“Well, They Were Jealous”: John Fogerty Reflects on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Breakup

Creedence Clearwater Revival made some of the most iconic music of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They released seven albums in the few years between their 1968 self-titled debut and their 1972 release Mardi Gras. Their quick rise to fame and tensions within the band drove a wedge between John Fogerty and the other members of the band. In the end, that wedge proved to be too large to overcome.

Videos by American Songwriter

Fogerty sat down with legendary journalist Dan Rather to talk about his life and career. During their conversation, he reflected on the end of Creedence Clearwater Revival and what he thinks caused the band to fall apart.

[RELATED: John Fogerty Reflects on the Classic CCR Song He Wrote That He Feels “Possibly Could Be in the Great American Songbook”]

John Fogerty on the End of Creedence Clearwater Revival

During the interview, Dan Rather asked what caused Creedence Clearwater Revival to break up. John Fogerty gave a short laugh before answering. “I maybe know a little bit more now after what was it, fifty years or something?” he began.

“I know that internally, within me, I felt like everything was going great. Somehow, the songs that I would imagine would come to pass. We’d go in the studio and record them. Then, lo and behold, they’d be on the radio. Then, we’d go play for audiences that were enormous. Everyone was happy and having a great time,” he recalled. “Eventually, it meant we could buy a house and all that sort of thing,” he added.

“I do know that I didn’t understand it at the beginning. It didn’t even register what the emotion was. It was much later, after I’d known Julie [Lebiezinski]. A couple tends to get to know each other over dinner, movies, and riding in the car. Years went by, and one day she said, ‘Well, they were jealous.’ And I had never even stopped to think of it that way,” Fogerty said. “I just didn’t understand.”

Was Fogerty’s Wife Right?

John Fogerty went on to recall the early days of Creedence Clearwater Revival. In 1969, they had already found a hit with “Proud Mary,” and “Bad Moon Rising” was getting airplay from radio stations across the country. At that time, he said, his bandmates were already getting jealous.

Then, he pointed to a memory from one of the band’s early tours. “I would hear comments [from the band] once in a while, especially like walking through an airport. A little kid would come running over with a piece of paper, ‘John! John! John Fogerty! Can I have your autograph?’ and sure. We’re all walking together, and I’d sign the kid’s autograph, and then he’d run away. Then, I’d hear, for the next 30 feet, behind me, ‘grumble, grumble, grumble,’ a bunch of just negative. But I didn’t understand what,” he recalled.

Featured Image by Tom Walko/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock