Classic Rock
John Fogerty recalls how losing the rights to his songs affected him
Two years ago, after decades of struggle, legendary Creedence Clearwater Revival vocalist and guitarist John Fogerty finally regained his publishing rights. The battle began more than 50 years ago, when the band signed with Fantasy Records, which was owned by Saul Zaentz.
After realizing that the terms of the deal were unfair, he tried for years to get out of the contract. In 1980, he relinquished his royalties to the record executive and did not receive payment for the use of his songs for decades.
In 1985, he was even sued by Zaentz for “self-plagiarism,” because his solo song “The Old Man Down the Road” had similarities with CCR’s classic track “Run Through the Jungle.” Fogerty won the case in court.
In 2004, Zaentz sold his share to a company called Concord, which reinstated the royalties that Fantasy had withheld. In 2023, Fogerty finally bought back the rights to his tracks. In an interview with The Guardian, he talked about how this battle affected his life and mental health.
John Fogerty recalls how losing the rights to his songs affected him
“I never really thought I had a nervous breakdown, but I would say I was not well. Not stable, or even-keeled, or normal. It would manifest itself in strange ways: I remember going into a department store to buy some socks, and I was unable to approach the salesperson because it was far too complicated for me. It sounds pathetic. I guess I might have seen a shrink, but I was in the middle of the stream swimming and just trying to keep my head above water.”
“I tried to be nice. I tried to be humble, but there were times when I would explode. That could come out if I was near people, or even if I was quite alone. It happened a few times when I was alone in the wilderness, fishing, and I’d just go off into a rage about my gear,” John Fogerty said.
How he feels now that he has the publishing rights back
Now finally reunited with his songs, he re-recorded some of his most famous Creedence Clearwater Revival songs for his new album: “Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years”. He talked with The Guardian about “Proud Mary”, one of his most successful tracks.”There was what they call an epiphany. The track sounded really stunning, and the lead vocal paled by comparison. And it finally dawned on me: John, when you were doing this way back when, it was life or death for you. I came from a state of if not poverty, then the lower economic rungs.”
“It was very important and necessary to be great, as great as whatever was in me. And at that point, I felt as if I was going through a portal, and really trying to be that person again. I continued to work on ‘Proud Mary’ that way, and I ended up in a place I felt very good about.”
“My wife told me she’d been watching me from the control room, and she said she could see it in my face that I actually was making myself go back, so I continued to work that way with the rest of the songs. I’m just an adventurer, you know, like an explorer coming back to the homeland,” John Fogerty said.
