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Fortunate Son - John FogertyBOOK REVIEW:

Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music by John Fogerty. Little Brown and Company. 416 pages. 2015. Audiobook read by John Fogerty.
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I was so excited to see that John Fogerty, the incredible singer and songwriter behind Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) and acclaimed solo artist would be writing his autobiography. And I was not disappointed. As an added bonus, Fogerty reads the audiobook version of the book, which adds a lot to the experience. This book will be loved by CCR/Fogerty fans, as he tells his side of the story, which conflicts with the stories told by others, most notably his former bandmates. As I went through the book, I enjoyed listening to the CCR and solo albums he discusses in detail in the book. It’s an autobiography about his dreams coming true in music (and ultimately in life), but also details the heartbreaking betrayal of his record company (Fantasy) and his bandmates, which included his brother Tom.

Fogerty grew up in California. His father was a writer and a dreamer whose dreams never translated into success. His father had a nervous breakdown and his parents would divorce. Both were alcoholics. Mom would later eventually remarry.

Fogerty was influenced early by Black music (R&B, gospel). Other early music influences were Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Duane Eddy, Rick Nelson, and Pete Seeger. He also writes of his respect for the music promoter Bill Graham. He would begin playing music with drummer Doug Clifford and bassist Stu Cook, who he met in junior high. John played guitar. His brother Tom was four years older than John. Their first band was the Blue Velvets, and they started by playing instrumentals.

They would sign a fateful contract with Fantasy Records in 1964. All of the band members were underage at the time, except Tom. The contract, and Fantasy owner Saul Zaentz, would cause John much pain and suffering over the coming years. The label would change the band’s name to the Golliwogs for their first single. The guys hated that name. Fogerty married Martha Paiz in 1965. He was drafted and shares his strong feelings about the Viet Nam war and more recent wars that the U.S. has been involved in, which he writes are all about money.

The band would eventually come up with a new name. Fogerty’s explanation of how he came up with the name “Creedence Clearwater Revival” was interesting. Their cover of “Susie Q” would be their first hit. The band would become known for two-sided hits, not just the hit on one side and a throwaway song on the flip side.

I really enjoyed Fogerty describing his thought process in coming up with what would be later well-known as the CCR sound, and also the process he goes through when writing songs. He admits to being a perfectionist. Although Tom was the original lead singer of the band, John would begin taking over those duties and the band would become “his band”. He would eventually take on the role of manager, publicist, writer, singer, arranger and producer for the band. This would lead to internal problems a few years later.

Of “Proud Mary”, Fogerty writes that he feels that the song was “given to him”. He knew when he wrote it that it would become a classic. He also writes that perhaps he has been someone else in a previous life, indicating that he could believe in the concept of reincarnation.

He writes that Green River was his favorite CCR album. When you look at the songs on that album, it has more hits on it than many band’s Greatest Hits albums do. It is a rock and roll classic. He writes that the first three CCR albums were incredibly made for a total of less than $5,000.

An important part of Fogerty’s story was when Saul Zaentz went back on his word to tear up the band’s original contract for a better one should the band become a success. Instead, he offered to invest their money in a shady Bahamas entity (Castle Bank), which Fogerty would find out years later had ties to the Mafia.

A key turning point in the story was a band meeting that took place before the recording of their album Pendulum. Despite being the biggest selling band in the world at the time behind the Beatles, the other band members demanded to write and sing their own songs. John reluctantly agreed, but Tom still left the band, leaving CCR to carry on as a trio. This led to the sad ending of the band, with the album Mardi Gras. Each band member did three of their own songs and the album was a critical failure. A trio tour followed. Doug and Stu engaged in unrestrained debauchery (women, drinking, damaging hotel TVs, etc.). Fogerty left the band after the tour. That was a difficult time in his life. He separated from Martha and lived with Lucy in Denmark for a year. He would reunite with Martha for another 14 years before they eventually divorced. They had three children together but Fogerty writes that their relationship was dysfunctional.

