Song of the Day 8/22: Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Long As I Can See the Light”

Like many CCR songs, this one was part of a double A-side single in 1970 with “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” one the band’s six singles to reach No. 2 (famously, CCR never had a No. 1). John Fogerty is nearly a one-man band on the track — that’s him on both the electric piano and the saxophone — which kept the band from ever performing the song live. Fogerty performs it frequently as a solo artist, substituting a guitar solo for the sax.

It’s one of the most-covered songs in Fogerty’s catalog, in large part because it’s the closest thing to a love song he ever wrote. Most covers fail to duplicate the pained sound Fogerty brings to his vocal performance (mainly because it’s at the top of his range), but Joe Cocker pretty much nailed the world-weary heartache of the original.

Fogerty re-recorded the song with My Morning Jacket for his 2013 LP “Wrote a Song for Everyone.”