Joe Rogan (2:21)

You had a legendary career, my friend. Legendary.

John Fogerty (2:24)

Thank you. Still working on it.

Joe Rogan (2:26)

It's incredible, man.

John Fogerty (2:27)

You.

Joe Rogan (2:28)

You are like, one of the main voices of rock and roll in America, if you really think about it. Your songs. I mean, there you have so many gigantic hits. You know, when the UFC has a lot of walkout songs, you know, when folks, fighters come out and walk out, a lot of guys walk out to music. I don't even know if you're aware of it, but Fortunate Son is a big one.

John Fogerty (2:51)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (2:51)

Bad Moon Rising, that's another big one people walk out to.

John Fogerty (2:54)

Great.

Joe Rogan (2:56)

It's pretty awesome.

John Fogerty (2:57)

Wow. Yeah. I'm not that aware of the UFC stuff, but it, you know, everybody, whatever floats your boat.

Joe Rogan (3:05)

Well, people just love your music. So you went through many generations. Like, you got your first record contract. How old were you?

John Fogerty (3:16)

I know. I signed one when I was around 19. Of course, it would have been unenforceable.

Joe Rogan (3:23)

It's not legal at the time.

John Fogerty (3:24)

Right.

Joe Rogan (3:25)

You had to be 21, the deal.

John Fogerty (3:27)

I believe so, yeah.

Joe Rogan (3:30)

Well, you're also one of the first rock and roll artists that wrote songs that became very popular about how you're getting screwed over by the record business. You know what I mean? So Leonard Skitter did it. Working for mca, they did that song. But you had Vance Cant Dance.

John Fogerty (3:48)

It was actually Zantz Can't Dance.

Joe Rogan (3:49)

But you had to change it, right?

John Fogerty (3:51)

Yeah. The name of the person was Zaentz. It sold about a half a million copies as Xantz. But the record company, Warner Brothers, in their way of settling somewhat, had me change it to Vance. Yep.

Joe Rogan (4:11)

Because the guy's name was Zance.

John Fogerty (4:13)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (4:14)

It was screwing.

John Fogerty (4:16)

That's right in the middle of that whole thing was a mess. I got sued for sounding like myself.

Joe Rogan (4:25)

What?

John Fogerty (4:26)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (4:27)

How'd that happen?

John Fogerty (4:29)

I'll tell you so. And I didn't find this out, and there was eventually a trial, so it's. Many people think that that's funny. You got sued for selling it yourself. Well, that's funny. Well, no, you're getting a legal lawsuit. That's probably going to take away a lot of your money and you're going to go through three, four years of anguish. Well, anyway, ended up in a trial he was suing me for at the time was an enormous amount of money, $144 million for his. Whatever, Metal anguish or something. The logistics, I guess you'd call it. I had made a new song called the Old man down the Road. It was on my album. It was my comeback on center field. And. And I had finally gotten away from Fantasy Records, which is where Credence was, and Saul Sands, who owned it. So, you know, when you finally escape and get success over somewhere else, the former people tend to be jealous, I guess. And so he was suing me. What had happened, though? I found out in the trial, the base player from Credence was another one of those people, I guess, that couldn't stand that I'd now had success in a later life. He went down to fantasy and saw Mr. Saul's aunts and said, john is ripping off Credence. You should sue him. The irony in all of that is that I had taught Stu every single note that he ever played. Credence, it was not his own creat. As we talk, you'll see I was the guy inventing the arrangements. And so to take possession of Credence was pretty ironic and pretty over the top. Anyway, he talks Saul into suing me, and that Saul had unlimited funds. And so it, you know, went to a trial. I. I prevailed at trial and got that over with.

Joe Rogan (6:50)

But they torture you during the process because it takes years and it costs an enormous amount of money to fight yourself.

John Fogerty (6:56)

Yeah, all that stuff that is so

Joe Rogan (6:58)

crazy that they can sue you for sounding like you.

John Fogerty (7:03)

Well, it's a blessing to the world, I think, that I prevailed. I mean, you know, what we're really talking about is when you come into the consciousness of the world, I guess, and you have a certain style, if you're lucky. And so you start creating whatever your art is. You're an actor or you're a painter or, in my case, a musician, and people start liking the style. Well, how unfair would it be that at some point somebody takes ownership of your style and now says you have to go back and invent some other style, be some other person, you know, it's just. That would be really difficult. Imagine Dylan or Springsteen or all the other people that have their own style having to, you know, reinvent and change to something else.

Joe Rogan (7:53)

Well, it's just insane to even ask an artist to do that. It's insane because, look, so many artists sound like other artists anyway, and no one has a problem with that. As long as they're not ripping off the notes and the lyrics. There's a lot of people that sound like people. But the idea that you could get sued for sounding like you with new music and new lyrics is. That's one of the most insane things I've ever heard of. I can't believe that didn't get thrown out immediately.

John Fogerty (8:21)

Immediately. Right. Well, that shows the. I guess, the ego and the possessiveness that people want to have, you know, I had written a new song, and he didn't want me to. He wanted to own the new stuff. He wanted to own me, basically. That was the idea. Well, you can never do anything unless you do it for me, you know, So I was. But not just for myself, for everyone, for all artists. It was kind of a major ruling, and thank God it went that way.

Joe Rogan (8:56)

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John Fogerty (10:46)

Yep.

Joe Rogan (10:47)

Most people had no idea how evil the music business can be unless they were told. They had no idea what they they bought the albums, they loved the musicians and they just liked the music. They didn't know what was going on behind the scenes. They didn't know how these people own your catalog, they own the music, they own the they try to just get as much money out of you as humanly possible. Own your name, own your likeness. Most fans had no idea.

John Fogerty (11:19)

And that's probably the way it really should be. When I was young, I just cared about Elvis and his guitar player, you know, I didn't want to know all I didn't even know there was stuff behind it to know.

Joe Rogan (11:30)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

John Fogerty (11:32)

Oh my God. Right? I picked a good one there, didn't I?

Joe Rogan (11:35)

Yeah, it was a real good one.

John Fogerty (11:35)

The Colonel was evil. That's just too bad.

Joe Rogan (11:38)

Another similar situation. Like there's a lot of these great artists get, like Prince, he got wrapped up to the point where he had to change his name to a symbol because he didn't own his name anymore.

John Fogerty (11:49)

Prince Yeah, I remember going, well, if he doesn't want to use it, I'll take it.

Joe Rogan (11:57)

Yeah. It's just the business itself. I mean, you have these creative artists that make this music that everybody loves, and then you have these hyenas that work behind the scenes that are the ones that are collecting the majority of the money from it and they're not making any music. And to the average fan, like myself, like, that's abhorrent, that's disgusting. Like, you see that it just. It just drives you nuts.

John Fogerty (12:21)

Well, also, you know, the creative people are special. And I mean, you know, look around. There's way more of other types of people than there are creative people. And to douse that, you know, or own that, which is what was going to happen, is just an onerous thing. I used to be a lot more angry about all this stuff. I'm a lot older. I can't say wiser. It's more like I came out on the good side of it. I try not to worry about it too much, but it's great that you

Joe Rogan (13:01)

came out on the good side of it. But it's also great for people to know, and it's really great for young artists to be aware as they're coming up, especially as they're beginning their journey, that this could happen to them.

John Fogerty (13:15)

Yeah. And there's all kinds of, you know, bad people around just waiting for you to slip up and sign something that will give your rights away, that sort of thing. I get such a joy out of music, you know, I mean, I just. It started that way when I was a little kid. I mean, didn't even know what I was doing or what that was. I was hearing this sound and, you know, and I liked it and I just kind of went with it. I didn't try to analyze it too much. And of course, later, with all the things, you know, the different roads you go through, trying to get to someplace happily, I still get that same joy. I mean, I just. I'm just so glad, you know, A lot of this, of course, is from the care of my wife, Julie. If I hadn't met her, I probably would be dead. Simple as that. Really? Yeah.

Joe Rogan (14:20)

Wow. Why do you think he'd be dead?

John Fogerty (14:24)

I didn't see any way out, you know, I was really abusing myself. Alcohol mostly. I really felt bad inside. I mean, it's. When you get like that, Joe, you're not really operating on the same plane in the world that all the other people that you see, you know, you walk into a market or Something, look around and probably most of the people are kind of normal, you know, whatever we call that. But when you're really hurting inside for whatever reason, I mean, in my case, something really unjust had been done to me. But, you know, however you get there and then you start abusing yourself with drugs, alcohol, whatever, you just kind of. It becomes a habit. You just stay there. Right. And so you're not really enjoying the sunshine and the love that's around you and all the rest of it. You become kind of a pathetic person. Sad, certainly. So that, you know, that was the deal. When Julie met me, I was that guy. There was sort of a. Certainly an anger, I mean, but a bitterness too. Almost like a self fulfilling prophecy where you look for something to go wrong and then it goes wrong and you go, see, I told you. I mean, it's a terrible mental place to be. And I was there.

Joe Rogan (16:05)

Do you think this was a loop that you got in because of the lawsuits?

John Fogerty (16:08)

Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan (16:10)

It really just got you that hard?

John Fogerty (16:12)

Well, there was. There was more than one lawsuit, but the betrayal by the people in my band. You know, I just told you about a very evil man, right?

Joe Rogan (16:23)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (16:23)

And I'm the only guy from Credence who's ever actually mentioned that he's an evil person to the extent that quite publicly, my brother Tom, right, during this same time was saying that Saul was his best friend.

Joe Rogan (16:40)

Oh, Jesus.

John Fogerty (16:41)

It was just really hard to deal with. The other two guys in the bands were in the band were kind of just more cowardly about it. They just never spoke up. Just kind of give me the money and you know, how the fuck was

Joe Rogan (16:56)

your brother saying that guy was your best friend while he was suing you?

John Fogerty (17:03)

He was signed. Re signed. After the breakup of Credence, he kind of shopped around and didn't have much success finding a label. And so he went. Right about the time that this trial was going to happen, he resigned with fantasy. I'm talking about the first trial, which

Joe Rogan (17:26)

was the first trial.

John Fogerty (17:27)

The first trial was about basically the band had lost its life savings, all of us. In Credence, the record company had gotten us into this offshore tax plan. And I'm saying this with a smile because nowadays it just sounds so, you know, some guy comes walking up to you and got a trench coat on a corner in New York City, hey, buddy, you know, probably going to avoid that guy. But the record company was in this tax thing and for all we knew we were going to be paying 90% income tax. Right. I mean, the tax Laws are pretty stringent and pretty high. And so they offered us, or basically kind of ushered us into this plan, offshore tax plan, and it would allow us to pay a lot less taxes, probably somewhere between 10 and 20%, something like that. So it was a huge financial savings for us, I can tell you that. The name of this particular thing was a bank in the Bahamas called Castle bank. And we had it checked out. I mean, the people on our side in the band had it checked out by our people. Our own accountant, the bass player's father, was an entertainment lawyer and had a big fan firm. They, among other people, represented the Oakland Raiders. So we thought they were pretty solid. And they checked it all out and said that it was okay, it was legit. So we did it. But time went on and it seemed to be not legit to the point that somewhere in the 70s, the bank disappeared and all our money in it disappeared. So we sued.

Joe Rogan (19:42)

Oh, Jesus.

John Fogerty (19:44)

Yep.

Joe Rogan (19:45)

So here it is. The bank was being used by the CIA to funnel money for covert military operations, including those at Andros Island, a staging area for anti Castro activities. So you. They were stealing your money. How? I just found that, I don't know.

John Fogerty (20:03)

I just typed it in and went

Joe Rogan (20:04)

to the Wikipedia and I was like, whoa, that's interesting. So insane.

John Fogerty (20:08)

See, I didn't know any of that.

Joe Rogan (20:09)

You didn't know until now.

John Fogerty (20:11)

Oh, I knew that now. Or I suspect. Yeah.

Joe Rogan (20:15)

Did you know that up until now, or did you just find it out just now?

John Fogerty (20:20)

You could tell me a lot of things right now, and I'd say, oh, yeah, I guess assumed all that stuff was kind of happening, but I didn't know it at the time. In the early 70s when we. Or late 60s, when we got into this thing, it was actually.

Joe Rogan (20:35)

Do you know how anti American that is? The CIA stole from Creedence Clearwater Revival. You know how fucking crazy that is? That is so wild.

John Fogerty (20:47)

No, I didn't know that part. The funny thing. The funny thing is I had decided to get out of that plan, right? And I'd gone down to see my own people, my accountant, my attorney in Oakland, and told them I just want out of this thing. I don't like the idea that you got a call, you know, whenever I want some money, like an allowance, you got to call up some bank account somewhere over there. And it takes, you know, some time, some few days before I actually receive my money. And it was starting to smell. It was starting to. Now we're talking 1975, 76. And so I actually had the meeting And I said, I want to be out of this plan. I don't want to.

Joe Rogan (21:44)

Oh.

John Fogerty (21:44)

I said one of the things I said to the meeting of professionals. Look, take a shoebox. Put all the money I've ever earned into this shoebox, and now hand me the shoebox so I can see how much money have I earned? Because I didn't know it was just going straight into this fund, right into this Castle Bank. But they couldn't tell me. So I leave. I get down to the parking lot in the basement of this tall building in Oakland, and I'm with my. The guy that runs my office, and I say, shit, we're going to have to have another meeting. Because even though I told him I want to get out of the plan, I didn't stand up, like, on the table. And I'm ordering you and you and you get me out of the plan. I realized they could weasel some more time until I actually pointed. So the next week, I showed up and did that. I'm ordering you, get me out. Okay. Out of the plan. Right. Pretty quickly after that, a week or two, we hear that the bank has closed. There's a telegram that apparently was sent on Valentine's Day, and the bank president has died. He died in a sauna.

Joe Rogan (23:14)

Whoa.

John Fogerty (23:16)

I've seen that movie, you know, where Abbott and Costello and the mob comes in and they're in those heat things that are up here. And the guy sticks a broom in the. In the door so you can't get out. I mean, except that this was serious. And there will be no more withdrawals until this thing is resolved. Right. A bank president dies, you don't close the bank of America.

Joe Rogan (23:44)

Right.

John Fogerty (23:45)

Still can go get your money. And so pretty quick after that, it all just disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Joe Rogan (23:52)

They just stole the money.

John Fogerty (23:53)

Done. Yep.

Joe Rogan (23:54)

And it was the fucking CIA. That is crazy. That is so crazy. How much money was involved with all the different people that lost their money? Like, how much money was this bank holding? Do you know?

John Fogerty (24:07)

Oh, well, there were other names that I never saw in those days. A lot of sort of mobby kind of sounding names.

Joe Rogan (24:17)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (24:19)

I will tell you, after the thing closed and we got the telegram that the president. I started. I literally started checking under my cars, looking for wires and something funny. I did that for about three months.

Joe Rogan (24:35)

Whoa.

John Fogerty (24:36)

I finally just. Well, I was scared.

Joe Rogan (24:38)

Yeah, I would be.

John Fogerty (24:39)

Because I was the guy who said, I want to get out of this thing. And suddenly it goes kaboom and the president dies. Right. And I just figured that I was some kind of whistleblower to them or something, and, you know, I'm in their way. Wow.

Joe Rogan (24:55)

I guarantee you're the reason why it happened.

John Fogerty (24:58)

I don't think. No, I don't believe that's true.

Joe Rogan (25:00)

Well, no. I mean, you probably caused the whole thing to close down. I mean, it's not a coincidence that it closed down right after you asked for your money back.

John Fogerty (25:08)

Yeah. I don't know.

Joe Rogan (25:09)

You're a big public name and a big voice. You get out. You take your money out.

John Fogerty (25:14)

After that point in time, I really never wanted to talk too loudly about stuff anymore. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. So there eventually was our lawsuit. Well, actually, it was my lawsuit. I got with a lawyer, a tall building, I call it, and proceeded to start proceedings against this fantasy. Our own attorneys and experts, the people that designed this plan, all the rest. Right. But I was the only one in the band that did that. The rest of the guys kind of just went along and weren't making any waves, and I, you know, I was pretty adamant. I'm telling you this because at some point later, more than a year had passed, maybe a year and a half. My lawsuit had been rolling along a while. And then the other guys asked to join my lawsuit because the statute of limitations had run out on them being able to sue anyone because they literally tried to stay in the plan. I was willing to take the penalty, whatever it was, for being the dumbass that let himself get into some financial thing like this. Right. I felt like. I used to say, I felt like Joe Louis. I thought I was going to need an act of Congress to forgive the debt. These experts in the meeting that I talked about who were trying to dissuade me from making a noise and trying to get out of the plan, told me eventually, john, if you receive all the money at once, you. You will pay more than 110% in taxes of what you have earned. In other words, you go in the hole for receiving it all at once. Right.

Joe Rogan (27:19)

That sounds insane.

John Fogerty (27:20)

That's why I felt like Joe Lewis.

Joe Rogan (27:23)

That's the most insane thing I've ever heard of.

John Fogerty (27:24)

Well, they were trying to intimidate me, of course.

Joe Rogan (27:27)

Sure, yeah. How much money were we talking about? How much money did they steal from you?

John Fogerty (27:31)

When it finally was over, the headline in the San Francisco Chronicle, I mean, you're going to laugh at this. Rock band victorious wins 8.1 million. That was our entire take for everybody in the band. Each guy had a little bit different amount, but, you know, those numbers sound I mean, I don't know. Dion once made a joke at the Rock and Roll hall of Fame about Bruce. And the answer is, Well, I sold 40 million, meaning, you know, you sue me. Well, Bruce has that on him. It was pretty funny. Yeah. I mean, 8 million. That was it. That was our take from all the sales of Credence at the time.

Joe Rogan (28:22)

So was that the amount of money that was in the bank that they stole from you?

John Fogerty (28:26)

That was what we got, returned to us.

Joe Rogan (28:28)

So you did get the money back.

John Fogerty (28:30)

Mm.

Joe Rogan (28:31)

Oh, okay. I figured they would just vanish.

John Fogerty (28:37)

The money didn't come back from Saul's aunts or Capital or Castle bank or any of those people. What had happened was fantasy was let out of the lawsuit by the local judge in the Bay Area. I don't know why, because they're the ones that got us into the plan. But anyway, they were let out of the whole thing. So who was left was this guy named Bert Cantor in Chicago who designed the plan, and our own accountant and lawyers. And so what most of them did was settle for pennies on the dollar. You know, we said that you owe us a million dollars or whatever. And they settled for, like, $10,000.

Joe Rogan (29:25)

Really?

John Fogerty (29:26)

Right. Rather than go to trial. But our own accountants, legal team said, ah, we got these guys. They can never win this. So, I mean, ironically, they wanted to go to trial and put the poor accountant, you know, who was an old guy, through a whole trial. And Credence got. We retained the money we had lost in that plan. The 8 million I just mentioned from the law firm, the insurance firm. It was his insurance company's lawyers that were representing him, and they had to pay. Nobody else had to pay.

Joe Rogan (30:08)

Interesting.

John Fogerty (30:09)

And CIA, or whoever you're talking about, got away with it.

Joe Rogan (30:12)

Of course they did.

John Fogerty (30:13)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (30:13)

They know how to do that. It's kind of crazy, too, that it's only $8 million. When you think about how much money you probably made the record companies.

John Fogerty (30:20)

Yep. Well, there was 100 million records plus, so.

Joe Rogan (30:24)

Right. Do the math. How much was an album back then?

John Fogerty (30:27)

Four bucks.

Joe Rogan (30:28)

Yeah. So 400 million plus operating expenses, costs, all that stuff. You know, you guys got a small percentage. That's how it works, though. That's why the business is so dirty. That's what's so. You know, the idea is that they help you and they bring you up, but the reality is they sell art, and if they don't have artists, they have nothing. The artists are what fund their very existence, and they make the majority of the money. It's pretty Dark when you really think about it.

John Fogerty (31:00)

Yeah. And, Joe, I gotta tell you, I love making music, and I don't do it for the money. I mean, I know that sounds a little naive, but just the happiness in my heart from doing this is from the music.

Joe Rogan (31:16)

I believe you.

John Fogerty (31:17)

From the joy.

Joe Rogan (31:17)

I believe you.

John Fogerty (31:18)

Because the only thing is when you. I mean, I'll say I'm not like, well, maybe I'm an idiot, but probably not about this. When you find out that there was money but somebody else got it, then that kind of gets your attention.

Joe Rogan (31:31)

Right?

John Fogerty (31:32)

You know, but for me, at least, it wasn't even about being famous. Literally, you could believe that. It was the joy of understanding, you know, what. The music from other people that you loved. And as you grew up from that little first inspiration, you began to kind of understand what it was you liked about what they did, and at some point then started to try and do it yourself. But that was a long, long time after the initial joy of just enjoying what they did.

Joe Rogan (32:12)

Yeah, it's kind of sad that money always does kind of distort things, but if you were only interested in money and only interested in fame, or if that was your primary concern, there's no way the music would be that good. It's like that. That has to come from a real place. It's a real place of creativity and enjoyment. 100%. Yeah, 100%. You know?

John Fogerty (32:36)

Well, for me, it did. I just. It. And also the prospect of creating something new tomorrow, you know, and the. What's the word? You. You get certain feelings. Well, we all do. But I've learned to. How can I say it? Sort of. It's like being in a big swimming pool or something, you know, it's all. It just surrounds you, letting yourself enjoy that feeling and then try to figure out a way to put that into the music, you know, express it.

Joe Rogan (33:11)

Yeah, well, you did it, man. It's just. It's. It's a long story with all these different artists that have had to deal with all these horrific managers. And I was reading this article about Jimi Hendrix manager. So one of his bodyguards wrote a book where he's blaming Hendrix manager for his death. And he was essentially saying that Hendrix was murdered and Hendricks was about to leave his manager and that's why he killed him. And I don't know if you know the story about Hendricks, but his girlfriend fell from a roof or jumped off a roof shortly after Hendricks died. And apparently they were trying to get rid of her as well, because they knew that she knew the Whole deal behind it.

John Fogerty (33:53)

Was this the one with kind of a funny foreign name?

Joe Rogan (33:57)

Yes, yes. Yeah, yeah.

John Fogerty (34:00)

I read some of the couple of Jimmy biographies, but, you know.

Joe Rogan (34:04)

Yeah, so many of these guys had mobbed up managers.

John Fogerty (34:09)

Yeah, I do know that there was some manager of his. I mean, Jimmy owned his masters. That was remarkable. That's why. That's why his family has the masters, his estate, you know, they're the ones that decide, because every so often a new Jimmy album would come out, that sort of thing. I didn't know any of this way back then. I just wondered, you know, who was driving the bus. So, I mean, that part was pretty good. He had to talk to somebody at Reprise Records. And some of those people were reprised. Warner Brothers, in other words. About the time I was at Warner Brothers, it must have been a couple of them, you know, that decided that way back in the 60s. I guess I was a little envious because I sure didn't own my masters, that's for sure.

Joe Rogan (35:00)

How many people owned their own masters back then?

John Fogerty (35:03)

Nobody.

Joe Rogan (35:04)

That's crazy. How do you think he got that deal?

John Fogerty (35:07)

That. I don't know. I don't know how it. How it came about that he was able to have that much influence. I mean, that's the part I did get the inference from at least one of the books I read about Jimmy, that they didn't try too hard to save him. Jimmy was, I guess, was just really effed up for a couple of weeks there. And no one tried. You know, they were almost. I mean, I almost got the sense that somebody took a bottle of wine and just poured it in them.

Joe Rogan (35:46)

Yeah, that's what I had heard.

John Fogerty (35:47)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (35:48)

That was what the bodyguard was inferring, that they poured pills and alcohol down his mouth. Yeah, yeah.

John Fogerty (35:54)

Terrible. Well, I hope to never be in such a state that I can't protest something like that.

Joe Rogan (36:02)

Right. Well, yeah. Yeah. It's dark because apparently he was ready to leave. He wanted to leave his manager. And obviously Jimmy was a gigantic star. That guy saw the money.

John Fogerty (36:15)

Well, he still is.

Joe Rogan (36:16)

She still is to this day.

John Fogerty (36:17)

Every single guitar survey that ever comes out. You know, it changed all the other numbers after two.

Joe Rogan (36:25)

Right.

John Fogerty (36:26)

Keep changing with fashion and all that, but it's always number one. Is Jimi Hendrix.

Joe Rogan (36:31)

Always. Yeah. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. People always ask me what my website is powered by, and the answer is Squarespace. Their design tools are unmatched. You don't have to be a tech wizard to build something that actually looks professional and fits your brand. They've even got an AI powered website builder that lets you put together a fully custom site in just a few steps. Try it for yourself. Head to squarespace.com rogan for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, just use the offer code rogan to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Kind of extraordinary when you think about it. The guy died at 27 years old, you know, and was already just from another planet. Like, you listen to his. Like you listen to Voodoo Child Slight letourne. You listen to that song, you're like, is this guy from Earth? Like, this was so different than any other guitar playing that had ever taken place before him. He was a complete revolutionary. Like, just a completely new creative artist.

John Fogerty (37:35)

Mm.

Joe Rogan (37:36)

You know, and one of my favorite musicians. Absolutely. Of all time. That's why I named the podcast the Joe Rogan Experience.

John Fogerty (37:43)

I wondered about that. Well, there it is.

Joe Rogan (37:45)

That's it. Yep.

John Fogerty (37:48)

Yep. I should have named it the John

Joe Rogan (37:51)

Fogarty Experience instead of Credence.

John Fogerty (37:55)

Yeah, well, I did create that name.

Joe Rogan (37:59)

What was the crazy name that the record company called one of your first bands?

John Fogerty (38:05)

Well, it was the same people. Same people, yeah, same. I mean, the same individual musicians. In high school or junior high, actually, I started a band and called it the Blue Velvets. Not all that creep, you know, Earth shaking, but kind of. Kind of a cool vibe. And we were really the Blue Velvets. By, you know, I mean, this was really a trio, but my brother was older. He was in another orbit. So we kind of went through high school seeing each other every once in a while. It wasn't like we were all tromping around playing gig after gig. It was more like, you know, every few months there might be a sock hop or something like that. And then after high school and Tom would come and sing. He was my older brother. He'd come and sing once in a while with us. We made a couple of recordings during that time with real record companies, but it was always kind of just haphazard. And finally around the age of 19, I went over and knocked on Fantasy Records door. They had done this special about Vince Giraldi, and they were in the Bay Area. So I went over there and introduced myself. Anyway, one thing led to another. Finally we're recording. And at that time, I think we made a record with only three of us, me and Tom and Doug, the drummer. And I overdubbed a bass part. And this is early, or this was in 1964 when they finally pressed the single. One side was called Little Girl. It's kind of a four chord doo wop song. The other side was sort of a English or a British Invasion answer kind of thing. Mod music. It was called Don't Tell Me no Lies. Anyway, we excitedly go over to San Francisco to their warehouse and open up the package and it says the Golliwogs. And we look at each other and go, what the hell? No, no, no. I think we had chosen our name to be the Visions. It was just something at the last minute because we weren't really the Blue Velvets anymore, but that was it. We thought it was going to say Visions, but the record company had decided they wanted to get in on the British Invasion, mod whatever, and named us the Golliwogs. Sounds like Pollywog.

Joe Rogan (40:49)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (40:49)

He said, well, a Golliwog, you see, is this doll that when the British soldiers were in India, the kids would have this little doll called a Golliwog. And so that's all we knew about it. As time went on, I mean, years and years later, long after I had been. We renamed the band, or I'd renamed the band. Credence found out that Golliwog was. This was a very racial thing. This was the British soldiers calling the people.

Joe Rogan (41:22)

Whoa.

John Fogerty (41:23)

Wags or Golliwogs.

Joe Rogan (41:25)

Yeah, that's a Golliwog.

John Fogerty (41:26)

Yeah. Sambo. Right.

Joe Rogan (41:27)

Wow.

John Fogerty (41:28)

Same sort of. Yep.

Joe Rogan (41:30)

And they didn't know this either, obviously. There was no Wikipedia back.

John Fogerty (41:33)

I don't know. No, I don't know. I didn't know that.

Joe Rogan (41:36)

That's crazy that they could just change the name of your band without you having any knowledge of it at all. You open up the record and it's right there.

John Fogerty (41:44)

Yep. And they kind of insisted, you know, it's that same thing that. Well, we're going to own the publishing to your song. No, no, I should own it. Well, then we're not going to make any records. Okay.

Joe Rogan (41:57)

You're 19. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's how they get you. You don't know any.

John Fogerty (42:02)

Well. And you kind of want to make a record.

Joe Rogan (42:04)

Yeah, you want to make a record. It's right there. You taste it. Oh, my God. I'm going to be signed to a record label. I'm going to be a rock star. And then they come to you with a shady contract and that's their modus operandi. So what they do with everybody and for.

John Fogerty (42:21)

I know, they call it business.

Joe Rogan (42:24)

Funny term.

John Fogerty (42:26)

Yeah. Most of those people, I mean, it's like lottery to them. It's like gambling. They don't have A clue what creativity is. And at that age, the young are. I mean, I guess I'm looking at you and saying, if I only. What's that line? If I didn't know now what I didn't know then. You're a young artist. You don't even know what you got.

Joe Rogan (42:54)

Right.

John Fogerty (42:54)

Right. You know, you have feelings about music and. But you don't. You know, you're less than a rookie. Right. You know, you. Maybe you were good in junior high, but that doesn't mean you're Willie Mays. Right. You know, so that's sort of how that works. And they sign you up before any of that self realization happens, and then you're messed.

Joe Rogan (43:19)

Yeah. Again, that's what happened to Prince. That's what happened to Skynyrd. It's what happened to most bands. I mean, they're very clever in how they do it. They sign a bunch of people that are emerging and some of them are gonna hit. Yep. And they bankroll it, and then they make the majority of the money when those people hit.

John Fogerty (43:39)

Well, in our case, Credence was the only thing that ever happened. Fantasy became a very wealthy record company. Saul eventually went into making movies. So that money that I had made for him at the record company, you know, turned into One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Joe Rogan (44:02)

Oh, wow.

John Fogerty (44:04)

Some other Saul even had, in those times, had bought the movie rights for Lord of the Rings. So, you know, his ticket got punched way up high. We never got a dime, of course, of any of that.

Joe Rogan (44:26)

It's crazy how bad people can get ahead like that.

John Fogerty (44:28)

Well, that. See, that's. Yeah, that's what's disturbing. It's a different. That's why I had a little hesitation when you were talking about that. You thought the music came from a. Creativity, came from a joyful, good place. But, boy, you can sure look in different parts of entertainment or business in general and see some really bad people have made a lot of money.

Joe Rogan (44:55)

Well, it takes the good people to create things, though. The creative people make the things. And there's always just going to be people taking advantage of people being naive about business.

John Fogerty (45:05)

I choose to believe that at least it works for me. I choose to believe that you've got to have a good heart. You've got to try to use the golden rule, basically, you know, don't do. Don't do something bad to him that you wouldn't want to have done to you. So the. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Yes, I. I believe in God and I believe God is watching me all the time, you know, all of us. So that, that part helps me to feel like there's a reason, you know, to try and be a good person. The reason being you're in God's grace if you do those things. If you try to live a good life. Honest, and I guess we call it transparent nowadays.

Joe Rogan (46:04)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (46:05)

You know, don't get me wrong. I'm not running around the world with a. Thumping a Bible or something. I just think it's common sense about how ultimately you want to exist in the universe. Right. Yeah. So, you know, that's how I operate. And so when I. Certainly now at my age, when I see other people really getting away with stuff, I just, it isn't like I. Gee, that's not fair. I should get the. I don't see it that way now. I just look at that poor SAP who's being so evil and go, you know, he's going to get his comeuppance someday.

Joe Rogan (46:49)

What's a horrible existence? Because nobody loves you when you're like that. If you're, if you're doing that and fucking people over. All your relationships are adversarial. It's a bad way to exist. You're on a very bad frequency the way you, you exist with the people in your circle.

John Fogerty (47:04)

I think that's true.

Joe Rogan (47:05)

I believe that there's a lot of people that choose that life just for financial benefit. They choose to just fuck people over and be in that bad frequency all the time. But that's not a good life. And I agree with you. I think if you live your life like God exists, you'll have a much better life. And the golden rule is just, it's provable. Like if you're a nice person and you treat people well and it spreads a lot of good energy around you and positive momentum with all these other people. It's the butterfly effect. It carries on to other people that they encounter too. They're inspired by how kind and friendly and generous you are. And it, it's good for everybody. It's good for you. It's good for the people that you're generous and friendly to. It's good for the other people that they encounter because they're inspired by it. It's just good for everyone. That's how people should exist.

John Fogerty (48:00)

Yeah, I literally, I believe everything you have just said and literally have sometimes asked God for a. You know, I never sat around, asked for money or a hit record. I always thought that's kind of poor, that's bad, you know, Yeah, I mean, that's selfish or greedy or something. But I would ask for clarity or, you know, I would ask God to help me. I figured something out, and amazingly, there would be through relation, you know, somebody I was dealing with. There would be something. It was like karma, good karma coming back. And I could see the. See the. You know, to me, it was a result of my prayer or my openness of wanting to help get a situation resolved. So for me, to me, there's evidence that it all works that way.

Joe Rogan (49:05)

Did you always have a belief in God?

John Fogerty (49:08)

Yeah, I think there was times, yeah, because I was just brought up that way. Again, I don't believe my. I was just. Just taught in a kind of nice and simple way about God. It wasn't beat over my head or any. I was raised Catholic, so in some sense, you can't avoid having it beat over your head, I suppose. And some of that I resisted. But I went through the normal things. I did my first communion, my first confession. I did. What do you call that when you're 12 years old? The confirmation. I chose the name for St. Jerome, basically, because there's a song by Bo Diddley called Bring it to Jerome. And Jerome was his. I think Jerome Green was his maraca player. And I really liked the vibe of that. I'm going to be Jerome. That's my confirmation name. Yeah, it was there in those ways. There was times I was. Boy, you've opened a can of worms here. Because I was so invested in being a Catholic, even though my parents tried to have me go to parochial school, Catholic school. I was in the first grade. And then I want to say they kicked me out. And then my mom had me start again in ninth grade at St. Mary's High School. And they kicked me out again. But it wasn't my fault. Anyway, the one that happened is funny. I mean, it's just the one that happened in the first grade. I had to take a bus to get there. I lived in El Cerrito, and it was the School of the Madeleine in Berkeley. And I'm in the first grade. I'm six years old. So you had to go to the bus stop, get on a bus, get a transfer. So that then when the bus came to a certain stop over in Albany, you then got on a train, you know, transferred. In other words, got on the train, and that went another mile or so into Berkeley. And at a certain stop right behind the school, the School of the Madeleine Catholic School, you get off the train and go on down into school. Now, what happened My mom was. My parents had split up, so it was only my mom in the house. And she's leaving early because she's gotten a job as a teacher. So she's out of the house before me. And so it's up to me to get myself together and get to the bus stop on time. Many, many times. I was late, I missed it. So I had to get the next bus. So I'm late. So I'm rushing to school. But I get there after they've already. They would march every morning to John Philip Sousa and. You know, all that and go on into school. And I get there, now I'm late. The schoolyard is empty. I literally have to climb over the fence because they've locked the fence at, boom, 8 o' clock or whatever it was. And I had to scale the fence, run into class without going to the bathroom. This was my first great experience. Sat down in my chair. Within an hour, I really got to pee. And Sister Damien would not answer me. I got it. I gotta. I gotta. And so she would. One day, I peed in my seat. It happened again. It became a habit. Sister Damien, John Fogarty has a puddle under his chair.

Joe Rogan (53:07)

Oh, no.

John Fogerty (53:07)

Right. That was so traumatizing to me. But ask yourself, how is a six year old getting on a bus all by himself, traveling three or four miles, then getting out of the bus, going over to where the train station thing is, getting on a train, going over there. And I mean, I certainly Never let my 6 year olds do anything like that.

Joe Rogan (53:35)

I know. It is kind of crazy how kids were just able to just leave the house and do anything back then. I think about that. When I was a little kid, I used to just leave my house. Seven years old. Just leave the house as long as

John Fogerty (53:47)

you were home for dinner time.

Joe Rogan (53:49)

Yeah. It's kind of crazy. I mean, it's kind of amazing. We all lived, if you stop and think about it. But to have to take a bus and then a train and go to school when you're six years old, that's nuts. So I went to Catholic school too, for first grade only. And that screwed me off of religion for a long time. Because I thought of God back when I was a little kid, before I went to Catholic school. As you know, God is all knowing and God is love, and God created the universe. And God is. God's looking out for you. He's just got some rules you have to follow. Made sense to me.

John Fogerty (54:24)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (54:25)

And then when I went to Catholic school, there was a lady. I don't Remember anybody's name from back then, but I remember her sister, Mary Josephine. She was so mean. She was just a mean lady. She did the whole thing, the whacking people with rulers tell you you're going to have to stay overnight and you're going to have to sleep on a nail in the closet. Like just evil, like wanted you to cry. When I would cry, she'd call me a crybaby. And I remember thinking after that, like, I don't want to have nothing to do with religion ever again. Right when I left first grade. Yep, I hated it. And I was like, whatever God is, this is not God. Like these people have nothing to do with God. This lady, there's no way this lady is the messenger of God. This lady's mean.

John Fogerty (55:07)

That took a whole lifetime to figure out to realize, well, this is just a man made thing. You know, God's there, some man made thing over here. You know, they became Mormons and some man made thing over there, they became Muslims, you know, and it's just all man made. It isn't actually God. Right, right. And so you. And man is fallible, of course. He's not infinite and he's not infallible. And so all these things were. But that took a lifetime for me. I'm sure I was in my 40s, still working on that, that God's okay, John. You don't have to resist when somebody wants to make a prayer or, you know, it isn't God's fault that you peed at your desk when you were in the first grade, et cetera.

Joe Rogan (56:03)

It's the mean nun. I have a similar perspective. I think all religious scriptures, they're trying to document a real thing, especially Christianity, which is the one I've paid the most attention to. I think they're trying to document a real thing, but the hand of man is clearly all over it. That's the problem, the problem with anything that's written down. We know that just in like the religious canon, the books that were included in the Bible, human beings had a decision on what goes in and what doesn't go in. You know, there was rabbis that kept the book of Enoch out of the Old Testament. There's a lot of this weird stuff to it that you go like, well, why do pe. Why do people have any say? Why does a human have any say in what the word of God is? That sounds crazy. And when you read the scriptures, you're like, somebody wrote that down. And someone told that story for who knows how many years before it was ever Written down. But I think the origins of it, there's truth to it. It's just you have to get through all these many layers of confusion to try to decipher what. What God's original message was. And, like, what. How was it received, who got it, how did it. How did it even get relayed? Like, what was. Was the original event that led to this oral tradition that led to it being written down.

John Fogerty (57:30)

Smiling, because this sounds exactly like a young musician has come to see this more learned person and tell him about his experience. And the more learned person turns into the manager or the record company, and he says, I want to own this.

Joe Rogan (57:49)

Right.

John Fogerty (57:50)

And, you know, they take all that good intentions and faith, and somebody ends up owning it, certainly. And you end up paying a tithe, you know, into a plate and a

Joe Rogan (58:04)

lot of money in organized religion, especially when it gets to, like, these huge mega churches and preachers. Like, that's exactly what it is. It's someone taking advantage of this good thing and profiting off of it immensely. Yeah, but the thing I think the point of, like, if you live your life like God's real, it'll be a better life.

John Fogerty (58:25)

I agree with that. But I think you also know. I think you can just.

Joe Rogan (58:28)

There's something there.

John Fogerty (58:31)

It's sensible that you try to share that. You try not to be greedy.

Joe Rogan (58:36)

Yes.

John Fogerty (58:36)

You know, I don't mean you have to be a fool. I just mean that you don't have to be overtly always taking way more than your share. Yeah.

Joe Rogan (58:45)

Just be kind. Be kind and be fair. How old were you when you first started playing music?

John Fogerty (58:52)

You mean as an instrument?

Joe Rogan (58:54)

Messing around, like, how did you get into it?

John Fogerty (58:56)

Right. Well, I was actually. I was given a snare drum. I think I was about four years old. It was a really cheap paper one.

Joe Rogan (59:08)

Was your family musicians?

John Fogerty (59:10)

Not really, but they were musical, both of them. My mom and dad. One of my. One of my finest and favorite memories is there was. We lived in the Bay area of the East Bay from San Francisco. And my parents would go up to this place in Northern California, near Winters California. That's up, like, toward Sacramento. And there was this creek, this body of water called the Pooda Creek. Eventually they dammed that up and made Lake Berryessa. But anyway, back then it was just running water. And there was some people could camp there. There was at this one place they took me, reputedly was owned by a man named Cody. And he was a direct descendant of Buffalo Bill Cody. I actually met him one day when I was about 4 and he was probably coming to collect the payment for the cabin and a little space. Anyway, I remember looking at him, wow. So I was told that story and he would have been about 75. He literally could have been a son of Buffalo Bill. He would have been born at that point, it was probably 1949, the story I'm relating and he would have been born in 1875. I mean, it's mind boggling to think that. But my favorite memory thing, other than the fact that that whole place inspired my song Green river, all the little parts are in Green River. But one of the things, my parents had this old Ford, old Green Ford. And they'd be driving along at night up there is what I mean. I guess they were more happy or something there. And they. I remember sitting between them, you know, it's just a big couch, the front seat. And they were singing songs in the dark and they were singing like by the Light of the Silvery Moon or Baby Face and harmonizing. One was taking the melody and the other was harmonizing. The reason I know is because I sat there and I'm probably 3, 4, 5 years old right in there and said, what are you guys doing? Because I knew the melody, but I hear two notes, what are you doing? And they explained they were harmonizing and it was just the coolest thing and it was such a happy time. I mean, I really. What's that bonded to that, I guess, like, I really like this, whatever it is. So that was the initial spark. Well, they began to notice that I. I was musical. So at some point, I know again, at my fourth birthday there, somebody gave me or I had a little toy harmonica and my dad, you know, those little plastic kind of things. My dad picked it up and he played oh, Susanna and in the cowboy style, in other words, it's probably a C harmonica. He played in C, not like blues players do, bending notes. He played that thing you see in the cowboy movies when they're sitting around the campfire. Yeah, that sort of thing. I was just shocked. I'd never seen my dad do anything like that. Wow. And then on top of that, my mom could play piano, what we now call stride piano. She would hit the bong and then play a chord like an octave of bass notes and then a chord above it. Bon da. Don t keep that going as like the drummer in the thing. And then play melody and high notes up above. And it was, you know, she did, she would. One of my favorite ones was Harvest Moon, Shine on Harvest Moon, which is a great song and it Just was magical to me. So that kind of opened the door that let me know that, oh, why we can do this in our own house. So the piano was around, and then we also. I don't know whose it was, but we had an old Stella acoustic guitar. Stella is a name going back into the 30s, 20s. And this thing was built like a tank. It was hard to play. The strings were, like, way high and all that. Eventually brother Bob told me at some point, yeah, we used to play baseball with that guitar. We'd hit ball. That's how sturdy it was. But that was around so that I would every once in a while mess with it. But somewhere, literally in the seventh grade is where I started to really try and learn a chord and that sort of thing.

Joe Rogan (64:16)

Is that when you thought, I'm going to be a musician?

John Fogerty (64:23)

I think that moment was a little bit earlier. It was again up at this place. Winters. My dad had driven into the town from our little cabin, our little campsite, and I was with him. And he'd gone to this general store. And the general store had everything. Had food and stuff, but also had fishing tackle and, you know, various weird things. So I'm standing there sort of near the counter, and my dad's doing some kind of business. I'm just looking, and suddenly I hear music. And I'm, what the heck is that? I didn't even know they had a jukebox in this place, right. And somebody had started the jukebox. So it's playing music that I really like. It's rock and roll. You know, I'm about 10 years old, man. That's good. And I don't know who it is. It's just got a really bluesy sound, but it's fast. It's rock and roll. I run over and I finally determined it's Elvis Presley. I go, I never heard this. I knew of Elvis, of course, on tv, he had done Heartbreak Hotel. I had seen the Tommy Jimmy Dorsey show that he'd been on three times. He was on there, I think five times anyway. And so, wow, Elvis did this. What is this? Well, it turned out it was the other side of his second big million seller, which was I want you, I need you, I love you. This was a song called My Baby Left Me. And this was basically classic Sun Records vibe. Even though he was now on rca. It was that thing they did on Sun Records that just that kind of country whale with guitar that was more country than blues. And the guitar especially, just what is that? I'm watching. And this Scotty Moore, who. I didn't know his name at the time, but he's just playing this otherworldly stuff. And that was. I looked at that and I mean, literally my head made. I don't know. I said this to myself. I don't know what they're doing, but that's what I want to do. And I made up my mind right there in that three minutes of that song.

Joe Rogan (66:42)

That's amazing.

John Fogerty (66:43)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (66:43)

Wow.

John Fogerty (66:44)

Well, it was transformative. It still is. It's just a pretty unique slice of American music.

Joe Rogan (66:51)

I don't think I'm aware of that song. I'm gonna listen to it after the podcast.

John Fogerty (66:56)

You probably know his song, Elvis's song. That's All Right, Mama.

Joe Rogan (66:59)

Sure.

John Fogerty (67:00)

Right. Well, this is in that vein. It's actually the same writer. Arthur Crudup. Arthur. Big Boy cried up.

Joe Rogan (67:11)

So your family was musical, but you didn't know any musicians. So what did you think you were going to do? Like, how did you think you were going to eventually become a musician? Did you have a plan.

John Fogerty (67:24)

At some point? You know what? At some point. A little earlier than that. But right around that time, it was the era of doo wop, Right. This is the way, I mean, a kid can. You can just go anywhere in your mind, Right? And I suppose the Corvette automobile, of course, had come out. So in a very young mind, but one of those cool. I guess we call them mash ups. I was going to have a group, but it was all singing. I was going to have a group, and it was going to be called Johnny Corvette and the Corvettes. Right? And there was four. I'm Johnny, and three other guys. And we're all in sparkle jackets. You know, the show Bizkit, Right. And were black. All of us.

Joe Rogan (68:30)

That was your idea.

John Fogerty (68:32)

That's what I saw. I was referring to what I was seeing to be Johnny Corvette and the Corvettes. That was one of the ingredients.

Joe Rogan (68:43)

How are you gonna be black?

