The Smiley Smile Message Board

Must have escaped my notice that a release date was set, but here ya go:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/john-fogerty-plans-to-write-memoir-20121113





Pre-order from John's offial site:

http://www.johnfogerty.com/fortunateson


(http://s3.amazonaws.com/busites_www/johnfogertycom/content/images/fogertybook_2.jpg)


Hope the book will be better than the cover.




And the lawsuits are already in sight (wonder what will happen when Brian's new book will come out):



John Fogerty Denounces 'Angry' Former CCR Members After Lawsuit

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/john-fogerty-creedence-clearwater-revival-lawsuit-20141209#ixzz3fiZnThu6
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook





John Fogerty Files Civil Claim Against Former CCR Bandmates

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/john-fogerty-files-civil-claim-against-former-ccr-bandmates-20150712#ixzz3fiYh3KHy
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

It's ridiculous that the guys who were the rhythm section of CCR are suing the guy that wrote and sang the songs. If anyone has a right to perform those songs, it is John. Their tribute band is not bad, but that's all it is - a tribute to the original group. Stu and Doug did not write or sing any of the songs they play onstage night after night (at least I'm not aware of them including any Mardi Gras material in their shows).

John Fogerty really got a raw deal.  Another example of what the music business can do. 

I saw him in concert just under two years ago, and it was an incredible show.  John Fogerty is CCR. 

Can't wait to read this book. 

Sorry John but your bitterness and d*ckhead management decisions over the years have led you to the point that you are now with Doug and Stu. These guys could have been out on the road the last few decades as CCR making the same kind of bread the Eagles are making.

Say what you will about Stu Cook and Doug Clifford but they were a tremendous rhythm section (along with Tom F.).

This is true. It's an overstatement to say John is or was CCR. He wrote and sang the songs, played some great guitar, but all of that would have been nothing without a great rhythm section behind him. I still think it's stupid, though, that those guys go out as CCRevisited. I saw them once, it was a free show at the fair, and after the show people were saying "I can't believe I finally saw Creedence!" I wanted to turn to them and say "you saw a great tribute to Creedence". I have to wonder what Tom would think about all this? He and John never really had a meaningful reunion, there were unresolved issues up to Tom's death.

From Wikipedia:




I guess we'll read more about this in John's book.




Here are a couple of performances John did this year:



2015-04-29 - Late Show With David Letterman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOKcGqmL4FU


The two guys on bass and guitar are John's sons btw.




The Voice 2015 Sawyer Fredericks and John Fogerty - Live Finale: Born on the Bayou/Bad Moon Rising/Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW050oJ4ihs

And this:



Rig Rundown - John Fogerty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mFDpVfD4D8


Article and photos: http://bit.ly/JohnFogertyBandRR

John Fogerty’s main road guitar is a late-’60s or early-’70s Gibson Les Paul goldtop with a wraparound bridge and its original P-90 pickups that really punch through the mix.

Used also as much as the goldtop on the 2015 Fogerty tour, this stock late-’60s or early-’70s Gibson Les Paul Custom “Black Beauty” is in remarkably good shape, all things considered.

Made by Phil Kubicki (builder of the famous Ex Factor bass from 1983), all three versions of Fogerty’s iconic “bat guitar” feature an authentic Louisville Slugger brand and Strat-style electronics—a 5-way selector and a volume and two tone knobs—along the body’s upper edge.

When Fogerty wants the first CCR album’s vibe, he plays this custom 1997 Rickenbacker with three “toaster” pickups and a Bigsby vibrato.

To continue learning about Fogerty's setup, visit: http://bit.ly/JohnFogertyBandRR

Not to forget:



CCR John Fogerty VH1 Legends FULL Docu I AIN'T NO MILITARY SON


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX6aJkUG8LE

Just found another older article about the book which has some Foegrty quotes.



Exclusive: John Fogerty to Expand '1969' World Tour, Release Autobiography This Year

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6509433/john-fogerty-1969-world-tour-new-autobiography


And a link on that site states that a carrer-spanning boxset will also be released this year.

