John Fogerty Profile
John Fogerty
Birth name John Cameron Fogerty
Born May 28, 1945 (1945-05-28) (age 62) Berkeley, California, USA
Genre(s) Rock, Blues
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s) Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Piano, Bass, Drums, Banjo, Organ, Percussion, Drum Machine, Trumpet, Kazoo, Pedal Steel Guitar, Trombone, Dobro, Mandolin, Double Bass, Squeeze Box, Clarinet, Synthesizers, Keyboards, Accordion, Vibraphone, Violin, and Saxophone
Years active 1959–Present
Label(s) Fantasy, Asylum, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, Geffen
Associated acts Creedence Clearwater Revival
Website www.johnfogerty.com
Notable instrument(s)
Gibson Les Paul Fender Telecaster Fender Stratocaster
This article is about the musician. For the athlete, see John Fogarty (rugby).
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (February 2008)
John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. He was born in Berkeley, California.
Contents
1 Creedence Clearwater Revival 2 Solo recording career
2.1 First comeback 2.2 Second comeback
3 Discography
3.1 Albums 3.2 DVD 3.3 Singles
4 References 5 External links
Creedence Clearwater Revival See Main Article Creedence Clearwater Revival
John Fogerty singing in foreground on Creedence Clearwater Revival Chronicle cover.
John and his brother, Tom Fogerty, Doug Clifford, and Stu Cook formed the band in El Cerrito, California in the late 1950s as Tommy Fogerty and the Blue Velvets. After signing with the jazz label Fantasy in 1965, they became The Golliwogs and released a few singles that were largely ignored. The government tried to draft Fogerty in 1966 but instead he joined an Army reserve unit. He served at Fort Bragg, Fort Knox and Fort Lee. Fogerty was released from the army in 1967. By 1968, things started to pick up for the band. The band released its first album, the self-titled Creedence Clearwater Revival, and also had their first hit single, "Susie Q". Many other hit singles and albums followed beginning with "Proud Mary" and the parent album Bayou Country. Fogerty was writer of the songs and leader of the band, John felt that his musical opinions should count for more than those of the others, leading to additional resentments. These internal rifts, and Tom's feeling that he was being taken for granted, caused him to leave the group in 1971. The two other group members Stu and Doug wanted a greater role in the bands future. Fogerty, in an attempt to keep things together, insisted bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford share equal songwriting and vocal time on the band's final album Mardi Gras in 1972. They told him the fans would not accept it as a CCR LP, but he said, "my voice is a unique instrument, and I will not lend it to your songs." He gave them an ultimatum to do it or he would quit immediately. The album received poor reviews, and sold poorly. The group disbanded shortly afterwards. Creedence did reunite briefly in 1980 at Tom Fogerty's wedding.
Solo recording career John Fogerty began a solo career, originally under the name The Blue Ridge Rangers for his 1973 debut. Fogerty played all of the instruments which were covered of others' hits, such as "Jambalaya" (which was a Top 40 hit). His second solo album John Fogerty was released in 1975. Sales were slim and legal problems delayed a follow-up, though it yielded "Rockin' All Over the World", a top 40 hit for Fogerty in North America. Two years later, a cover by Status Quo would be a #3 hit in the UK. Fogerty fell into a period of legal problems because of his music with Creedence. Legal problems would continue to dog him for much of his career. Creedence Clearwater Revival's former music publisher (affiliated with Fantasy Records) filed a suit against Fogerty, claiming that his new, solo compositions sounded too much like his former work as songwriter for Creedence; the lawsuit also claimed that Fogerty did not have the right to perform the songs he'd written as a member of Creedence, since Fantasy owned the rights to those songs. Fogerty was to release an album called Hoodoo in 1976. A single preceded the albums release but it performed poorly. The album for which covers had already been printed was rejected by Asylum Records on the eve of its release. Feeling rejection, John moved his family to a farm in Oregon and didn't release a new album for eight years. John stated that he instructed Asylum Records to destroy the master tapes for "Hoodoo" sometime in the 1980s. John is somewhat of a perfectionist, often destroying unreleased material. Fogerty says that he was unable to write music during this period of his life.
First comeback See articles "The Old Man Down The Road" and Fogerty v. Fantasy. Fogerty's solo career re-emerged in full force with 1985's Centerfield, his first album for Warner Bros. Records (which took over co-ownership of Asylum's contract with Fogerty). Centerfield went to the top of the charts and included a top-ten hit in "The Old Man Down The Road"; the title track is frequently played on classic rock radio and at baseball games to this day. But that album was not without its legal snags either. Two songs on the album, "Zanz Kant Danz" and "Mr Greed", were believed to be attacks on Fogerty's former boss at Fantasy Records, Saul Zaentz. "Zanz Kant Danz" was about a pig who can't dance but would "steal your money". When Zaentz responded with a lawsuit, Fogerty issued a revised version of "Zanz Kant Danz" (changing the lead character's name to Vanz). Another lawsuit claimed that "The Old Man Down The Road" shared the same chorus as "Run Through The Jungle" (a song from Fogerty's days with Creedence). Fogerty ultimately won his case when he proved that the two songs were wholly distinct compositions. The follow-up album to Centerfield was Eye of the Zombie in 1986, which was less successful. John toured behind the album, but refused to play any Creedence material. The album took on a darker mood, talking about a troubled society, terrorism, and pop stars selling out. To this day, John refuses to play material from the Zombie album. Fogerty played Creedence material again at a concert in Washington DC for Vietnam Veterans that took place on July 4, 1987. The show was aired on HBO. Aside from the show at the Palomino, this was the first time John had broken out the Creedence tunes since 1972. In 1990 John's older brother and former CCR bandmate Tom Fogerty died of AIDS (specifically from a tuberculosis infection) at the age of 48, having contracted HIV from blood transfusions for back ailments. John Fogerty has mentioned that the darkest moments in his life were when his brother took the record company's side in their royalties dispute, and when his brother passed away while they were not speaking. John travelled to Mississippi in 1990 for inspiration. Fogerty visited the gravesite of blues legend Robert Johnson. He thought about Johnson's box set, which was selling well, and he thought about the rich lawyer who probably owns the rights to Johnson's songs. Fogerty realized that Robert Johnson was the true spiritual owner of the songs he had written, and it didn't matter who was making money off them. Fogerty decided to start making a new album, and perform his old Creedence material in concert. It was at this time visiting the Mt. Zion MB Church cemetery that Fogerty met Skip Henderson, a New Jersey vintage guitar dealer who had formed a nonprofit corporation The Mt. Zion Memorial Fund to honor Johnson with a memorial marker. Fogerty subsequently funded headstones for Charley Patton, James Son Thomas, Mississippi Joe Callicott, Eugene Powell, Lonnie Pitchford and helped with financial arrangements for numerous others. In 1993, Creedence Clearwater Revival was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. John Fogerty attended the ceremony, but after years of bad blood and lawsuits, he refused to play with his former band mates when asked to do so for the show; as he was still bitter about them having sided with Fantasy Records in his disputes with the company.
Second comeback
John Fogerty on Premonition cover
Fogerty returned to the commercial music industry in 1997 with Blue Moon Swamp. The break between Zombie and Swamp had been longer lay-off than his late seventies-early eighties break. The Album was much more successful than his previous effort and won the Grammy for Best Rock album in 1997. A live album of the equally successful tour was released to similar acclaim and good sales. It seemed as though Fogerty was back but again. However, he drifted out of the mainstream, only returning after another break in 2004. Deja Vu (All Over Again) was Fogerty’s next release. His new record contract was with DreamWorks Records who had taken over distribution of Fogerty's Warner Bros. catalog. Rolling Stone wrote: "The title track is Fogerty's indictment of the Iraq war as another Vietnam, a senseless squandering of American lives and power." On the album, Fogerty squeezed ten songs into only 34 minutes. The sale of Fantasy Records to Concord Records in 2004 ended the 30+ year estrangement between Fogerty and his former label as the new owners took steps to restore royalty rights Fogerty gave up in order to be released from his contract with Fantasy in the mid 1970s. In September, 2005, Fogerty returned to Fantasy Records. That was made possible when DreamWorks Records was absorbed by Geffen Records, which dropped Fogerty but continued to distribute his earlier solo albums. The first album released under the new Fantasy contract was The Long Road Home, a compilation CD combining his Creedence hits with solo material which was issued on November 2005. A live CD and DVD concert was released the following year. Fogerty’s touring schedule increased in the period after Deja Vu (All Over Again). In October 2004 Fogerty appeared on the Vote for Change tour, playing a series of concerts in American swing states. These concerts were organized by MoveOn.org with the general goal of mobilizing people to vote for John Kerry and against George W. Bush in that year's presidential campaign. Fogerty's numbers were played with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The summer of 2006, Fogerty toured the USA with Willie Nelson. On June 29, he played his first headlining British concert since 1972, at the Hammersmith Apollo theater in London, as part of the European leg of the tour. During the European leg of the tour he also performed in Sundsvall, Sweden. 25,000 people came to see him perform at the town square. On Thanksgiving Day, 2006, Fogerty performed at halftime of the Miami Dolphins/Detroit Lions game, as well as the Denver Broncos/Kansas City Chiefs halftime later that evening. Fogerty completed his first new album in three years, Revival, which was released on October 2, 2007.. Revival is nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album of 2008.
