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Subject: CCR & John Fogerty FAQ
Date: Mon, 29 May 2000 09:56:31 GMT
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FAQ - Answers To Frequently Asked Questions
Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty
Version 1.7. (05/29/00)

Written by Leif Bagge (Finland), Dana Doak (USA), Bob Iversen (USA),
Ramble Tamble (Finland), and K. Wills Sterling (USA). Compiled by
Ramble Tamble (Finland).

The FAQ can also be read on WWW at
http://www.jyu.fi/~petkasi/ccr-jcf/faq1.htm

This is a basic Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty FAQ. You
can read a more thorough CCR FAQ on WWW at
http://www.jyu.fi/~petkasi/ccr-jcf/trivia.htm
and a special John Fogerty FAQ at
http://ccr-tribute.sverige.net/~wdw/swamp.htm

The FAQ is an independent effort with no official contributions from
any of the former band members of Creedence Clearwater Revival or their
representatives. The information presented here does not necessarily
represent their official viewpoints.

1. What was Creedence Clearwater Revival?

Creedence Clearwater Revival was one of the all-time greatest American
rock and roll bands. During their short heyday in the years 1968-1972,
they cut a bunch of three-minute hit singles which have easily stood
the test of time and become true classics. The group combined elements
of rock and roll, rhythmn and blues, blues, country, gospel and various
bayou styles - despite the fact that they emerged in El Cerrito, a
suburb in San Francisco Bay Area, and had never even seen the
Mississippi bayou.

Their line-up was John Fogerty (vocals, guitar), his brother Tom
Fogerty (rhythm guitar), Stu Cook (bass), and Doug Clifford (drums).

2. Since John Fogerty grew up in California, and never had set foot in
Louisiana or the Bayou country, what gave him the inspiration to write
the songs he wrote?

While growing up, John listened to a lot of music written about the
South and sung by southerners, among them bluesmen such as Muddy
Waters, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf, etc. His mother introduced him
to Stephen Foster's songs about the South (e.g., "Swanee River") when
he was very young, and he liked those. He said, downtown El Cerrito was
a pretty boring place to him, so he made up this mystical Southern
imagery in his head. The old Sun Records recordings were big
influences, too. Basically, all of John Fogerty's musical influences -
blues, rockabilly (Elvis, Carl Perkins), country (Hank Williams) - were
Southern.

3. Which are the greatest hits of CCR and John Fogerty (solo career)?

For two years, 1969 and 1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival was the most
popular rock band in America. During those years the group released
five of its seven albums and seven hit singles. All seven singles
reached the top ten of the U.S. pop charts. Astonishingly, none reached
#1 in the U.S., and yet no less than five of their records, all double
sided hits, reached #2. They are, "Proud Mary" b/w "Born On the
Bayou", "Bad Moon Rising" b/w "Lodi", "Green River"
b/w "Commotion", "Travelin' Band" b/w "Who'll Stop the Rain",
and "Looking Out My Back Door" b/w "Long As I Can See the Light".

Of their albums, both "Green River" and "Cosmo's Factory" reached #1,
with the latter being their best seller.

John Fogerty's solo chart career peaked during the week of March 14,
1985. "Centerfield" hit #1 that week in its second week on the charts,
and its lead-off single, "The Old Man Down the Road", reached the
highest position of any of his post Creedence singles, at #9.

4. What did they do before CCR?

They were an amateur rock band. Formed in high school in 1959, they
played as Tommy Fogerty & The Blue Velvets (1959-1964) and The
Golliwogs (1964-1967), enjoying minor success in the San Francisco bay
area. The quartet turned professional in December 1967 and changed
their name to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

5. Where did the band's name come from?

Tom Fogerty had a friend at work who had a friend whose name was
Creedence Nuball. John Fogerty took the "Clearwater" part from a beer
advertisement. "Revival" referred to the band's rebirth or revival.

6. Why did CCR disband?

For the differences related to artistic direction and the management of
the band - not unlike thousands of other rock bands. Creedence
Clearwater was a band dominated by their frontman, John Fogerty. On
their six first albums he did all the vocals and played lead guitar. He
also wrote all of their own songs, arranged and produced each cut, and
managed the band. Fruits of the successful formula included several
gold records and the position as the number one singles band in America
in the early 1970's.

