John Fogerty purchased majority ownership of his Creedence Clearwater Revival catalogue after decades without control. He released Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years featuring rerecordings of his classic songs. The collection includes hits such as "Bad Moon Rising," "Up Around the Bend," and "Proud Mary," which Fogerty sees as lasting standards in the American songbook. Fogerty describes "Proud Mary" as timeless and surprising even to him as its writer. He traces his musical roots to early childhood, citing his mother's guidance and a children's record that introduced him to songs like "Oh! Susanna" and "Camptown Races."
He purchased the majority ownership of his Creedence Clearwater Revival catalogue - and damn, whata catalogue - a victory that had eluded him for over five decades of his career. But we're not here to give his old record label a Viking burial on the Green River for its sins. Instead, what better way to celebrate both Fogerty's new professional freedom and entry into the octogenarian birthday club.
This reclamation of an album has every imaginable hit that Fogerty wrote for his band ("Bad Moon Rising," "Up Around the Bend," those two songs about the rain), many of which he believes have already become standards in the American songbook. Or perhaps there's something more eternal at play. "'Proud Mary' seems like it's been around since Christopher Columbus came from Europe and discovered a different culture," Fogerty tells me. "I'm very surprised that I wrote it, because it sounds like it's been here forever."
"Proud Mary" has worn so well all these years. It was the first really good song I wrote, and it was a bit of a shock even for me. I had been fascinated with music as early as I can remember, probably before I could walk. Under my mother's tutelage and mentoring, she gave me a little children's record of two songs, "Oh! Susanna" and "Camptown Races."
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