John Fogerty (68:44)

I don't know. I didn't have to worry about that. I mean, the funny thing is that's so similar here is like when I was little, I wanted to be a baseball player, right? But some kids dream of being in the NBA, but you gotta be 90 Leven, right? You know, I mean, so how's that gonna happen? I mean, you just said it in a really innocent way, but a kid just. I'll eat spinach or something.

Joe Rogan (69:14)

You know, you eat spinach and become

John Fogerty (69:16)

black and tall, you know, I don't know, but it worked for me. I mean, literally, when I. You Know, one of my dreams as a kid really was I wanted. I love baseball. Still do. I wanted the. You know, okay, what do I got to do? And I'd start throwing. I was throwing a ball against the side of the house. I'd made a big, like, a target, you know, bullseye. And I don't know why I did it that way. And my mom caught me. I was throwing an actual hardball, and it was denting the clapboard, you know, the wood. It was. I was tearing the house down. So she got me a tennis ball, and that was okay. I was no good. You know, I wasn't. That dream was never gonna happen.

Joe Rogan (70:00)

Is that what inspired Put me in Coach?

John Fogerty (70:03)

Of course. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan (70:05)

What a great anthem.

John Fogerty (70:06)

Thank you.

Joe Rogan (70:07)

It's amazing.

John Fogerty (70:08)

Thank you. Yeah.

Joe Rogan (70:08)

Well, I mean, how many baseball games have played that song? My God.

John Fogerty (70:13)

I mean, at least, you know, I mean, there's a lot of us semi nerds, I guess, you know, wanted to play ball, wanted to be a jock, and just really, at some point, you know, the ones that really have it pass you by.

Joe Rogan (70:27)

Right. Of course.

John Fogerty (70:28)

And you just kind of. But in your mind, everybody got their scorecard and, you know, and they're following the game and all that, and that vicarious joy of watch an Ohtani or Aaron Judge or whoever it is you love. You get to have that in your heart anyway. But, I mean, I'm the luckiest guy in the universe, Okay. I didn't get to play, but I wrote a song, and my song's there all the time. It's just the coolest feeling. That song's in the Baseball hall of Fame.

Joe Rogan (71:06)

That's amazing.

John Fogerty (71:07)

It is amazing. It's ridiculous, but it's just like that happened to me, you know, it's like. God, I could cry over that. When they had sent a letter to me and they were going to, you know, and put the music in the hall, I just was, God, who do I tell? Geez. Yeah. It was so good.

Joe Rogan (71:26)

That's amazing. That's amazing. So when. When did you start writing your own songs?

John Fogerty (71:31)

I was eight years old. Wow.

Joe Rogan (71:34)

Do you remember your first song?

John Fogerty (71:35)

Yes. Or at least the one I remember is. I call it the Best. The one I can remember. It was morning. I was getting ready to go to school. I could walk to. School was like two and a half blocks from my house, something like that. I lived on Ramona. You go past Pomona, and then the next street was Ashbury, and the school was on Ashbury, up about two blocks. Harding School. It was a Grammar school. Anyway, I'm getting ready to go to school. Got my lunch. I about to turn off the radio, and this commercial comes on. I was listening to R and B, the Rhythm and blues channel from Oakland. And the DJ suddenly says, do you have the Wash Day Blues? Is this day going to be drudgery? Well, maybe you're using the wrong. And they went off talking about laundry soap. I don't know if there was a song involved in the commercial. I think it was just a red. Because it was probably live, you know, right there on old time radio. So I went out the door carrying my little sack with the lunch in it to Wash Day Blues. Wow. I get kind of to the end of the street. I think that's Lynn. I got to go down, you know, three streets. I'm walking along. I said, wow, what is. Look at the Wash Day Blue. I'm making that noise. It's Muddy Waters. It's the riff from probably Hoochie Coochie man, you know, and it all comes together. I'm just walking down the street singing about all the stuff that. Because it's blues. And I'm hearing all these guys on this, you know, channel. I listen to singing the blues and about blues. So I got Wash Day Blues. That's my. That's my song. You know, for years and years, I thought. I thought I was embarrassed about that story. God, John, why couldn't you have a great story about the sinking of the Titanic or something? Watch Day Blues. Because it just seems so mundane. But now I kind of recognize because of the two elements I had put together, it's just kind of natural. It's really the process of writing songs.

Joe Rogan (74:03)

That's amazing. And so when you wrote songs, like. I saw this video clip where you talking about. I think it was Old man down the Road. Is that the. The beginning riff?

John Fogerty (74:16)

You had it? Yeah.

Joe Rogan (74:17)

And you were talking about how that riff just hit you.

John Fogerty (74:20)

Yep.

Joe Rogan (74:21)

Is that.

John Fogerty (74:24)

Yeah, I had this place. It was my studio. It was a convert, basically the garage of a house that I had bought to be my. My office and my place. So it was the size of a garage. I would go there every day. So in the morning I'd get in, I'd turn on my tape recorder and, you know, various pieces of equipment and stuff. That was my process, certainly every weekday morning, sometimes on Saturday, Sunday, whatever. But certainly the five days a week. And I'd walk in there and work on music. I did this every day for, I mean, years and years. From 74 until center field came out. Basically. Which was 11 years later. And so one morning I walk in and I haven't even turned on the stuff yet. I just. For some reason, I went right to the guitar and I turned on the amp and picked up the guitar and just kind of noodling. Because I like to do that. A lot of my songs have started this way, but suddenly just played. And it really had that sound to it. And it got my attention because I knew that it wasn't anything else. And I also. I mean, this is like in a. This is how quick our brains can work, you know. It's taken me way longer to tell it than the actual thing, but so I played the dan dan dan. And I realize it's not complete. It needs an answer. And I'm also aware that it's like being on a tightrope or something over Niagara Falls. You know, you gotta have the right answer. And there's probably only one. Because all the other ones are gonna kill it. And you'll never remember this again. Cause that happens all the time, right? You know, it'd be lame. You there. It's precarious. It's hanging in the air. Dan da da da da. And you gotta come back with the thing to make it complete. And it has to be the right thing. Yeah. Yes. And so I. Da da da da da da da da da oh, my God. Yeah. And you know, I play it over and over, probably for five minutes. I just tend to do that. That's the joy of music. That's the joy right there. Because I knew it wasn't anything else. There was no question in my mind. Is this coming from the Beatles or Howlin Wolf or something? So immediately I had kept this little songbook that's only about that big with titles in it. And I go flipping through the book and I think I see something that's somewhere down the road. Okay. That for some reason appealed to me. And I stuck with okay, that's what it's called. This song is going to be somewhere down the road. And that day I start. So now I turn on my tape recorder and all that. I play some because I had to play real drums in. That's what took me so long, folks. Anyway, so I make a little thing that's just the riff. And then make a space of just the drums playing and nothing else. So I can kind of listen to it and improvise what's going on after this riff. What's somewhere down the road? And of course, I start talking about. He get the thunder from the mountain. He bring the lightning from the sky, you know, and all that. And these things are going on. And so you got to shoot forward probably a few weeks. I realize I'm starting to write a song, but the title, Somewhere down the Road, to me just seems lame. It seems undefined, not cool enough, not focused, and probably not going to remember it because it sounds like just what it is. You won't remember that, Right. You know, if you say, I've got a polka dot Chevy sitting on top of a bull moose or whatever, and that's your title, you probably get a picture in your head.

Joe Rogan (79:00)

Right.

John Fogerty (79:01)

It's going to stick. So I'm hunting around. Well, what are you doing here? What are you talking about in this song? We talking about this guy. He's evil. He's the old man. He's the old man down the road. That's way better. So the song became that the deal is with my little songbook. Probably two years later, after that album had come out, I said, you know what? I want to check on where Somewhere down the road. And I went cover to cover, and it's not in there. There is no place where I've written Somewhere down the Road. I just thought I saw it. And that led me to a really cool song.

Joe Rogan (79:50)

Wow.

