When fans go to see a John Fogerty concert, they can be assured that the rock legend will play plenty of the classic tunes he wrote for his old band Creedence Clearwater Revival. For more than 10 years during the 1970s and ’80s, though, Fogerty refused to perform any CCR tunes live. This was because of the legal conflicts he had with and his vitriol toward the head of the group’s label, Fantasy Records, as well as his former bandmates.
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A recent post on Fogerty’s social media pages looked at what inspired John to finally start playing CCR music again. In an archival interview clip, Fogerty shared that his love and respect for Vietnam veterans played a major role in his decision.
On July 4, 1987, Fogerty was among the stars who performed at the Welcome Home concert honoring Vietnam War vets. The show took place at the Capital Centre in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Landover, Maryland. It was here that John reintroduced many CCR tunes back into his set.
Fogerty Wanted to Honor the Veterans in a Special Way
In the interview, John explained how he came to his decision.
“[A]s the concert for the veterans got closer and closer, I was able to actually picture myself on the stage in front of them,” he noted. “I was thinking about what all this meant, because these were my guys. … It was beyond anything else I would ever do. The first thing I thought was they might feel a little awkward, because nobody’s honored them. … I wanted to make sure that whatever I did was deferential, had enough honor in it that they would get from me that I knew what it meant, what they had done.”
Fogerty continued, “It’s an easy phrase we people say now, ‘Thank you for your service,’ and I didn’t know that phrase in those days, but by my actions, I wanted to make sure that’s what I was saying. I decided that … it would be great if I just got over it for one day and did my old songs.”
John also noted that it was well-publicized at the time that he hadn’t been performing CCR songs. He explained that he wanted to surprise the audience, so he decided to start his set by playing the guitar riff from his recent solo hit “Old Man Down the Road,” then suddenly go into the Creedence classic “Born on the Bayou.”
“Those of us that love music, it’s amazing what just a second or less can mean to all of us,” Fogerty noted. “Well, all these people are my age, my generation, with the same experiences. … And so I thought that would be a cool transition, and then just do a concert like I would have done in the Creedence time. It would be really special because I wasn’t doing that.”
More About Fogerty’s Set at the Welcome Home Concert
According to Setlist.fm, Fogerty played 12 songs at Welcome Home concert, seven of which were CCR originals. They were “Born on the Bayou,” “Down on the Corner,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” “Up Around the Bend,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Fortunate Son,” and “Proud Mary.” He also performed the traditional tune “Midnight Special,” which Creedence famously covered.
A clip of Fogerty’s performance at the 1987 Welcome Back concert has been posted on his social media pages.
Many other famous artists also performed at the show, which aired live on HBO. Among them were Crosby, Stills & Nash, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Kris Kristofferson, The Four Tops, Frankie Valli, Anita Baker, John Sebastian, Richie Havens, and James Ingram.
A big part of why Fogerty stopped playing Creedence songs was that the CCR catalog was owned by Fantasy Records head Saul Zaentz, with whom he had an extremely contentious relationship. Zaentz died in 2014 at the age of 92, and in 2023, Fogerty regained the publishing rights to his CCR songs.
Fogerty’s Upcoming 2025 Tour Plans
Fogerty has 13 upcoming concerts on his 2025 itinerary. First up for John are a pair of special 80th birthday shows taking place May 28-29 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City (his actual 80th birthday is the 28th).
In late June, Fogerty will head to Europe for five concerts, including a June 28 performance at the famed Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, U.K.
John has six additional U.S. concerts on his schedule, spanning from a July 6 show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles through an August 3 gig in Quincy, Massachusetts.
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