creedence
Rock’n’roll is not lazy”
John Fogerty on turning 80, playing Glastonbury and reclaiming his Creedence catalogue
John Fogerty: still full of energy and fire
DAVID MCLISTER
HAPPY 80th Birthday, John! What was it like to celebrate onstage at New York’s Beacon Theatre?
That was a wonderful and heartwarming thing, certainly one of the highlights of my life, to be celebrating a birthday with my family and fans at the same time. But I must say that turning 80 is not only a landmark, it’s a bit shocking. I don’t look a day over 79!
I believe you poured yourself some champagne on stage?
Yeah – I don’t remember if I drank it or not, though. I kind of have a rule about that, but certainly I was saluting my audience.
You’ve re-recorded many of your old classics forLegacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years , staying faithful to the original arrangements. After years of legal issues, was that an important part of reclaiming these songs?
Very much so. Those old Creedence records always said: “Arranged and produced by John Fogerty.” I never thought I’d be required to go over that territory again in such a specific way, but here I was doing, say, “Proud Mary”, recreating each part that I thought I knew so well. But after 55 years, you’re not going to remember every little molecule.
Sometimes I’d listen to a guitar lick on “Up Around The Bend” or “Green River” and say, “Oh my goodness! How did I ever do that?” So in some cases it meant I had to relearn and then practise a lot. It was so much fun. Of course, a lot of that stuff is just ingrained in my DNA.
Taylor Swift has done a similar thing with her back catalogue. Did you find that inspiring?
This project was a secret for a while. We were trying to keep it under the radar until we could announce it in an official way, so that it didn’t just trickle out by rumour. And I was very much lobbying for this record to be called “Taylor’s Version”. I just thought it was kind of funny, because she re-recorded her earlier albums and I certainly had similar reasons for doing that. And there’s an added joyfulness to all of this since I got my publishing back a few years ago. Being free and emotionally secure enough to do this record is a sign that my re-engagement with my own music was complete.
“I was trying to be the best in the world”
Thinking back to your younger self, how do you account for CCR’s incredibly prolific run of hit singles and albums?
After “Suzie Q” was a hit at the end of 1968, I decided I didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder. So I got busy and just took it on. I thought my bandmates were going to do the same thing, but it didn’t work out that way. I realised that if I was really going to go forward, it was up to me. So I’d stay up every night, until three or four o’clock in the morning, writing songs like a maniac. Then I’d show up for a noon rehearsal the next day. I was trying to be the best in the world.
You play Glastonbury this month, 18 years since you last appeared at the festival. What can people expect this time around?
I’m very much looking forward to it. I want to play a great rock’n’roll set. I have a wonderful band that includes my two sons, Shane and Tyler. We’ve been playing together for some time now and we all really enjoy it. Rock’n’roll is not lazy. It’s got to be fearsome and aggressive, full of energy and fire. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
ROB HUGHES
Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years is released by Concord on August 22