by John Fogerty
Julie making fun of how it feels to have a big belly. It was the most beautiful time for me.
I was showing Julie I had a belly too.
This was the dinner we had with our friends Bruce Jackson, Betty Bennett, Patti Scialfa, and Bruce Springsteen. Julie was expecting our first child. Bruce S. and Patti had just had their first child together. Bruce was sharing how wonderful being a father is. He also was happy for me, knowing what I’d gone through. He was, in his own way, sayin’, It’s all right, John. Look what you have now. He is my friend, and I will always remember those times, hangin’ out in L.A.
My love—one of my favorite photos. It’s from the Blue Moon Swamp days.
Christmas at my house in L.A. That’s my kids Sean and Laurie.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1993. It’s here in the book what happened and why. (Photograph by Gregg DeGuire, courtesy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc.)
Julie took this on the steps of the Supreme Court. A historical moment but a sad day. In the courtroom Julie had noticed the legal team from Fantasy snickering and pointing at me. They seemed to be having a great time watching me go through this. She was deeply upset by their behavior. Something I had to endure from them for years.
Me and my two boys Shane and Tyler. They were born a year apart, Irish twins! My face says it all.
Almost finished Blue Moon Swamp.
The day Blue Moon Swamp came out, I drove Julie to Tower Records. She wanted to go in and buy it, see for herself that this day had finally come. It had been a long, tough time for sure. Wow!
A shot of us at the House of Blues. I think Julie was so happy for me. I love this picture!
Blue Moon Swamp tour, when I started doing my CCR songs again. That’s me, Julie, and Kenny and Liz Aronoff. I’ve been with Kenny ever since. The best drummer out there.
Blue Moon Swamp hit number one in Sweden. This is when I said, “If I’m going to do this, I want my family with me.” I signed albums in a store in Stockholm while my family sat in the café. Pretty special moment for me. Julie was interviewed by the paper.
My one and only Grammy arrives in the mail. Julie snapped this shot of me taking it out of the box.
Just one of the many sights we got to share with our kids on tour.
I was nominated for a Grammy for Revival. Julie and I are getting ready to see Tina Turner sing “Proud Mary.” Behind us is Yoko Ono. Fun night for sure. (Frank Micelotta / PictureGroup)
This is what life is about—nothing better than this. My little girl Kelsy and Daddy taking a nap.
Me and Kelsy. She has good taste in shirts.
Teaching Kelsy to fish at one of my favorite places, the Kern River. She is hooked, and I must say Daddy couldn’t be happier. This is where I wrote most of the songs that ended up on Blue Moon Swamp.
Julie and me more recently at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Lester Cohen / WireImage / Getty Images)
My son Shane graduating from USC. That little boy grew up into a fine young man, and I am darn proud of him. Grateful I had a second chance. Life is wonderful.
Three Fogerty men, Shane, Tyler, and John.
Singin’ “Proud Mary” in my favorite city, New Orleans. (© 2014 Willow Haley, Willow’s World Photo)
I just love Florence. Spending time with Julie in such a romantic place is the best!
About the Author
JOHN FOGERTY IS one of rock’s most influential guitarists, singers, and writers. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and one of the only artists on Rolling Stone’s list of top 100 guitarists and top 100 singers.
johnfogerty.com
@john_fogerty
johnfogerty
* Actually, my very first possession was a doll. A black baby boy doll. I carried that thing around with me everywhere until I was three or four years old. I’ve often wondered if that somehow predisposed me to love black music, black culture.
* Apparently George W. is a fan of my song “Centerfield”—I’ve been told it’s on his iPod. Which always makes me wonder: has he heard any of my other songs? Like… “Fortunate Son”?
* My parents converted to Catholicism when I was two. They had me baptized, and yes, I remember it. I did not like it. Somebody held me while the priest poured water on my forehead. I thought, You trying to drown me?!
* One of the major sponsors on KWBR was a product called Dixie Peach Pomade. I imagine that in those days it was used by young black guys to straighten their “do.” I rode on a bus all the way to Swan’s Drug Store in Oakland to get this stuff. It was great on a “flattop” or on longer Elvis hair. Plus, it smelled good!