...oh yeah, and you get an even larger version of that awful book cover...

BTW here's an interesting and very recent interview with Doug Clifford.



Interview: Doug Clifford on CCR and John Fogerty

http://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/07/07/doug-clifford-ccr-john-fogerty/29792885/#



The part about John:



Q: You mentioned in passing John suing you over the name. And you mentioned in passing John as a brilliant songwriter. When you think of him now, what are your thoughts?

A: Well, he … uh ... I mean, my thoughts aren't good. He said that we were jealous of him and wanted to take control of the band. And what we wanted to take control of — or have someone else who was qualified take control of — was the business affairs. John was our manager. And he didn't understand the contracts. He doesn't own his songs to this day. We were renegotiating our record contract and found out that Fantasy was offering us 10 percent of the company plus the contract we already had. There had never been a deal like that made up to that point in time, where a band got a piece of the company. And there were other perks that went with it. But he didn't understand the contracts and totally blew it and then wouldn't tell us, except, "These guys are evil." He used to go to business meetings with a baseball and a glove and throw the ball against the wall like Steve McQueen did in "The Great Escape."

The other thing is he cut Tom Fogerty out from singing. It was Tom who took us along with him to record because his band didn't see the opportunity that was presented to them. But he believed in us and stuck with us the whole time. He paid for the recordings. He had a wife, two kids, a house and a mortgage. And he was just wonderful. Without Tom, we wouldn't be talking. There wouldn't have been a Creedence Clearwater Revival. When Tom graciously gave up the vocals to his younger brother, he had no idea that he would never be singing another song again. So Stu and I and Tom were always at odds with John about that. Tom had a high tenor voice like his brother but he had what I call a sweet tenor. Like Ritchie Valens. I think John was afraid that if Tom had a hit, he'd lose control. And John is a control freak.

That's where "Mardi Gras" came from. Tom was not allowed to sing a song, so then when Tom quit the band, John gave us an ultimatum that we'd do a third of the material each and write our own songs. That was the way he'd deal out punishment. And when the band finally broke up, he told the press Stu and I held a gun to his head and said, "We want to do a third of the material." That's the last thing we wanted to do. And that's the real regret I have about the way it went down. We took the blame as the a--holes who thought we could become singer-songwriters. We knew we weren't.

But I'm 70 years old. I just want to play with my band. I love these guys we're with. Stu and I have a gift we've had since we were old enough to figure out how to play together. And you hear it in the music. The river of songs that came out is from when we would come in and jam when the albums were being made. Songs would come out of those jams and we never got credit. Each one of us brought something to the table that made that whole thing work. I'm not trying to take away anything from John but, you know, he's been struggling since the breakup of the band through his solo career and it just hasn't worked. In four years we had however many hits. In 40 years, he's had two. But he would never give us any credit. We got in his way. Well, lucky him. Anyhow, I don't want to get too carried away on that. It's negative.

But I'm not impressed with John as a person. I'm very disappointed in a guy I would have jumped in front of a bullet for at a certain point in my life. But it's like a family. You may not like what's going on. You may not like the person. But you love them because they're family. We did accomplish our junior-high dream and the thing that kept us together was a common goal that we all had to get on board and pull the wagon. We had an amazing run and I'm proud of it. I'm just sort of disappointed in the way it came out in the end. Not the music. Thank God for the music. That's our legacy. That's what I want to hang my hat on because that's what it's all about. I wish John well. People say, "You must really hate the guy." I don't hate the guy. I love the guy. I just don't like the way he operates.

Someone asked John in a Q&A not long ago if he'd ever heard any of Tom's solo albums, and John responded with some disparaging remark. He just can't bring himself to say anything good about those guys.

John even played on one of Tom's solo albums.
I agree that John still seems bitter (just as Stu and Doug) although even that has calmed down a little. The last lawsuits probably didn't help neither side. But things appear different when said and read many times. It's interesting that John isn't completely ruling out a reunion anymore.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-fogerty-creedence-clearwater-revival-reunion-a-possibility/

In this interview it seems like John has forgotten that many times he was the person who said that a reunion would never happen.



