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An edited version of this feature first appeared in<\/i> Goldmine Magazine.<\/i><\/p>\nAn edited version of this feature first appeared in<\/i> Goldmine Magazine.<\/i><\/p>\n
Widely acclaimed as the Great American Singles Band \u2013 and recipient of countless other well-deserved kudos \u2013 Creedence Clearwater Revival created some of the best rock music of its era. Forming first as Tommy and the Blue Velvets, and then trading for a time as The Golliwogs, the foursome from El Cerrito, California finally crystallized their trademark rootsy sound as CCR.<\/p>\n
In the process, they captured the zeitgeist of an era with John Fogerty\u2019s songs: \u201cProud Mary,\u201d \u201cBad Moon Rising,\u201d \u201cGreen River,\u201d \u201cDown on the Corner,\u201d \u201cFortunate Son,\u201d \u201cTravelin\u2019 Band,\u201d \u201cRun Through the Jungle,\u201d \u201cWho\u2019ll Stop the Rain,\u201d \u201cUp Around the Bend,\u201d \u201cLookin\u2019 Out My Back Door,\u201d \u201cHave You Ever Seen the Rain,\u201d \u201cSweet Hitch-Hiker\u201d and many others. Remarkably, every single one of those aforementioned songs made it to the Top Ten on Billboard<\/i>\u2019s Hot 100 chart. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.<\/p>\n
CCR split acrimoniously in 1973; unlike other classic rock era bands who engaged in latter-day victory laps to capitalize on the nostalgia associated with their music, Creedence never did \u2013 and never will \u2013 reunite. But the legacy of the band\u2019s music \u2013 and its place in American pop culture \u2013 is beyond dispute. And so each of the three surviving members (Tom Fogerty died in 1990) have continued to celebrate the music that they made between 1968 and 1972.<\/p>\n
While the rhythm section of Stu Cook and Doug \u201cCosmo\u201d Clifford provided one of music\u2019s most rock-solid foundations, it was singer and guitarist John Fogerty who composed and sang all of the band\u2019s original hit songs. Yet in the wake of decades-long battles with record company figures who arguably dealt him and his former CCR band mates a bad hand, Fogerty refused for many years to play any of his Creedence songs in concert.<\/p>\n
Things began to change when Fogerty emerged from an extended period of writer\u2019s block, reappearing with the juggernaut (and double Platinum-selling) Centerfield<\/i> album in 1985. That album drew upon the spirit of CCR, infusing it with a modern sensibility; the result was a timeless record that continues to entertain today, four decades after its release.<\/p>\n
Working determinedly, Fogerty eventually prevailed upon the owners of the Creedence Clearwater Revival catalog to cut him a better deal, and he has in recent years regained some control over his body of work. A happy by-product of those hard-won victories is that Fogerty began to come to terms with his CCR-era songs, even adding some of the tunes back into his live set.<\/p>\n
Now in 2025 and at age 80, John Fogerty has come full circle. Today he has made a sort of peace with the record industry (if not with his estranged CCR band mates); he\u2019s in a happy place. Prominent among his close musical associates are sons Shane and Tyler. And wife Julie Fogerty takes a major role in the business side of Fogerty\u2019s enterprise. And the enduring legacy of Creedence looms large for the man: save for the stirring and heartfelt 2021 song \u201cWeeping in the Promised Land,\u201d most all of J.C. Fogerty\u2019s musical endeavors in recent years have celebrated his CCR-era output.<\/p>\n
John Fogerty\u2019s latest release, Legacy<\/i> is a 20-track, note-for-note recreation of many of CCR\u2019s biggest hits and best-loved album tracks. Made with his current band (featuring his sons), that album is set for release August 22. Legacy<\/i> finds Fogerty at once laying ghosts to rest and reminding listeners why his Creedence-era songs have the staying power that has made them part of several generations\u2019 musical vocabulary. Ahead of the release of Legacy<\/i> (and international tour dates in support of that album), John Fogerty sat down with me to discuss the project\u2019s inspiration, its goals, and what the future might (or might not) hold.<\/p>\n
In addition to writing the songs, playing guitar and singing lead, you produced all of the Creedence Clearwater Revival albums. The recordings on <\/b>Legacy<\/b><\/i> seem designed to duplicate not only the music but the arrangement and production aesthetics of those recordings from 50-plus years ago. Tell me about your goals in making the record.<\/b><\/p>\n
Well, that was<\/i> the goal, certainly going in. To my mind, the idea was to sound as close to the original recordings as possible. I asked myself, \u201cWell, gee, do I want to make folk music versions of these songs, or hip hop versions of these songs?\u201d Well, no<\/i>. That [idea] was abandoned right away. \u201cProud Mary\u201d should sound like \u201cProud Mary.\u201d So it was as simple as that. As they say, even a thousand-mile journey begins with but one step. And taking that first step, you decide that you\u2019re going to sound as close to the originals as possible.<\/p>\n
And after taking not too many more steps, you realize that is going to be a lot harder than you probably thought. I already thought it was going to be hard, but it got harder. It rose to a very high level; this was my own personal standards again coming to the fore. I had to record a song \u2013 let\u2019s say \u201cProud Mary\u201d \u2013 and then listen [back] and be disappointed: \u201cGosh, that\u2019s just not measuring up. That doesn\u2019t make it.\u201d I\u2019d ask myself, \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter with that? That\u2019s not good enough.\u201d And trying to learn from that near-miss, you might say, \u201cOkay, well, what do I gotta do to make this better?\u201d<\/p>\n
And a lot of times [that meant] throwing everything out and starting over. A whole lot of that, actually! And always with the idea that, \u201cWell, because it\u2019s got to be [raises hand up high] here.<\/i>\u201d And that just kept happening, and finally getting there. I remember [working on] one song, \u201cLodi.\u201d All the parts were pretty much done. I sang a vocal, and came back in and listened to the recording. And I said [to myself], \u201cWow, that\u2019s pretty damn good, John. Listen to that!\u201d<\/p>\n
In that case of \u201cLodi,\u201d I was struck with the perspective that the guy who was now singing seemed to have. I [originally] sang that song when I was probably, oh, 23 years old. But it was about a guy who was probably a 42 year old Merle Haggard wannabe. I thought the my vocal on the original song hit it pretty good.<\/p>\n
And now, here I was well past that. And hearing myself sing it, I thought, \u201cI don\u2019t know how you do that, John, but I can hear that you\u2019ve experienced that song.\u201d I could tell. I don\u2019t know if other people will or won\u2019t, but I<\/i> heard it. I heard a grizzled old guy on a stage in a little bar in Lodi, and he really meant it. He wasn\u2019t terrified; he wasn\u2019t suicidal or anything. He wasn\u2019t destitute, but he was certainly worn down by life. And I thought it was pretty cool.<\/p>\n