* Happily, my mom was able to find love after all this turmoil. She met a wonderful guy named Charles Loosli, and they got married on June 11, 1977. I got to spend time with Charles and Mom in later years. We all loved Charles.
* The Rhythm Orchids had quite a year in 1957—“Party Doll” and “Hula Love,” both million sellers by Buddy Knox, and another million seller, Jimmy Bowen’s “I’m Stickin’ with You,” plus Jimmy’s “Warm Up to Me, Baby.” I bought all four of them.
* I had wanted to cut the Joni Mitchell song “Both Sides Now” with Creedence. I really loved that song and thought, “Man, with my style, a rock and roll band on it, that would be a really cool thing.” Never got around to it.
* Chubby Checker’s version of “The Twist” is a great record, and I love it. What Chubby had done was to “straighten out” the beat, making it more rock and roll—and much more accessible to the masses. I was thrilled to meet Chubby onstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in 1986. Chubby made it a point to say to me [about my Creedence work], “Those are your songs… you should play those songs!” Chubby Checker belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now!
* Of course, the very first rock and roll band had this lineup—Elvis on rhythm guitar, Scotty Moore on lead, Bill Black on bass, and D. J. Fontana on drums.
* I sent away for a Wolfman Jack photo that you could iron onto a T-shirt. When it arrived I was disappointed. It was a cartoon drawing of a hipster wolf.
* Later we rehearsed in Tom’s garage. The El Cerrito police showed up because we were so loud. Then we moved to a little shack behind the house, where Doug lived with his wife. I remember working on “Midnight Special” there. Eventually the cops showed up there too.
* Back in the nineties someone wrote a book about Creedence. I’ve always thought it was wack, even though I’ve never read it. How good could it be if the guy wrote a book about Creedence but never talked to me?
* “Porterville” had actually come out as a Golliwogs single. After we became Creedence it was rereleased.
* We later gave Hank a life preserver that said “Proud Mary” for recording the song.
* The first thing we cut at Heider’s was a pair of instrumentals, “Glory Be” and “Broken Spoke Shuffle.” That was a test to check out the studio, which was new. Fantasy has since put them out on a special edition of Green River, but they really had nothing to do with the album. I was toying with the idea of having an alter ego, putting out records under another name.
* It had been scuttled—sunk—probably by the FBI.
* The line “The devil’s on the loose” came about in a funny way. Phil Elwood, a Bay Area writer, had written about “Down on the Corner” in the paper and misquoted the words: “Willie goes into a dance, the devil’s on the loose.” (The actual lyric is “Willie goes into a dance and doubles on kazoo.”) I read that and thought, “That’s a cool line!” Into “Run Through the Jungle” it went. I believe I thanked Phil for that one.
* I’ll admit that I was a little jealous of the Band. I admired their music and felt we were mining similar territory, yet they were the ones who landed on the cover of Time. Plus they recorded “Long Black Veil” before I could get to it!
* Stu Cook and Doug Clifford quotes from “Creedence Gives Serious Party,” Rolling Stone, January 7, 1971.
* I went into Saul’s of
fice one day, and above his immense desk was a huge, five-foot-tall picture of the Beatles. The Beatles! Aren’t you supposed to be proud of your own racehorse, your number one band in the world?
* You’ll note that on all the Creedence albums (except on Cosmo’s Factory, where Fantasy screwed it up) my writing credit reads “J. C. Fogerty.” That was inspired by John D. Loudermilk.
* I distinctly remember that, because as I did it, the great keyboard player Merl Saunders stuck his head in the studio and flashed me a big smile. There, in the midst of the sinister evil that was Fantasy Records, was a fellow artist giving me encouragement.
* The next year I put a scope on that rifle.
* The first quote is from Masters of Paradise: Organized Crime and the Internal Revenue Service in the Bahamas by Alan A. Block (Transaction, 1998). The second quote is from American War Machine: Deep Politics, the CIA Global Drug Connection, and the Road to Afghanistan by Peter Dale Scott (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).
* In 1987, the IRS opened a case that went on for years, investigating Fantasy, accusing it of diverting $28 million in profits from the Zaentz-produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to offshore trusts to avoid paying taxes. I believe the eventual settlement was in the neighborhood of $15 million.
