The song was inspired, both musically and for Fogerty's vocal delivery, by 1950s rock 'n' roll songs, particularly Little Richard's. Musically, it is nearly identical to the Monkees 1967 song, "No Time". In October 1972, the company that held the publishing rights to Richard’s "Good Golly, Miss Molly" felt that "Travelin' Band" bore enough similarities to warrant a plagiarism lawsuit that was later settled out of court. The lyrics of the song describe what life is like for a musician on the road. The opening line "Seven-thirty-seven coming out of the sky" refers to the Boeing 737, then coming into service on short-to-medium range routes.

"Travelin' Band" is a song written by John Fogerty and originally recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was included on their 1970 album Cosmo's Factory. Backed with "Who'll Stop the Rain", it was one of three double sided singles from that album to reach the top five on the U.S. Pop Singles Chart and the first of two to reach the number 2 spot on the American charts, alongside "Lookin' Out My Back Door", in which he was unable to interrupt the six-week song of the successful number one, by "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel. "Travelin' Band" was also a hit in the UK, reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart.