Photo by Julie Fogerty
After a nearly endless cycle of lawsuits that took place over half a century, John Fogerty has finally gained control of the publishing rights of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s catalog.
In most cases, because nearly all of the group’s songs were penned by Fogerty, he would have had ownership over the rights for decades. However, in 1980 he relinquished the rights to his songs when the band broke up. They were signed away by Fogerty to Fantasy Records and its owner, future movie producer Saul Zaentz, in order to get out of his contract with the record label.
The legal battles started in the following years and never let up; Fogerty’s bandmates, including his own brother Tom, sided with Zaentz and did so until the former died in 1990. Later on, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s rhythm section formed Creedence Clearwater Revisited in 1995 and played their songs. However, Fogerty refused to play his hits for years out of spite.
In 2004 Fantasy was bought by Concord Records, and they reinstated Fogerty’s royalties at a higher rate. Now years after the death of Zaentz (2014), Fogerty has reportedly bought a majority share of his copyrights from Concord for an undisclosed sum.
“I’m the dad [of these songs]. I created them. They never should have been taken away in the first place. And that hijacking left such a massive hole in me… The happiest way to look at it is, yeah, it isn’t everything,” Fogerty told Billboard. “It’s not a 100% win for me, but it’s sure better than it was. I’m really kind of still in shock. I haven’t allowed my brain to really, actually, start feeling it yet.”
While artists like Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen have been selling their copyrights for hundreds of millions of dollars, Fogerty has done the opposite likely resulting in a feeling of victory more rewarding than any figure could accomplish. Fogerty’s now priceless catalog includes “Fortunate Son,” “Proud Mary,” “Down on the Corner,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Green River,” and “Up Around the Bend.”
Read Relix’s piece with Fogerty here.