SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Take one part American Top 40 pop icon.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RUN THROUGH THE JUNGLE")
CREEDENCE CLEERWATER REVIVAL: (Singing) Whoa, thought it was a nightmare. Lord, it was so true. They told me don't go walking slow. The devil's on the loose.
SIMON: Add a dash of Latin flavor.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CORRE POR LA JUNGLA")
BUNBURY: (Singing in Spanish).
SIMON: And you get "Quiero Creedence," "I Want Creedence," Creedence Clearwater Revival's greatest hits reinterpreted by some of the world's great Latin artists. This collection features CCR covers by the likes of Juan Gabriel, Los Lonely Boys, El Tree and the two artists who join us now. From NPR West in Culver City, Calif., Marisoul Hernandez, aka La Marisoul, who's lead vocalist for the band La Santa Cecilia. Thanks so much for being with us.
MARISOUL HERNANDEZ: Thank you. Thank you for having me. Hola.
SIMON: Hola. And from member station KQED in San Francisco, Juan Manuel Caipo of the band Bang Data who also helped produce this collection. Thanks very much for being with us.
JUAN CAIPO: Thank you. Thank you. Very happy to be here.
SIMON: And, Mr. Caipo, if I can start with you, please, what brings about this tribute to Creedence Clearwater Revival?
CAIPO: Well, this has been, I mean, a dream in the making. I always listened to Creedence since I was a kid. I remember growing up with it, you know, listening - my house, my parents back in Peru. Everywhere you went, there happened to be Creedence (speaking Spanish) songs. So we just started reaching out to artists and reaching out - you know, one of the first artists we had was Los Lonely Boys, Bunbury came along, Los Enanitos Verdes. You know, and here we are now with "Quiero Creedence."
SIMON: Marisoul Hernandez, did you grow up listening to Creedence? Did you have a special feeling for their music?
HERNANDEZ: Yes, definitely. I first heard CCR when I was about 16 or 17 and I was, you know, going - searching through the classic rock and I was all about The Doors and The Beatles and Janis Joplin. And I remember that my uncle, he gave me a CD of Creedence Clearwater Revival's greatest hits, and I rocked out to it.
SIMON: So, Marisoul, as the years have gone by and you've developed your own style, do you think you can trace anything back to your love of Creedence?
HERNANDEZ: Of course. I think - what I love about Creedence is that they're a band that mixed rock music with folk music. And, you know, the band that I sing with, La Sant Cecilia, we're very much influenced by Mexican folk music, Latin American and also American music. So I always thought that we do have some kind of line, no, that connects us because of this level of mixing, no, what is folk and what is rock. And to me, that's what Creedence is, no? It's that beautiful mix of music, no?
SIMON: Now you did a version of "Green River," collaborated with the great Billy Gibbons, right?
HERNANDEZ: Yes, yes.
CAIPO: It's an awesome track.
HERNANDEZ: (Laughter).
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GREEN RIVER")
BILLY GIBBONS: (Singing in Spanish).
HERNANDEZ: (Singing in Spanish).
GIBBONS: (Singing) Stopping at the log where catfish bite.
BILLY GIBBONS AND MARISOUL HERNANDEZ: (Singing) Walking along the river road at night.
GIBBONS: (Singing) Barefoot girls dancing in the moonlight.
SIMON: Now, what are you trying to bring to this song?
HERNANDEZ: I mean, definitely that rock 'n' roll voice, no? I think that when it was my turn to sing and to add the Latin flavor but also I was thinking about Janis, about - how would a Latina Janis Joplin sing a CCR cover, no?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GREEN RIVER")
HERNANDEZ: (Singing in Spanish).
And I tried to just, you know, bring out those growls (laughter).
SIMON: Mr. Caipo, you and Bang Data picked "Fortunate Son" to record. Why that song?
CAIPO: The original lyrics of that song are really relevant with what's happening today for Latinos, whether you're first, second, third-generation immigrants. And many of Latinos have had family members be in the military.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FORTUNATE SON")
BANG DATA: (Singing) Some folks are born made to wave the flag. Oh, they're red, white and blue. And when the band plays "Hail To The Chief," oh, they point the canon at you, Lord. It ain't me. It ain't me. (Singing in Spanish). I ain't no senator's son, no.
CAIPO: There's a lot of injustice, I think, going on. And we really identified with those lyrics, and I think it's relevant today. But, of course, John Fogerty wasn't thinking of that when he wrote that. I mean, we had Vietnam going on. But it's definitely a special song for us.
SIMON: And forgive me for not knowing, CCR still listened to in much of Latin America today?
HERNANDEZ: Oh, man, they're, like, classics. I got to tell - I got to share - yeah, I got to share a thing that I had with my mom. I told my mom, yeah, Mom, I recorded, you know, this song "Green River" and, you know, I went to the studio, recorded the song. And my mom's like, (speaking Spanish) who's that?
And I was like, Mom, you know who CCR is. And she's like, no, I don't know who they are. (Speaking Spanish). And all I had to do was sing (singing) I want to know have you ever seen the rain? And then she says, (speaking Spanish). I love that song. I used to listen to that song, you know, back in the day, right? And, of course, it's a classic. CCR is a classic rock 'n' roll band that everyone has listened to, even my mamacita, no (laughter)?
HERNANDEZ: Marisoul Hernandez, La Marisoul, and Juan Manuel Caipo, two of the artists who appear on the new collection, "Quiero Creedence." Thank you both very much for being with us.
HERNANDEZ: Thank you. Gracias.
CAIPO: Mucho gracias, Scott.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN?")
JUAN GABRIEL: (Singing in Spanish). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.