And this makes it seem like Fogerty tried to reunite. Don't know what is true.

http://wzlx.cbslocal.com/2012/01/12/john-fogerty-not-to-blame-for-no-creedence-reunion/

I came across this very elaborate American Songwriter interview with John from 2013. A very interesting read although I'm not too keen on the "Wrote a song for everyone"-parts (or the album btw). And also our boys get a mention.


Q: I know. He said that Levon was the inspiration. Just like with you and writing swamp rock. For Robbie, having Levon take him down to the Delta when he was 16 shaped what the Band would become. But in the end, who’s credited for writing the songs?

A: Right, right. We’ll never know the full truth. I can only imagine … like what went on with the Beach Boys. I believe a lot of poetic license is called into play in regards to band members. And sometimes, 40 years later someone’ll say, “Well, you know I came up with this phrase. That means I wrote the song.” I don’t know the full story but in my opinion, the guy who came up with the song is the songwriter.






John Fogerty: The Extended Interview

http://www.americansongwriter.com/2013/05/john-fogerty-the-extended-interview-2/

John Fogerty Tells His Version of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Fractious History in New Memoir: Exclusive Excerpt

http://www.billboard.com/john-fogerty-creedence-clearwater-revival-fortunate-son-my-life-my-music-memoir-excerpt-exclusive



John Fogerty Opens Up About Feuding With Former Creedence Clearwater Revival Members in Memoir Excerpt

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/john-fogerty-book-excerpt/

John Fogerty on 'Fortunate Son' memoir

http://www.app.com/story/entertainment/2015/10/04/john-fogerty-fortunate-son-memoir/73091576/

John Fogerty on New Memoir and Why He Sort of Likes Donald Trump

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/john-fogerty-on-new-memoir-and-why-he-sort-of-likes-donald-trump-20151005#ixzz3nikx5z9u
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

Bad Moon Rising Couldn't Keep John Fogerty Down

http://www.houstonpress.com/music/bad-moon-rising-couldnt-keep-john-fogerty-down-7813968

John Fogerty Explains Creedence Clearwater Revival's Hall of Fame Meltdown


http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/john-fogerty-explains-creedence-clearwater-revivals-hall-of-fame-meltdown-20151006#ixzz3noCSjtS0




John Fogerty Talks Trump & Lack Of Socially Conscious Music In Today’s Pop (VIDEO)

Larry King NowOct 05 '15


http://www.ora.tv/larrykingnow/2015/10/5/john-fogerty-talks-trump-lack-of-socially-conscious-music-in-todays-pop-video-0_722h5vp9wbia

As you would guess, the Cook/Clifford fans are not happy about what John says in the book. And BTW, Doug is battling cancer.

One would think that, after all of these years, John, Doug, and Stu could get together in the same room. 

At least John dropped his bitterness enough to put a ton of CCR songs in his setlists. 

Stu and Doug hate John as much as he hates them. They are really pissed off about what he's written in this book.

As much as I'd like to read this book I'm loathe to give John my money. I'll wait 'till I can snag a secondhand copy.

I wanted to revive this topic as I'm almost finished reading Fogerty's book. 

Anyone else read it? 

I read it. Not a happy book. I vacillate between sympathizing with him, and being pissed at him for the way he holds onto a grudge.

I'm about 93% of the way through it.  He may come across as bitter from time to time.  But after what he went through, losing his songs, having his band including his own brother turn their backs on him, I can't say that I blame him.  Stu and Doug are still trying to sue him for performing the songs that he wrote. 

Although, I was taken aback when he didn't rule out a reunion with Doug and Stu. 

As a little footnote, I recently pulled up the John Fogerty station on Pandora.  The song song that played was Who'll Stop the Rain...........by Creedence Clearwater REVISITED!!! 

Thanks for your thoughts, guys! I haven't read it. I don't know if I will ever have the chance. The next year and a half are full of learning and stuff so I have no time. Still have the Jerry Lee Lewis biography untouched in my bookshelf sitting and waiting plus the Sam Phillips biography by Guralnick and a couple of others.
But I'm interested to hear/read your opinions.

