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John Fogerty
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
John Fogerty was born in Berkeley, California, in 1945 and grew up in El Cerrito. At high school in 1959 he formed a cover band, the Blue Velvets, with bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford. Later his brother Tom joined. They took Little Richard, Bo Diddley and Carl Perkins as their models. In 1964 they signed to Fantasy Records, which, without their knowledge, changed the name to The Golliwogs. The seven singles they recorded under that name went unnoticed.
Music and breakthrough
In 1968 the group became Creedence Clearwater Revival, with John as singer, lead guitarist and main songwriter. Susie Q was the first hit. Between 1968 and 1972 the band had nine singles in the top 10, including Proud Mary, Bad Moon Rising, Fortunate Son, Green River, Down on the Corner and Have You Ever Seen the Rain. In 1993 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted the group. When Creedence broke up in 1972, Fogerty began a solo career. Among the best known from it are The Blue Ridge Rangers from 1973 and Centerfield from 1985.
Influence
His style is called swamp rock: a raw voice, a flat, tight guitar sound and lyrics about rivers, the South and the ordinary American, even though he himself came from California. Many of his songs have been covered by artists from all kinds of genres. Rolling Stone placed him at number 40 among the greatest songwriters, and in 2005 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1973The Blue Ridge Rangers
- 1975John Fogerty
- 1985Centerfield
- 1986Eye of the Zombie
- 1997Blue Moon Swamp
- 2004Deja Vu All Over Again
- 2007Revival
- 2009The Blue Ridge Rangers
- 2013Wrote a Song for Everyone
- 2020Fogerty’s Factory
- 2025Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years (John’s version)
Mentioned in other articles
- Green River Album
John Fogerty wrote the songs, arranged and produced, and sang and played lead guitar.