* One morning back in 1973 I was on my way across the Fantasy parking lot to work on the Blue Ridge Rangers album. I was met by Malcolm Bernstein, who seemed to want to talk to me. “John,” he says, “I wonder if you would do something for me? Could you write down the words to all your songs? We get requests…” I looked at him with total disbelief at what I was hearing. Now, you know I was not happy that Fantasy owned all my songs from the Creedence time. And here I’m standing in the building that was paid for with those songs that they own and this flake, this flunky, is asking me to write down the words? They are the publisher; it’s their job to write down the words. They are making a fortune for doing nothing (except stealing). I just shook my head and walked away… what a creep…
* The January 2015 Los Angeles Times obituary for Bendich included this lofty quote by the man: “If poets reveal the deepest truths of ourselves to us, they also reveal what prevents us from realizing our humanity.… And so poets must be free to think and feel and express themselves; and we must be free to hear them.” To which I’d add, “Unless you’re John Fogerty and signed to Fantasy Records.”
* Nick Clainos had this to say: “Saul was charming. He played the role of the simple, easygoing businessman who had the law on his side. John was the fanatic who was complicating things. At least initially, Bill and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. We had been scammed by one of the best—this guy Saul Zaentz. Saul did in fact agree to an arrangement; he did receive money. Ultimately he reneged. Saul just stopped taking our calls. He’d gotten what he wanted: his pound of flesh from John. Saul screwed John Fogerty—again.”
* None of the gold records we got from Fantasy were officially issued by the Recording Industry Association of America. Saul didn’t want that kind of attention—he didn’t want anyone looking at the books. When Fantasy sold half a million copies of “Susie Q,” they took a 45 and dipped it halfway down with gold paint. We didn’t get real gold records until twenty years later.
* Outside of playing those songs for local dances in Troy, Oregon. That’s where I hunted and fished—my soul getaway. I didn’t really consider those professional gigs. More like family reunions.
* John: The rock and roll guy in me thought this song was sappy. The family guy in me loves the sentiment.
* John: I had been invited to induct Duane Eddy, and I was pumped for the opportunity. Duane had been my hero since “Movin’ ’n’ Groovin’” in 1958. But the quake had intervened. With my home in shambles, I called the Waldorf Astoria in New York City at about 7:00 eastern time. I asked for Duane Eddy. I’d had my speech ready for weeks! I knew he would be in his tux getting ready to go downstairs to the ceremony. Happily, Duane picked up the phone. I offered my congratulations and then I read him the speech I was supposed to give that night. Wish I could have been there. Rock on, Duane!
* Julie: I ended the video with a beautiful picture of John, and the soundtrack was the Tom Petty song “Wildflowers.” That song described how I felt about John and how things should have been for him earlier in life. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house—including my husband’s.
* Saul Zaentz did not attend Tom’s funeral. So much for being Tom’s “best friend.”
* Apparently sometime recently, Doug read in the paper that I’d said I’d forgiven Tom. “Forgiven him for what?” was Doug’s response. Oh, I dunno, Doug. Maybe for calling the guy who stole our life savings his “best friend.” Doug is clueless.
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CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Introduction: Beautiful Dreamer
1. El Cerrito Days
2. The D Word
3. My Influences
4. “There’s Somethin’ Missing,” Says R. B. King
5. The… Golliwogs?
6. Dirty Little Wars
7. Susie Q
8. I Guess I’m Just Gonna Have to Do It with Music
9. “We’re with Ya, John!”
10. Tom Leaves
11. Three-Legged Stool
12. Hoodooed
13. Springtime in the Bahamas
14. Put Me In, Coach
15. Wild as a Mink, Sweet as Soda Pop
16. Zanz Kant Danz (But He’ll Steal Your Money)
17. Crossroads
18. “This Is Only Going to End One Way”
19. Why I Didn’t Play at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or They Don’t Care About the Music; Just Give ’Em the Money
20. Revival
21. Wrote a Song for Everyone
Epilogue: Flying
Photos
About the Author
Newsletters
Copyright
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by John Fogerty
Cover design by Mario J. Pulice
Cover photograph by Myriam Santos
Cover copyright © 2015 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: October 2015
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Unless otherwise noted, all photographs are courtesy of John and Julie Fogerty.
ISBN 978-0-316-24456-5
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