Fun-Loving Fogerty Works Hard on Stage
PHOENIX (Aug. 1, 2004) – Do you hate your job? Do you never have fun with what you do for a living? If so, then you probably envy John Fogerty.
Fogerty, who played before 2,500 at the Dodge Theater tonight, left no doubt in his adoring fans that he loves playing rock and roll guitar and singing his songs. His body language was full of bouncing and smiling throughout his 90-minute, 24-song show.
The native of northern California, who has adopted the persona of a Southern delta rocker, showed why he is one of the most prolific songwriters in the history of rock and roll. With a swamp backdrop behind the stage, he opened with “Born On A Bayou.” He rendered several other songs he has penned in the same genre, such as “Green River,” “Blueboy,” “Old Man Down The Road,” “Bad Moon Rising” and “Proud Mary.”
But those who are familiar with Fogerty’s career know that his talent is not limited to songwriting. As the front man of Creedence Clearwater Revival in the 1960s and ‘70s, he provided strong, gutsy vocals on the group’s seven albums. His lead guitar lines also were masterful – sometimes beautiful in their simplicity.
At age 59, Fogerty’s vocals somehow sound higher pitched than ever. Are they still passionate and powerful? You bet. He sang each song as if it came from his heart.
Unfortunately, the theater’s sound system distorted the music from time to time, obscuring some of Fogerty’s pure guitar licks. “Up Around The Bend” and “Lodi” were two examples.
When Fogerty and his four backing musicians played “Midnight Special,” however, it sounded like the CCR recording. Drums, bass and two guitars joined Fogerty’s lead guitar in the band.
For “Centerfield,” Fogerty brought out his famous baseball bat guitar, which looks amazingly like a Louisville Slugger. Showing his versatility, he rotated five different guitars throughout the evening.
With his happy-go-lucky veneer and a large audience captivated by his music, Fogerty seemed far from his troubled past. In 1971 his band mate and older brother, Tom, left CCR over his inability to get his songs on the group’s albums. After the group broke up about a year later, John sold the rights to his songs to Fantasy Records president Saul Zaentz. Fogerty’s unsuccessful efforts to repurchase those rights resulted in a bitter battle that lasted years. A lackluster solo stint in the mid-‘70s caused Fogerty to withdraw from the music business for several years.
About the time John was preparing to marry, Tom was dying from complications of AIDS in Paradise Valley in 1990. The brothers never reconciled.
John is making this tour a family affair, with wife Julie, their three children and their nanny watching from the audience.
As Fogerty introduced “110 In The Shade” from his 1997 “Blue Moon Swamp” album, he noted with pride that the disc had earned his only Grammy award.
While he never has placed a recording at the No. 1 position of a Billboard chart, Fogerty has racked up impressive sales figures: four gold albums (over 500,000 sold), two platinum albums (over 1 million sold) and five multi-platinum albums.
Along with CCR, he was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998. He has said that it is his newest work that makes him most proud.
His next release is due out next month, and he played the title track – “Déjà Vu.” Its lyrics draw parallels between the Iraq War and Vietnam. Another song he played from the forthcoming CD was “Blue Ridge Mountain Blues.”
The audience was predominantly middle-aged and was somewhat reserved in its applause. But many danced and sang along with familiar lyrics, prompting Fogerty to say, “Thank you all for singing along. It’s so nice to see all those smiling faces. We appreciate it.”
Later he added, “I just want you to know it feels real good when you’re so nice to us.”
After his encore numbers of “Fortunate Son” and “Proud Mary,” Fogerty was whisked out the door and into his bus, bound for Tucson. This leg of his tour is like a track meet through the Southwest, with nine shows scheduled in 12 days over five states. That’s a lot of rock and roll fun crammed into a short amount of time.
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Hans Olson served as the opening act. The Scottsdale resident, who has graced the local music scene for over three decades, played six songs in his amplified acoustic, folk-blues style. Much of the time he played harmonica and guitar at the same time. You have to admire a musician with that kind of concentration.
