: OPINION: RAMBLIN': Cody Canada and The Departed and the other CCR.

Aug. 6—As far as Red Dirt music fans and musicians are concerned, there are two CCRs.

Of course, there's Creedence Clearwater Revival, the 1960s hit-making powerhouse led by lead singer, songwriter and lead guitarist John Fogerty.

He had an able assist from drummer Doug Clifford, bassist Stu Cook and his brother Tom Fogerty on rhythm guitar.

By churning out hit-after hit from 1969-to-1971, ranging from "Proud Mary" to "Fortunate Son," they racked up an amazing 14 top 10 singles in a row.

Five of their albums hit the top 10, including "Green River" and "Cosmos Factory," both of which went all the way to #1.

Those accomplishments helped make Creedence Clearwater Revival the name many think of when they hear the acronym CCR.

But as any red-blooded Red Dirt music fan knows, there's another band also known as CCR.

Like Creedence Clearwater Revival, this group is no longer active as a working unit, but individual band members are.

Fogerty continues to play solo performances including many of the Creedence Clearwater Revival songs, while Clifford and Cook formed Creedence Clearwater Revisited to perform their versions of Creedence songs.

As for the other CCR, my brother Larry recently told me of a day a number of years ago, when someone told him CCR would be playing in a nearby venue.

"Creedence Clearwater Revival?" he asked.

"No," his friend said. "Cross Canadian Ragweed."

Like Creedence, Cross Canadian Ragweed is no longer a working unit — but also like with Creedence, Cross Canadian Ragweed's original lead singer, chief songwriter and lead guitarist Cody Canada is very much active with his new band, Cody Canada and The Departed.

Along with Cross Canadian Ragweed's original bass player, harmony singer and occasional lead vocalist Jeremy Plato and joined by drummer Eric Hansen, two thirds of Cody Canada and The Departed consist of former Cross Canadian Ragweed members.

Originally formed in Yukon, Oklahoma, this CCR found its greatest fame after moving to Stillwater and becoming a major force in the Red Dirt music movement, so named for the color of the dirt in the Stillwater area.

Music fans who attended the July 22 Dancing Rabbit Music Festival's Red Dirt Reunion in downtown McAlester got to hear the cross-pollination between the two bands for themselves.

With Cody Canada and The Departed in the featured lineup along with Jason Boland & The Stragglers, Kody West, and the Red Dirt Rangers, Canada made a pronouncement as he and The Departed stepped onto the outdoor stage near the intersection of Third Street and Choctaw Avenue.

"I've got a special set list tonight of a really lot of old stuff," Canada said to cheers from the festival-goers packed in front of the stage. That obviously meant they would be hearing lots of Cross Canadian Ragweed songs.

Canada's special set list was more than a nod to nostalgia.

He and The Departed rerecorded Cross Canadian Ragweed's iconic 2004 album "Soul Gravy," a favorite of many Red Dirt music fans.

In an advance interview with the News-Capital, Canada spoke of his reasons for rerecording the album, released as "Soul Gravy 2022."

With the original 2004 version shooting all the way to #5 on the Billboard Country Music charts as well as climbing to #51 on the Billboard Hot 200, many CCR fans were surely pleased with the original version.

Although Canada wrote or co-wrote most of the songs, he said he doesn't own the rights to the recordings on the original "Soul Gravy" album.

"I didn't own the rights to those recordings," Canada said. "They're my songs, and I own the songs, but when it came to those recordings, I didn't."

When Canada wanted to rerelease his recordings on vinyl, that became an issue.

Canada said he felt inspired to rerecord the "Soul Gravy" album after Taylor Swift began rerecording some of her earlier albums because she didn't own the rights to her earlier works, either.

"When she rerecorded her stuff, that was a green light for me," said Canada.

How's the reaction to the 2022 version of "Soul Gravy" so far?

"I really expected to see some mixed reviews," Canada said. Instead, all of the ones he's seen have been positive, he said, noting the fans seem to like "Soul Gravy" 2022, too.

Many of those attending Cody Canada and The Departed's concert at the Dancing Rabbit Musical Festival were certainly happy to hear those "Soul Gravy" songs, going by the cheers, yells, whoops and applause that erupted every time the group began a CCR song — both from "Soul Gravy" and other albums as well.

"Hello Okie girls," Canada said to some of the fans down front as he and the band took the stage.

Canada interspersed the time between songs with comments to the audience.

"I used to come here with my parents for the prison rodeo," Canada said, referring to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo at OSP, an event which some are still trying to revive.

Many of the fans knew all the words to almost every number Canada sang, prompting him to stop singing a few times to let the crowd carry the songs.

One of the biggest of many crowd reactions came when Canada strapped a harmonica rack around his neck, blew a few notes, and began CCR's stoner number, "Boys From Oklahoma," from the band's album "Live and Loud at the Wormy Dog Saloon."

He and The Departed whipped many of the fans down front into a joyous near-frenzy with their rendition of the song.

They followed with "Alabama," a single release and a favored song from the "Soul Gravy" album.

Audience members sang along with every word of the chorus and many of the verses, as Canada sang: "Maybe I miss your lovin'; Maybe I miss your kiss just a little bit; Maybe I miss your body, lyin' right next to mine; Maybe I miss your touch, a little too much."

Their enthusiasm continued when Canada and The Departed ripped into more CCR favorites, such as "17," with the refrain, "You're always 17 in your hometown."

If Jason Boland & The Stranglers lean more toward the alt-country side of Red Dirt music, Cody Canada and The Departed lean more toward the alt-rock side, with many of the concert highlights coming through Canada's blazing guitar solos.

While Canada and The Departed ordinarily play as a trio, in the midst of the concert Canada invited the young man who'd been selling the group's merchandise from a nearby tent to join them onstage.

An elated Peyton Glasco stepped onstage, strapped on a guitar and did much more than provide rhythmic accompaniment, shredding his share of lead guitar solos during his numbers with the band.

During that advance interview with the News-Capital, Canada had a theory as to why his and The Departed's "Soul Gravy 2022" has been so well-received by the fans.

"I think they're happy that I'm doing these songs," he said.

Judging by the response of the fans packed around the stage every time Cody Canada and The Departed played a "Soul Gravy" song during their McAlester performance, I'd say he's right."