During the years Creedence Clearwater existed, the rest of the group
demanded a more collaborative share of labour, ie. writing, arranging
and producing songs together and more voice in the financial issues. In
consequence of the turmoil, John Fogerty insisted that the rest of the
group members contribute equally to the songwriting, singing and
producing on the album, "Mardi Gras". The album was an artistic and
commercial failure and the group disbanded shortly afterwards, in late
1972.

7. Did CCR perform at Woodstock?

Yes. But their performance did not appear in either the film or
original album "Woodstock" due primarily to John Fogerty's veto. He
felt CCR's performance, impacted as it was by technical difficulties at
the site and that it occurred in the wee hours immediately following a
sleepy performance by the Grateful Dead, was not good enough to be
forever documented on film and record. Four songs of the concert were
released on the Woodstock box set in 1994.

8. I'm a newbie. Which CDs should I buy first?

There are dozens of Creedence Clearwater Revival compilation albums of
which song line-ups are practically identical. Perhaps the best of them
is "Chronicle". The essential original studio albums are the self-
titled debut (1968), "Bayou Country" (1969), "Green River"
(1969), "Willy & The Poorboys" (1969), and "Cosmo's Factory" (1970).
All are easily available on CD.

The cornerstone studio albums of John Fogerty include "John Fogerty"
(1975), "Centerfield" (1985), and "Blue Moon Swamp" (1997). CDs
available - except "John Fogerty" in the U.S.

9. I can't remember many John Fogerty albums and live concerts in the
years 1972-1996. Where the heck was he?

He spent the first hiatus (1976-1984) mainly in his studio. According
to him, he had lost his abilities to write and make music due to
disputes with his former label Fantasy. He said it was like someone had
turned the switch to the "off" position. Somewhere at the end of this
10 year period he went fishing on a lake. While out there the phrase "A
man named Ike was in the White House, big black limousines" was born in
his head. This turned the switch to the "on" position again, and he
released his "Centerfield" album in 1985.

During the second decade (1987-1996), he met his wife, got married, had
kids and wanted to make a record again. According to him, he also tried
to settle the disputes with his former label but with no results. He
made many visits to the "Bayou" to meet blues masters and get
inspiration from the birthplace of the blues. He also made efforts to
improve his skills in guitarplaying. An earthquake distroyed his house
and it took him one year to rebuild it. Then to finish the "Blue Moon
Swamp" album (1997) took him about four years. First he tried to do it
on his own. Then he tried to find the right band finally ending up in
using different sets of musicians for different songs.

10. Why was John Fogerty reluctant to do his CCR songs on stage during
his silent years?

According to Fogerty, he was unhappy with the contract he signed with
his Creedence era label, Fantasy Records, back in 1964. After the
disband of Creedence Clearwater, Fantasy let him out of his contract
but he had to gave up his publishing rights to all his Creedence songs
as a compensation.

11. What does John Fogerty do now?

He released his Grammy winning come-back album ("Blue Moon Swamp") in
1997. It was followed by concert tours in America, Scandinavia and
Australia in 1997 and 1998 - with several of his Creedence era classics
included in the set list. His live album "Premonition" was launched in
summer 1998. He's going to tour with Tina Turner in 2000.

12. What is the "Shep" album of John Fogerty?

It's his self-titled LP released in 1975 and includes the Fogerty
standards "Rockin' All Over The World" and "Almost Saturday Night". The
cover sleeve features Fogerty with his dog, Shep. In the U.S., the CD
version of the album is only available as an imported item.

13. What was the deal with the "Hoodoo" album?

It was a finished album of John Fogerty, due to be released in 1976.
The bosses of Asylum Records didn't like the tapes, and the album was
shelved. The single cuts ("You Got The Magic"/ "Evil Thing") were the
only "Hoodoo" songs that were officially released.

14. Are the John Fogerty single cuts that were not released on his
original albums available on greatest hits packages or box sets?

So far, no compilation albums or box sets focusing on the solo career
of John Fogerty have been released. You have to search for the original
vinyl singles e.g. in record fairs.

15. Did I mishear the lyrics of "Bad Moon Rising"? "Bathroom on the
right?" I wasn't drunk.

People usually misheard the chorus "there's a bad moon on the rise"
as "there's a bathroom on the right". Today, Fogerty makes fun of it
and purposely slips the "wrong" lyrics into the end of the song.

