THE WORKING MAN

The Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman's saga is one of American rock's most complex: a story of working-class poetry, bitter betrayal, legal warfare, and long-delayed redemption. Now at peace with his past and driven by a renewed purpose, John Fogerty's story is not over yet...

- Words: Simon Harper

For more than half a century, John Fogerty lived in a surreal and crippling paradox: he was one of rock's most distinctive and influential songwriters, yet he didn't own the rights to the music that made him famous.

The voice behind Proud Mary, Bad Moon Rising, Have You Ever Seen The Rain and Fortunate Son had effectively been locked out of his own legacy. Decades of litigation, bitterness, and silence followed, casting a shadow over one of the most extraordinary songwriting streaks of last century.

It all began with Creedence Clearwater Revival, the band Fogerty formed with his older brother Tom and two high school friends, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford. Emerging from the Bay Area's fertile early 60s scene, Creedence evolved from a tight, hard working local act into one of America's defining rock bands. Between 1968 and 1972, CCR released an astonishing seven studio albums packed with sharp, rootsy anthems that spoke directly to a restless generation. In 1969 alone, they released three albums and had four Top 10 singles in the US. For a time, they were outselling The Beatles.

And then, almost as quickly, it was over. Internal rifts and contract disputes tore the band apart. Fogerty cut ties with Fantasy Records and its owner Saul Zaentz, refusing to play his Creedence songs live for years in protest of a deal signed when they were too young to know better.

"Stu was supposed show the contract to his father, who was an entertainment attorney," Fogerty tells Classic Rock, "but over the years, I've kinda wondered if Stu ever really showed it to him."

At loggerheads with Zaentz, whose ruthless control of CCR's music crushed his spirit, Fogerty entered a long and painful period of creative exile. There was no reunion. His brother died in 1990. By then, Fogerty had begun the slow process of rebuilding as a solo artist, but the battle over the songs continued for decades.