Willy and the Poor Boys

It's pretty remarkable that this Bay Area crew had never even visited the South until they tasted fame. This 1969 album is an ode to Southern roots music that touches on a diverse array, from country-gospel ("Cotton Fields") and rockabilly ("It Came Out of the Sky") to New Orleans blues-funk (the title track) and street corner shuffle ("Feelin' Blue"). The corking "Fortunate Son," one of the album's two radio hits, remains one of a handful of Vietnam-era protest tunes to retain bite and relevance today. This largely fun and breezy affair may lack the paranoid edge and blue-eyed soul numbers that mark their best work, but it's easily among the prolific CCR's top three records.