[6] The song reached number 14 on the United States charts on November 22, 1969, the week before Billboard changed its methodology on double-sided hits.

In 2013, the song was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Eisenhower spent three years in the military, most of it as an officer aboard the USS Albany in the Mediterranean Sea.

'Star-spangled eyes' is one of the best descriptive phrases in all of rock and roll, a uniquely American twist on rose-colored glasses.

"[17] The song has been widely used to protest against military actions as well as elitism in a broader sense in Western society, particularly in the United States; as an added consequence of its popularity, it has even been used in completely unrelated situations, such as to advertise blue jeans.

It was initially embraced in the punk and hardcore community with versions by The Circle Jerks, Minutemen, DOA and Decry.

[23] U2 covered the song, and was released as a B-side to the single Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses[24] The song is quoted several times in the 2006 thriller novel by American writer Don Winslow, The Winter of Frankie Machine in which one of the characters is a "senator's son" referred to as the "Fortunate Son".

"Fortunate Son" was also included in the game Call of Duty: Black Ops at the start and ending of the level "S.O.G".

Its use is an anachronism, as the level takes place during the Battle of Khe Sanh, a year before the song was released.

The song is briefly played as both its original recording and a solo a cappella rendition, sung by Jessy Carolina, in BioShock Infinite.

The song's title is referenced in Team Fortress 2 as a cosmetic helmet called the "Fortunate Son", which can be equipped by the Scout class.

In the 2009 American Dad episode "In Country...Club", "Fortunate Son" plays during a Vietnam War reenactment battle.

[33] In the 2016 film War Dogs, the song is used in the scene in which David, Efraim and Marlboro are saved by the U.S. military while being pursued by Iraqi gunmen.

[34] In the 2018 Family Guy episode "'Family Guy' Through the Years" (presented as a compilation of old episodes from the series' "60 year run", parodying anniversary specials), Glenn Quagmire, portrayed in a Vietnam veteran in 1973, experiences PTSD-like symptoms from the incessant use of the song and "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield as audible background music during the war.

So my position got stated very well in the newspaper, and lo and behold, Wrangler to their credit said, "Wow, even though we made our agreement with the publisher, the owner of the song, we can see now that John Fogerty really hates the idea", so they stopped doing it.

Fils de personne: harsh, harsh, vengeful rock, with lyrics by Philippe Labro, invectives the “sons of someone” of whom Johnny Hallyday stands out in each chorus, vociferating that he was not born of a “military” father, billionaire, civil servant”, implying that he owes his success to no one.

French journalist Jean-William Thoury underlines that the adaptation of the song by the group Creedence Clearwater Revival does not betray the original idea “which seems to suit Johnny so well, a real “son of no one”.