Page 30 - ATD 8OCT,2015
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PEOPLE & ARTSThursday 8 October 2015
John Fogerty on ups, downs, becoming music’s fortunate son
JOHN ROGERS Fogerty’s unwillingness to
let them have any say in
Associated Press anything that finally de-
stroyed Creedence.
TOPANGA, Calif. (AP) — Al- “The songwriting he gets
an A-plus for,” Clifford says
though he wrote the clas- in a phone interview. “But
when it comes to his shift to
sic Americana songbook, management, he gets an
F-minus.”
it took John Fogerty more After the band disintegrat-
ed, Fogerty turned to solo
than 30 years to come to work, re-establishing his
brilliance as a songwriter
terms with the realization with “Centerfield,” a song
that’s played at Major
he really was one of rock League Baseball games all
over the country.
music’s fortunate sons. But another hit song, “The
Old Man Down the Road,”
For one incredible prompted his former re-
cord label, Fantasy, to
12-month run, this blue- sue, claiming he’d copied
it from the Creedence hit
collar kid from a San Fran- “Run Through the Jungle,”
which he also wrote.
cisco suburb had been Although Fogerty prevailed
in court, the experience
the leader of a band that left him so angry that for
years he wouldn’t perform
reshaped popular music. any Creedence songs be-
cause Fantasy owned the
In 1969 Creedence Clear- publishing rights. Mean-
while, his output of new
water Revival sold more material dried up as he
drank heavily.
records and had more hit He went 11 years between
recordings until “Blue Moon
songs — including classics Swamp” won the Grammy
for best rock album in 1997.
like “Proud Mary,” ‘’Lodi,” He credits his second wife,
Julie, and their children
‘’Green River” and “Bad with putting him on the
path to both sobriety and
Moon Rising” — than even musical harmony,
while inspiring him to sing
the Beatles. his old songs again and
write new ones.
Then three years later, it These days, the 70-year-
old Fogerty awakens at
was over. The biggest band 4 o’clock most mornings
to work on music before
in the world had imploded taking his daughter, Kelsy,
to school. Sons Tyler and
in one of the most acrimo- Shane play in his band,
and with the book done,
nious splits of all time, one he’s looking to record a
new album.
followed by decades of Asked how he feels know-
ing that, despite all the
lawsuits and angry allega- In this Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015 photo, musician John Fogerty poses for a portrait during an inter- travails, those old albums
tions. view about his new memoir “Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music,” in Topanga, Calif. Associated made him a legend, he
Even though Fogerty would Press nearly falls out of his chair
laughing.
go on to a successful solo driven drinking binges that to live,” he adds with a with bassist Stu Cook un- “In all sincerity, I don’t walk
career, he says now that it lasted for days. shy smile as he sits in the der the name Creedence around feeling like that
was a split so intense that “Which is a stinking way barn of a friend’s house Clearwater Revisited. Cook guy,” he says.
it sent him into depression- in Topanga, the wood- chuckles when he says, “I After some thought, he
adds: “That guy who gets
ed arts colony nestled in think it would be a mile- to go out and play those
songs live, that part I’m
A GUIDE coastal canyons between stone if we could just sit very grateful for.”q
Santa Monica and Malibu. down and have a beer.”
Continued from Page 23 Dressed in his trademark Although Fogerty reminisc-
plaid flannel shirt, jeans and es fondly at times about
— Sony’s PlayStation Vue Plus. boots, Fogerty sat down the early days of a group
THE DEAL: The TV service WHAT ELSE? on a scorching fall day to founded by his late broth-
lets customers watch a va- There are sites and services talk about his just-released er, Tom, and the two friends
riety of channels, includ- for almost any sport you’d memoir, “Fortunate Son: he’d known since junior
ing Fox Sports 1, TNT, most want to watch. Subscrip- My Life, My Music,” which high school, he says things
broadcast networks and tions are typically required. he hopes will set the record fell apart when the others
some local sports chan- For instance, go to http:// straight about the band’s came to believe they were
nels. Disney-owned ABC willow.tv for cricket, http:// estrangement. equal to the Beatles in tal-
and ESPN aren’t included. nhl.com/gamecenterlive He recalls how just asking ent.
LIMITATIONS: Available for hockey, http://foxsoc- him about the possibility of But while the Beatles had
only in Chicago, Dallas, cer2go.com and http:// a Creedence reunion used three great songwriters,
Los Angeles, Miami, New fubo.tv for soccer, and to send him into a towering two great singers and
York City, Philadelphia, http://icenetwork.com for rage. four members with out-
and the San Francisco Bay ice skating. “I’d go, “ARRRGH, I WILL sized personalities, he says,
Area. Requires a PlaySta- College sports are tricky. NEVER ... ,” he screams Creedence had only him.
tion game console. The CBS Sports site and app as he throws his hands He wrote all the songs that
Some nationally broad- streams basketball games up in mock anger. Then became hits, he says, be-
cast games may be — last season, there were he laughs and shakes his cause no one else could.
blacked out. 27 free ones, but this year’s head, adding he’s finally He sang all the leads in that
PRICE: $50 a month gets streaming schedule hasn’t let those feelings go. instantly recognizable ten-
you broadcast networks been announced — and “So to answer your ques- or for the same reason, and
and sports cable channels Southeastern Conference tion,” he says with a smile, he arranged the band’s
like Fox Sports 1 and NBC- football games. “I don’t know. Maybe.” unique, fuzz-guitar-driven
SN, while $60 gets you the The company also offers But he doubts it, and so do sound he calls “swamp
basic package plus Big Ten College Sports Live, but Creedence’s other surviv- rock” because that was his
Network, beIN Sports and most football games only ing members. vision.
local sportschannels. get an audio feed, not vid- “Things are too broken,” While Clifford and Cook
Extra $15 for soccer-fo- eo. Fox has some Big East says drummer Doug Clif- don’t disagree with that
cused service, Fox Soccer college sports online.q ford, who tours these days assessment, they say it was