After the breakup of CCR, Fogerty admits that he was not in a good place. For the next several years, he would be involved in lawsuits with Fantasy records and his band. He admits that he was not a very nice person and he drank too much. This impacted his music as well, hitting a low point when Asylum Records rejected his album Hoodoo. Since then, he has asked for forgiveness from many who he encountered during that time.

The album Centerfield in 1985 was a huge comeback success, both critically and commercially. It was a “one-man band” album, with Fogerty playing all of the instruments and doing all of the vocals, something he has done on several of his albums. When he wrote the song “I Saw it on TV” for the album, it was the first time he had been able to write a song in eight years.

He would meet future wife Julie Kramer in a bar in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1986 after a concert – Julie was 26 and Fogerty in his 40’s. Both were married at the time with Julie going through a divorce. Fogerty turns over parts of the book to Julie at this point as she tells their story from her perspective.

Tom died in 1990 of AIDS. They tried to reconcile while their mom was still alive, but failed. At the end of his life, Tom would tell John that Saul was his best friend. Despite all the hurt, John now forgives Tom and says that he loved his brother.

For about 15 years, up until 1987, John wouldn’t sing any of his CCR songs.

Blue Moon Swamp was another triumph, though it took ten years overall, and five in the studio, to make. This caused a good deal of stress with Julie and the children. He writes that “Joy of My Life”, written for Julie, was the first true love song that he had ever written. The album would win a Grammy Award.

He writes about when CCR was being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 and why he refused to perform with Doug and Stu. They, along with Tom had sold their rights to Creedence songs to Zaentz, allowing Creedence songs to be used (in movies, on compilation albums, etc.). This went against their agreement that all band decisions had to be unanimous. Later, Doug and Stu would form Creedence Clearwater Revisited, which led to more lawsuits.

Wrote a Song for Everyone, his latest album was Julie’s idea. He reached out to artists he loved and did his songs with them. Rolling Stone magazine gave the album a 5-star review.

He wraps up the book, which includes a good amount of profanity, with how he would like to be remembered. He writes that love is the most important thing in the world and that he is the luckiest man in the world because he found Julie.

Fogerty’s solo career has been inconsistent, with some excellent albums (Centerfield, Blue Moon Swamp, Revival, and Wrote a Song for Everyone) and some that did not match his incredible talent (Eye of the Zombie, Déjà vu All Over Again and the label rejected Hoodoo).

In the Epilogue, Fogerty writes about “Mystic Highway”, one of the two new songs from Wrote a Song for Everyone, and the song he states that he has worked on the longest in his career. He writes that the song is very spiritual and reverential (and includes a great gospel verse by the way), with a “whole lot of God in there”. The song is spiritual, though not from an orthodox Christian perspective, but more of an “Oprah spirituality”. He writes that there are all kinds of different ways to think of what God is. He states that the entire universe is God, and therefore we are all God. In the song he sings that he’s lately begun to wonder how it is all going to end. The stars in the heavens have been there to light his way on his often painful journey. Although he doesn’t know where he’s going, he’ll probably get there anyway. He sings that he is heading to the light, and asks the mystic highway that he is on to take him home.

I really love John Fogerty’s music and thoroughly enjoyed this book. His music has meant so much to me over the years. I can still remember buying the “Up Around the Bend” single at a “five and dime” store in Hayward, Wisconsin on a family vacation in the summer of 1970. We were fortunate enough to finally see him in concert on the tour Willie Nelson opened for him that he describes in the book. His is an incredible story, and I’m so glad that he has found peace and happiness with Julie and his family. I pray that he will also find Jesus, the true light.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount BOOK CLUB – Won’t you read along with us?

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

This book made a significant impact on my wife Tammy when she read and discussed it with friends thirty years ago. When I picked up my diploma the day after graduation ceremonies from Covenant Seminary last year I was given a copy of this book. After enjoying Lloyd-Jones book Spiritual Depression (and the sermons the book was taken from), I couldn’t wait to read this book, which is the printed form of sermons preached for the most part on successive Sunday mornings at Westminster Chapel in London. This week we look at

Chapter 11: Blessed are the Peacemakers

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