Former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty is 80 years old and continues to tour.
“I’m still able to do a pretty good job singing songs I’ve been performing for 50 years,” Fogerty said.
The work of six decades, which launched him into a legendary rock career, continues to fill stadiums. He spoke to The Tennessean via Zoom from a recording studio, taking a break from working on unreleased material.
Fogerty will receive BMI’s Troubadour Award on Sept. 9 when he’ll be in town for Americanafest. “Legacy,” his 11th solo album, released in August, celebrates the catalog of music he wrote that was released by Creedence from 1959 through 1972.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Fogerty revived 20 classics from the Creedence Clearwater Revival era of his career for new album “Legacy,” out August 22, 2025.
In January 2023, Fogerty regained control of CCR’s song catalog by purchasing the publishing rights from Concord Records. The moment marked the end of a 50-year legal battle over the music he wrote.
John’s wife of 34 years, Julie Fogerty, suggested rerecording some of those songs.
“It was a daunting task, but because my voice seemed to have a little extra character in it from the guy who sang the same songs fifty-plus years ago, the songs felt more viable than ever to me,” Fogerty said.
What inspired John Fogerty to revisit his catalog with the ‘Legacy’ album?
“A song like ‘Proud Mary’ is wonderful, reflects a very high level of creativity and its legacy casts a pretty long shadow,” Fogerty said.
Between 1969 and 1970, CCR released a half-dozen chart-topping hits and three No. 1 albums that sold a combined 10 million copies.
Of that lot, the Vietnam War anthem “Fortunate Son” achieved eight-times platinum-selling status.
“Rediscovering what was going on in my life when I was first singing those songs required me to reflect and think about the words of the song, think about the times and make myself go back into that spiritual plane of existence,” Fogerty said.
His sons, Shane and Tyler, sang background vocals for some songs. He also collaborated with Grammy-winning engineer Bob Clearmountain.
What was the ‘secret sauce’ that defined Creedence Clearwater Revival’s success?
Fogerty said his “simple verbiage, without pretense” allows his catalog to remain vital.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Fogerty revived 20 classics from the Creedence Clearwater Revival era of his career for new album “Legacy,” out August 22, 2025.
“It’s the holy grail of creativity that not every band has the ability to achieve,” he said, noting that CCR’s best work features a swinging groove that feels like what he calls a combination of “sand and vaseline.”
No conversation with Fogerty is complete without revisiting “Fortunate Son.”
Over the past half-century, the song has remained an anthem for those who opposed the draft and show solidarity with soldiers who fought in Vietnam.
He’s not one to dive in at length with opinions about the modern era, but he does note that the song has maintained a revolutionary impact.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Fogerty revived 20 classics from the Creedence Clearwater Revival era of his career for new album “Legacy,” out August 22, 2025.
Fogerty himself received notice of being drafted for military service in Vietnam in 1966. He served in the Army Reserve from January to July 1967.
However, when faced with the potential of more time to serve, he sabotaged his fitness for service by committing petty crimes, fasting, planting a syringe in his belongings and smoking marijuana before a psychological evaluation. Due in part to these behaviors, Fogerty was granted an early discharge from the Army Reserve in mid-1968.
“Fortunate Son” was written and released almost exactly one year later.
Only requiring him to experience a “blinding, 20-minute flash” of inspiration, Fogerty calls it “the quickest song he ever wrote.”
He cites the song’s “loud and in your face immediacy and urgency” as allowing it to remain powerful so many years later.
“One day, I sat down on the edge of my bed thinking about a war that so many of us didn’t think needed to exist. Then I thought about the super patriots who wrap themselves in the flag at political conventions and say, ‘The great state of Texas would like to nominate their favorite son, whomever, for President.’ Eventually, it flipped in my mind to ‘fortunate son’ and I started singing ‘Some folks are born made to wave the flag…'”
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: John Fogerty talks ‘Legacy’ album, Creedence Clearwater Revival
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