Discography For Discography of Creedence Clearwater Revival see Creedence Clearwater Revival Discography
Albums
Title Release date Label U.S. albums U.S. Country U.K. albums
The Blue Ridge Rangers
1973
Fantasy Records
47
-
-
John Fogerty
1975
Asylum Records
78
-
-
Hoodoo (Unreleased) 1976
Centerfield
1984
Warner Bros. Records
1
7
-
Eye of the Zombie
1986
73
-
-
Blue Moon Swamp
1997
37
-
-
Premonition (Live album)
1998
29
-
-
Deja Vu (All Over Again)
2004
DreamWorks Records
23
-
-
The Long Road Home
Compilation of Solo and CCR recordings
2005
Fantasy Records
13
-
32
The Long Road Home - In Concert (Live album)
2006
-
-
-
The Best of the Songs of John Fogerty
Budget compilation of Solo and CCR recordings
2007
Hip-O Records
-
-
-
Revival
2007
Fantasy Records
14
-
80
DVD
Title Release date Label
Premonition 1998
The Long Road Home - In Concert 2006
Singles
Chart placings refer only to the USA.
Year Title Hot 100 Mains' Rock Country Singles Adult Cont'
1973
"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" (as The Blue Ridge Rangers)
16
-
-
-
"Hearts of Stone" (as The Blue Ridge Rangers)
37
-
-
-
1975
"Rockin' All Over The World"
27
-
-
-
1985
"The Old Man Down the Road"
10
1
-
-
"Rock And Roll Girls"
20
-
-
-
"Centerfield"
44
4
-
17
"Big Train from Memphis"
-
-
38
-
1986
"The Eye of the Zombie"
81
3
-
-
"Headlines"
-
27
-
-
"Change in the Weather"
-
3
-
-
1997
"Walking In A Hurricane"
-
14
-
-
"Blueboy"
-
32
-
-
1998
"Premonition"
-
19
-
-
2008
"Gunslinger"
-
-
?
-
References
^ (January 1998) "Blue Moon Rising: The John Fogerty Interview (Cover Story)". Audio Magazine.
External links
Official website Vintage Guitar Magazine Interview - Aug. ’97 Vintage Guitar Magazine Interview - Feb. ’06 Guitar World Interview - July '97 Daily Vault review of John Fogerty's "The Long Road Home - In Concert" John Fogerty and rarities pictures John Fogerty at the Songwriters Hall of Fame John Fogerty Page
v • d • e Creedence Clearwater Revival
John Fogerty • Tom Fogerty • Stu Cook • Doug Clifford
Discography
Studio albums: Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968) • Bayou Country (1969) • Green River (1969) Willy and the Poor Boys (1969) • Cosmo's Factory (1970) • Pendulum (1970) • Mardi Gras (1972)
Live albums: Live in Europe (1973) • The Concert (1980)
Compilations and box sets: Pre-Creedence (1975) • Chronicle, Vol. 1 (1976) • Chronicle, Vol. 2 (1986) • Creedence Clearwater Revival: Box Set (2001)
Singles: "Porterville" • "Susie Q" • "I Put a Spell on You" • "Proud Mary" • "Born on the Bayou" • "Bad Moon Rising" • "Lodi" • "Green River" • "Commotion" • "Down on the Corner" • "Fortunate Son" • "Travelin' Band" • "Who'll Stop the Rain" • "Up Around the Bend" • "Run Through the Jungle" • "Lookin' Out My Back Door" • "Long as I Can See the Light" • "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" • "Hey Tonight" • "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" • "Someday Never Comes" • "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
Related articles
The Golliwogs • Creedence Clearwater Revisited • Fogerty v. Fantasy • Saul Zaentz • Fantasy Records
Top 5 Search Results
John Fogerty Official site of the legendary lead singer and songwriter of Creedence Clearwater Revival includes news, photos, discography, fan forum, and more.
John Fogerty - Wikipedia Career overview for classic rock singer John Fogerty. Includes information about his Creedence Clearwater days, solo career, and links.
John Fogerty: Tour Dates The official, authorized John Fogerty web site Tour Dates Page ... at John Fogerty concerts. 2008 TOUR DATES. Stay tuned for more announcements of concert dates! ...
John Fogerty (album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia All tracks written and composed by John Fogerty, except where noted. ... The Blue Ridge Rangers · John Fogerty · Hoodoo · Centerfield • Eye of the Zombie ...
VH1.com: John Fogerty Provides John Fogerty tour dates, album information, news, biography, and music videos for the former lead singer of Creedence Clearwater Revial. Videos include Old Man Down the Road and Centerfield.
