The Ultimate Fortunate Son Guitar Lesson (CCR)

For generations, music has been used to protest and express powerful emotions…

Sometimes songs tell made-up stories…

But sometimes they are as REAL as it gets…

Today’s lesson is a perfect example of the latter...

It was released in 1969 during the height of the Vietnam War. 

And it carries a powerful message and some great guitar riffs.

So grab your guitar and let’s get started with this “Fortunate Son” guitar lesson.

Who wrote Fortunate Son?

“Fortunate Son” was written by the iconic frontman for the band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), John Fogerty.

This song is often considered an anti-Vietnam War anthem. It was even recorded at Wally Heider's Recording Studio in San Francisco in 1969, during the height of the Vietnam War.

Fogerty wanted to express his frustration and anger about the socioeconomic disparities prevalent during the Vietnam War era. The song criticizes the privileged class, particularly those who were able to avoid serving in the military through connections or wealth, while those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were disproportionately drafted and sent to fight in the war.

The song was released on CCR's album Willy and the Poor Boys in 1969. It became a massive commercial success, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

It also earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock & Roll Single in 1970, and was ranked #99 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

Fortunate Son Guitar Tuning

"Fortunate Son" is played in D standard tuning. This means all six strings of the guitar are tuned down a whole step from their standard pitches. So, instead of E-A-D-G-B-E, the tuning for "Fortunate Son" is D-G-C-F-A-D.

• 6th string: D
• 5th string: G
• 4th string: C
• 3rd string: F
• 2nd string: A
• 1st string: D

Tuning down creates a heavier, thicker sound that suits the song's bluesy rock style. It also allows for easier playing of certain chords and riffs used in the song.

If you're familiar with playing this song in standard tuning. You'll need to adjust your finger positions and chord shapes to accommodate the lower tuning for "Fortunate Son."

Fortunate Son Chords

There are only four chords you need to know to play “Fortunate Son”, those chords are A, G, D, and E.

For this lesson, I will be referring to the tuned-down chords. This means that the concert pitch of these chords is a whole step lower (G, F, C, and D). 

But I’ll be referring to the tuned-down chords for ease of learning. So with that said, let’s take a look at how these chords can be played on the fretboard.

For the A chord, I use just my index finger in the fretting hand. This will get you a great rock sound. I mute the 6th and 1st strings. And play strings 5 through 2 like this:

For G, I use a common bar chord shape in third position like this:

D is played from the 4th string down like this:

And finally, E is played using all 6 strings like this:

These are the four chord shapes you’ll need to know to play “Fortunate Son” like John Fogerty.

Here is a video demonstrating how he used these shapes. You can see from the fretting positions that his guitar was tuned down.

Now that you have the chord shapes down…

Let’s next talk about putting them into progressions. There are only 2 different progressions in the song to know. The intro/verse is one progression. Then the chorus is the second progression.

Each of these progressions is 4 bars long and then you repeat them.

Let’s start with the intro/verse. Here we begin with the A chord and then go G, D, A. Each chord lasts 1 bar, and note that it starts with A and also ends with A. This means that when we loop it back around well play 2 bars back-to-back of A like this:

A (1 bar)

G (1 bar)

D (1 bar)

A (1 bar) 

A (1 bar)

G (1 bar)

D (1 bar)

A (1 bar)

Let’s look at the chorus next. Here we’ll make just one change to the intro/verse progression. Simply replace the G chord with an E chord. So now the progression goes A, E, D, A like this:

A (1 bar)

E (1 bar)

D (1 bar)

A (1 bar) 

If you see them back-to-back, the only difference is that one chord substitute: 

Intro/Verse: 

A (1 bar)

G (1 bar)

D (1 bar)

A (1 bar)

Chorus:

A (1 bar)

E (1 bar)

D (1 bar)

A (1 bar) 

Then of course the chorus progression is played twice:

A (1 bar)

E (1 bar)

D (1 bar)

A (1 bar) 

A (1 bar)

E (1 bar)

D (1 bar)

A (1 bar) 

Fortunate Son Strumming Pattern

The primary groove used in “Fortunate Son” is an eighth-note feel. Eighth notes are a fundamental building block in rock music. They're twice as fast as quarter notes, fitting two notes within each beat of a 4/4 time signature. Mastering eighth-note rhythms opens up a vast world of musical possibilities, from strumming patterns to fingerpicking grooves. 

For this song, I would recommend using all-down strums for your eighth notes. This keeps the rhythm driving and exciting.

First start on the A chord and strum all downs like this:

Then try adding a little palm-muting and count out loud:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 

The goal is to keep them even.

From there you can try accenting the rhythm on 1, the “and” of 2, and beat 4.

This is an iconic rock groove and is used in millions of songs.

Fortunate Son Guitar Lesson (Standard Tuning)

Don’t want the hassle of having to tune down? Here is a way of playing “Fortunate Son” in standard tuning. 

Conclusion

To wrap it up, that’s a look at the history, message, tuning, chords, and strumming patterns for "Fortunate Son. Be sure to take your time with each section. And remember to experiment, and most importantly, have fun!

And for more CCR check out this Bad Moon Rising guitar lesson next!