Overall, I think it's a good read.  I think the part I found the most interesting was when he decided that he was going to start playing CCR songs live again.  At first, it was a one off show for Vietnam vets.  The vets told him how much those CCR songs meant to them.  Then, he basically decided, it doesn't matter who owns the rights, these are MY songs. 

Granted I go like his solo material, but I couldn't imagine seeing Fogerty live and not hearing any CCR classics. 

Just finished it. 

Overall a good read.  Even if he spent a lot of time at the end discussing his Wrote a Song For Everyone album where John basically plays on a tribute album to himself.  He barely mentions the album Revival, which might be the best album he's been on since Cosmo's Factory. 

You mean actual CCR songs or solo numbers that sound like CCR songs?  :)

The actual CCR numbers that make up about 80% of his setlists in the last 19 years. 

If John wants to keep on making records that sound like CCR, I'll buy 'em. 

There are at least 3 songs on his 1st (proper) solo LP that rank among his best -- "Almost Saturday Night" (as good as any song ever written), "Rockin' All Over the World" (covered by the BBs live right?  Or just Carl?), and an overlooked gem, "Flying Away."

There's a lot to like on Centerfield and Blue Moon Swamp also. 

I like to imagine that John and Tom will reunite in the afterlife. I think Tom was basically a nice guy; Saul Zaentz did a lot to turn those 2 against each other.

Revival is a strong album, as are Blue Moon Swamp and Centerfield. I've always found it ridiculous when people criticize him for "trying to sound like Creedence". Heck, that IS his sound! It was his songs, his singing, his guitar playing. Of course stuff he does on his own is going to sound a lot like CCR. The time he tried hardest to get away from that sound, Eye of the Zombie, is probably his weakest solo album.
I think of CCR as being similar to the Lovin' Spoonful, in that they both brought the American influences to the fore, after the airwaves had been saturated with British bands and "merseybeat". And both bands were lead by very prolific songwriters, who seemed to dry up after the breakup of their respective groups. Fogerty has sometimes gone a decade between albums; John Sebastian went 17 between his 1976 "Welcome Back" album and 1993's "Tar Beach". To be fair, though, the other Spoonful guys did contribute to the songwriting from the start, and drummer Joe Butler had a nice voice. CCR never had anything resembling a democratic approach until their last album.

In the book, John mentioned reconciling with Tom in the afterlife.  John said he tried to patch things up with Tom before he passed, but one of the last things Tom said was "Saul Zaentz was my best friend."  I couldn't imagine. 

Since CCR no longer exists, I have no issue with John sounding like CCR.  Same as David Gilmour's recent albums sounding like Floyd. 

That's one of the reasons I'm not a big fan of Deja Vu All Over Again.  It doesn't really have a Fogerty feel to it. 

That's probably the second weakest  album in his catalog. I love the Blue Ridge Rangers albums. First time I heard "Jambalaya" on the radio,  I thought "this sounds like Creedence". CCR always had a lot of country in their sound.

I'm not too familiar with the Blue Ridge Rangers material. 

If you like country music, you'll love them.

I like a little country tinged rock music.  But, overall, I'm not really a fan of country music. 

I haven't listened to the second one. But the first one indeed is very good. And very traditional country.

Here's some music from that album:


Workin' on a building:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37Tfd8OE7Vk



She thinks I still care:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dMz_EXbXdY



I ain't never:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HPNHerg2aM



Jambalaya:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT0jTZAiN-g


I heard that Fogerty played a version of Jambalaya while jamming with Tony Joe White who then told him it sounds cool and that he should record that. Thus came the idea for the album.

On CCR's tours as a trio, John would get out the steel guitar after shows, and the guys would jam on country songs.

This is nice. About Fogerty's original Rickenbacher:


Norman Harris on John Fogerty's Famous Guitar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHfSh3oUJdA



John Fogerty Reunited with Prized Possession

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2M2Uo2zaDg