Today we will tell you about the musician, singer, and songwriter John Fogerty, without a doubt one of the great writers and performers in classical rock:
(Photo: Paul Butterfield)
1. He was born on May 28, 1945, in Berkeley, California. His full name is John Cameron Fogerty.
2. He is the third of five boys born to Galen Robert and Edith Lucile Fogerty and the brother of Tom Fogerty who is four years older than him.
3. He got his first guitar when he was 12 and took guitar lessons from Barry Olivier who beyond being a professional guitar teacher was also a creator and a producer.
4. Already at the age of 14 he formed his first band "The Blue Velvets", along with his two classmates, bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford. It was a cover band influenced by rock and roll pioneers and especially Little Richard and Bo Diddley.
5. Later his brother Tom Fogerty also joined the band and became its lead singer.
6. In 1964 the band was signed by the record company "Fantasy Records", which without the consent of its members, changed the name of the band to "The Golliwogs".
(Photo: Skyminds.net)
7. The band recorded 7 singles which were not very successful.
8. In 1966, during the Vietnam War, Fogerty received his draft notice. He was finally released from the Military in 1968.
9. After his military service he returned to "The Golliwogs", which released their only album in late 1967.
10. In 1968 the band changed its name to "Creedence Clearwater Revival" (CCR), with John Fogerty taking his brother's place as the band's lead singer.
11. The band released their eponymous debut album in May 1968. The album included the band's first hit "Susie Q" and also the song "I Put a Spell on You", both cover versions that surpassed the original.
12. Already at this point John Fogerty was the band'sleader, as he wrote most of the songs, sang, and played lead guitar
13. The band's second album "Bayou Country" was released 8 months later, in January 1969, and included the hits "Born on the Bayou" and "Proud Mary". The album is on the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" list.
14. The band's third album "Green River" was released 7 months later, in August 1969, and included the hits "Green River", "Bad Moon Rising", "Lodi" and more. This album is also on the list of "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" as well as in the list of the 500 greatest albums of all time by "Rolling Stone" magazine.
15. The band made history when they released their third album that year "Willy and the Poor Boys", just 3 months after their previous album, in November 1969. The album includes the hits "Down on the Corner" and "Fortunate Son", which became one of the anthems of the Vietnam War.
16. Needless to say, this album was also included in "Rolling Stone" magazine's 500 greatest albums of all time, and also in this case John Fogerty's control over the songwriting and leading of the band was almost complete.
17. In 1970 the band releases their fifth album in two years - "Cosmo's Factory". It is perhaps the band's most successful album in terms of sales and is definitely one of its creative highs, and once again this is an album that has entered the list of the 500 greatest albums of all time by "Rolling Stone" magazine.
18. The name of the album came from drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford who referred to a warehouse that was converted into a recording studio as a "factory" - hence "Cosmo's Factory".
19. The album includes, among other things, the amazing rendition of the soul classic "I Heard It Through the Grapevin", which become famous thanks to Marvin Gaye as well as the hits "Lookin 'out My Back Door", "Up Around the Bend", "Who'll Stop the Rain", "Long as I Can See the Light".
20. The band's sixth album "Pendulum" was also released in 1970 and includes the hit "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?".
21. As the band leader and main songwriter, John Fogerty felt that his opinions should be counted more than those of the others, this eventually led to the departure of his brother Tom in January 1971.
22. The remaining members continued without him, with the band's last album "Mardi Gras", the seventh in 4 years, coming out in 1972.
23. The band finally disbanded in 1973. The only reunion of all four original members was at Tom Fogerty's wedding in 1980.
24. John Fogerty's first solo album, named after him, was released in 1975. But it was then he entered nine years of silence, when between 1975 and 1984 he did not record anything due to a dispute with his record company "Fantasy Records".
(Photo: Harris/AP)
25. In order to be released from his contract with "Fantasy Records" Fogarty eventually had to give up the rights to the songs he wrote for the band CCR.
26. About fifty years later, Fogarty managed to regain part of the control over the songs after reaching an agreement with the "Concord" company, which purchased the songs from "Fantasy Records".
27. To date, Fogerty has released 10 studio albums as part of his solo career, the most recent in 2020.
28. In 1993 Fogerty was inducted into the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" as a member of CCR.
29. In 2005 he also entered the "Hall of Fame" the songwriters.
30. He appears on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time
31. And he appears in "Rolling Stone" Magazine's list of the 100 greatest songwriters of all time.
32. And if that's not enough, then he's also on "Rolling Stones magazine's" 100 greatest singers of all time.