16. What do other former members of CCR do now?

Stu Cook and Doug Clifford formed a band called Creedence Clearwater
Revisited in 1995. With three additional musicians in the place of the
absent John and Tom Fogerty, the band performs Creedence Clearwater
Revival classics. Their live album, "Recollection", was released in
1998.

Tom Fogerty died of AIDS in 1990. He got the virus in the blood
transfer in the early 80's. His albums were released on CD in 1999.

17. Where is the rumoured CCR box set?

Stu Cook and Doug Clifford worked on it in mid-90's. They called a halt
to it due to their current band.

18. Which movies feature CCR or John Fogerty music?

Check out International Movie Database at http://www.imdb.com and
click "More searches", "Word Search", "Soundtracks".

19. Can we expect a reunion of Creedence Clearwater Revival someday?

Doubtful. Since Tom Fogerty has passed away and the relations between
the living former members have been strained for decades, the reunion
seems unlikely.

20. Which CCR and John Fogerty videos are commercially available?

A few. CCR is featured on a 1999 released video called "The Best of
1969-70 Music Scene, Volume 1", with two songs: "Down On The Corner"
and "The Night Time Is The Right Time". A 20-minute footage on the CCR
concert at Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1970, was released semi-
officially by DeAgostini in Italy in 1992. It has been out of print for
years. A video of the John Fogerty "Premonition" concert was issued in
1998.

21. Are there any books about the band?

Peter Koers, Rocking All Over The World. Germany, 1994. ISBN 3-926794-
17-8. Written in German, English summary.

Peter Koers, Green River: The Illustrated Discography of Creedence
Clearwater Revival. Germany, 1999. ISBN 3-925005-51-X. Written in
English and German.

Craig Werner and Dave Marsh (Ed.), Up Around The Bend: The Oral History
of CCR. USA, 1999. ISBN 0380801531.

Hank Bordowitz, Bad Moon Rising: An Unauthorized History of Creedence
Clearwater Revival. USA, 1998. ISBN 0028648706.

22. Are there any CCR or John Fogerty fan clubs?

The Worldwide Fan Club of Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty
c/o Peter Koers
Schoppershofstrasse 74
D-90489 Nurnberg
Germany
Fax: 0911/563647
EML: Peter_Koers@compuserve.com
WWW: http://come.to/ccr-fanclub

Creedence Clearwater Revival Fan Club - Norway
c/o Bjšrn Harald SŠther
…ra
N-6650 Surndal
Norway
EML: bjosathe@online.no
WWW: http://www.creedence.infosenter.com/

23. Are there any fan gatherings?


AUSTRALIA: Annual gathering. More information from Glenda Kann (EML:
kann@powerup.com.au)

FINLAND: Annual Fogerty Fest Finland. Featuring live concert by a cover
band. WWW: http://www.jyu.fi/~petkasi/ccr-jcf/fff.htm. On their web
site, you can also subscribe to their mailing list. More information
from Jukka Leino (EML: leinoju@dlc.fi)

NETHERLANDS: Annual gathering of the Worldwide CCR Fan Club. Featuring
live concert by a cover band. More information from Peter Koers (EML:
swampfrog@t-online.de).

NORWAY: Annual gathering. More information from Bjšrn-Harald SŠther
(EML: bjosathe@online.no)

UNITED STATES: Rollin' On The River Fest in New Orleans. You can
subscribe to their mailing list at
http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/rollin-on-the-river. More information
from Fran Nolting (EML: curves@fastrans.net).

24. Which are the main CCR and John Fogerty resources on the Internet?

There are several unofficial sites on WWW. One of the lists of them is at
http://www.jyu.fi/~petkasi/ccr-jcf/links.htm
Usenet newsgroups include alt.music.ccr. John Fogerty Chatroom is
located at
http://www.jyu.fi/~petkasi/ccr-jcf/chat.htm

Two official sites:
JohnFogerty.com - The Official Site, maintained by Reprise Records,
USA:
http://www.johnfogerty.com/
Creedence Clearwater Revisited, maintained by Poor Boy Productions,
USA:
http://www.creedence-revisited.com/

25. Where did John Fogerty get his habit of singing sideways into the
microphone?

It began in the mid-'60s. His pre-Creedence band, The Golliwogs,
performed in a gross place. The people either made him laugh or
sometimes disgusted him, so he usually ended up looking at the wall
while he was singing. The wall would have all sorts of things written
all over it, and he read it all. Looking at the wall then got him in
the habit.

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