One of the greatest rock musicians in history celebrates his anniversary today

In the late 60s, Creedence Clearwater Revival stood out primarily due to the voice of their leader John Fogerty – pure vocals without the frills that everyone else had, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and others. It was no coincidence that in 1969, CCR, having released three magnificent albums, were recognized as the best rock band in the world – and this with such competitors and in one of the best years for rock music.

Despite all this, they remained, perhaps, the only rock stars who did not suffer from star fever. They were the first of the potential headliners to agree to perform at the legendary rock festival Woodstock-1969, and for a fee of only $10 thousand (Jimi Hendrix charged twice as much for one concert). Because of the festival's disgusting organization, which we once wrote about in detail, CCR went on stage after midnight, when the audience was already asleep.

Підписуйтеcь на наш Telegram-канал Lenta.UA - ЄДИНІ незалежні новини про події в Україні та світі

John Fogerty later recalled it this way: “My first thought was: wow! - I'm going to have to play behind a band that managed to put half a million people to sleep! (Grateful Dead - S.S.) Well, I play, I scream, three songs later I peer into the space beyond the Jupiters - three rows of intertwined bodies: everyone is asleep. No matter how hard we tried, half a million were passed out. It was like a scene from Dante: in the underworld: half a million intertwined bodies, sleeping in the mud. And then came the moment that has remained in my memory for the rest of my life. Somewhere about a quarter of a mile away, on the other side of the field, a guy strikes a lighter, and I hear in the night: “Don't worry, John! We're with you!” I played the rest of the show for that guy."

This quote alone explains the character of the CCR leader, who even at the height of his fame could treat success with humor. But not work. All the members of the group remained simple guys for him, whom he literally held in an iron fist. But their albums, in which he was almost always the author of the music (only later Fogerty included songs written by the others, and even then he forced them to compose them under orders), were recorded quickly and clearly - John had the musical material for the recording ready in advance.

In the end, this iron discipline may have led to the group breaking up. First, John's brother Tom left, with whom they did not speak for the rest of their lives (he died in 1990), and then Stu Cook and Doug Clifford fell out with him. They fell out so badly that in 1993, at a concert in honor of CCR's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Fogerty didn't even invite them on stage, but played with Bruce Springsteen. But they also got their revenge - in 1995, they organized a rock band, which also had the name CCR (they only changed the last word in Creedence Clearwater Revival to Revisited) and went on a world tour, performing old hits.

CCR is also known for the fact that at the beginning of their career, they signed the most unfavorable contract in the history of rock stars with their manager. True, The Beatles also had a terrible contract, as it turned out, but Brian Epstein was just an amateur there, who could only be accused of unprofessionalism. But Saul Zaentz was a seasoned veteran who made a lot of money on CCR - and they even sued him.

In January of the year before last, John Fogerty gave himself a gift, as they say, "for the rest of his life" - after 50 years of struggle, he regained the copyright to his songs. And then he bought a mansion from Sylvester Stallone for $17.2 million. But he did not calm down and even continues to tour with concerts at the age of 80 - as evidenced by the poster of his future concert in Paris on May 26, 2025.

Photo: sortiraparis