John Fogerty (79:51)

The reason I'm telling you this is there was a time I had an office in Warner Brothers and I would. When I was staying down in la, and I would go in there all the time and write. Had some keyboards and stuff. And one day I thought I needed a break. I took my book and I went out and sat. It was Warner Brothers parking lot. My car is. Went out to my car and sat down because I was trying to give myself some, you know, get going, do something. And I thumbed through the book and I saw Change in the Weather. I said, man, I like that. And I look up and it's kind of a cloudy, gloomy sky, you know? Yeah. Change in the. Yeah. So I ran back in my room and I started, I went off, I was inspired. And I wrote a song called Change in the Weather. Well, same deal. After that album came out, I decided to check my. It ain't in there. It's nowhere in my book where it says change in the weather. So I nowadays tell people, you know, maybe it's a shape shifter. And there's stuff in there. It can just kind of go, john, listen to this. I got an idea for you. Right.

Joe Rogan (81:14)

Well, the creative process is so mysterious.

John Fogerty (81:17)

Yes.

Joe Rogan (81:17)

Because everybody that I talk to, whether it's comedians or authors, or musicians. They say the ideas almost don't feel like they're theirs, like they're receiving them

John Fogerty (81:26)

from somewhere for certain.

Joe Rogan (81:28)

That's how you feel?

John Fogerty (81:29)

Yep. To me, it's like tuning in a radio. Yeah, Right. And a lot of it, there's. I guess it's the way I was raised. You kind of have to be worthy. I mean, there's a big dose of. If you're all angry and treating people mean and doing all that. I'm closing the book. I'm not sending you nothing.

Joe Rogan (81:56)

I think that, too. Yeah, I think that, too.

John Fogerty (81:58)

You got to be receptive and honor this process that we're going through here. And if you are in that frame of mind and some humility about this whole thing, maybe I'll send you something.

Joe Rogan (82:12)

The muse.

John Fogerty (82:13)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (82:13)

Yeah. Have you ever heard of Steven Pressfield?

John Fogerty (82:17)

Huh?

Joe Rogan (82:17)

Steven Pressfield. He's an author. He wrote a great book called the War of Art. And I give this book. I have boxes of this book out front, and I give it to comedians and artists all the time because it's just a book about the creative process, about writing. And one of the things he talks about is the museum about giving honor to the muse and sitting there and. And calling upon the muse for these ideas that if you treat it like it's a real thing, it will provide you. If you show up every day and you put in the work, the muse will give you these ideas.

John Fogerty (82:48)

Yep.

Joe Rogan (82:49)

But they do feel like, to everybody that I talk to, that's really creative. They feel like they're coming from somewhere.

John Fogerty (82:56)

Yeah. And, yeah, it feels like it's always been there.

Joe Rogan (83:00)

Right.

John Fogerty (83:00)

And it's just up to you to be able to actually be able to see it or hear it. Right.

Joe Rogan (83:06)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (83:06)

So I do a lot of. I get ideas in my head. I'm just walking around, and it'll play to me the same as if you're listening to the radio.

Joe Rogan (83:15)

It just gets in the head and you start feeling it.

John Fogerty (83:18)

But I do believe you have to be doing it all the time. For me, it was a process to actually sit down, be ready. And a lot of times, nothing happens. You know, you got a blank sheet of paper, and it stays blank. But if you do that enough times, at certain times, you'll get a really good inspiration. You'll be. That's the way you'll be allowed to receive it.

Joe Rogan (83:51)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (83:52)

Right. But it really isn't you. That's the way I think of it. What it is, is you have talent. You're supposed to honor your talent. And so I'm going to give you something if you're worthy. And now it's up to you to honor. You know, use yourself. Don't just go, I got it. We're done. No, you got to work it now. Polish it, you know, make it.

Joe Rogan (84:17)

Yeah, yeah. I feel the exact same way. I think. I think there's truth to what you're saying. I want to ask you about Fortunate Son. How did you write that? Like, how did. How did that come about? That is, like, one of the greatest rebellion songs of all time. It's an amazing song. I love it. It's. It's also a fantastic workout song, by the way. That song gets you jazzed up. If you're doing, like, treadmill or something like that, you start to get tired, crank that sucker up.

John Fogerty (84:47)

Well, first of all, I think the first thing I got to say about it is I was drafted, so I was in the military, and I got in the Army Reserves, but was. Well, and was on active duty and all the rest. So I well understood the position of, you might say, the military mindset. Right. Even though I was a young person, and this is right during the Vietnam era. And I think I really need to say that almost no one my age wanted to be in the army and go to Vietnam. I just. That was something. No, I don't want to do that. Right. So I got my draft notice was. Got into the Army Reserves. So I understood that side of the coin and that side of fate, you might say. The deal, I think the deal being, okay, I'm in the military, so now I got to play by the rules. I got to do everything that's. This is what I am. Right? Yeah, there's a little. There's a little bit of the whole idea of being American and serving your country. I'm trying not to say, oh, yeah, now I'm gung ho and I'm John Wayne, and I'm going to take on Iwo Jima or something. You know, it was more like, yeah, but you got to do this right, you know, you can't just be some guy that's on AWOL all the time and being a mess. You know, I wanted to do it right, so I went through all of that, and it's another story, but eventually got my honorable discharge, which led to another song, but it's a different song. And that was just before, just as the Credence Career was getting started. But anyhow, during the Vietnam time, you began to, you know, there was a lot of unrest, civil unrest in America and around the world, those times were very volatile, but especially in America, there was a lot of protests and discussion about the war itself. Remember, there was a draft, so young people kind of by nature were against the war and against the draft because it seemed to be sort of not logical. How's that? And in some instances you would see on the news, you know, some senator who had the political clout that he could keep his teenage son from being drafted or get his teenage son into some cushy job. And you kind of saw it a few times. These guys were, the fix was in, you know, and that just really didn't seem fair. Not just in my own case, but I more identified with the people that were protesting the war. No one had ever really explained why we were having that war. To my mind, we still don't know.

Joe Rogan (88:17)

Right.

John Fogerty (88:17)

You know, it just. Somebody's ego decided they wanted to have a war and they had a war. So most of these things that have cropped up ever since have always ended kind of miserably. And we never. They never were one. They just sort of dissolved. Right. So there was no marching band and all that stuff to get to, you know, like, World War II ended with a decisive victory. Anyhow. That angst and anger within me about that situation was fueling my thoughts about the current Times. This was 1969. So I started showing the band all the songs at the band learned and played throughout Creedence Career. They literally learned them as instrumentals. They didn't hear the song. I didn't show them the song. So they. In other words, I would show the bass player his part. Here's how your part goes. Here's how the drums will be. Here's the rhythm guitar part. And the band wouldn't actually hear the whole song until I had gone into the studio after that recording process and added my vocal, sang the background vocal parts.

Joe Rogan (89:44)

Oh, wow.

John Fogerty (89:45)

Played the conga drum or the shakers or tambourine or piano, you know, all the other stuff. Then they heard how the song went, so they learned their parts as instrumentals. And this was exactly that way. I showed them how to play what was the form of the song. And that I didn't even. I don't think I had told them the name of the song yet. I thought I was writing a song called Favorite Son, because starting in 1952, when they sent my second grade class, I think, home to watch. To watch the inauguration, I believe, of Eisenhower, I think that's what it was. And all, you know, we had a tiny little TV all I saw was big black limousines. That was my entire impression of the presidential thing and politics. So after that I kind of would watch parts of the conventions in the summer. You know, there'd be these gigantic, you know, I didn't know what they were then, but these big rooms full of smoke. And every once in a while somebody, your honor, the great state of Texas would like to nominate her favorite son, Billy Saul Estes or whatever, right. And they all said that, you know, the state of Vermont would like to nominate her her favorite son. And so I had written that one down in my book and I thought I was going to write a kind of a political song. So the band was getting pretty solid in the backing track and that told me, you know, I was driving a career. I mean, there wasn't someone else telling me I was the one deciding and pushing and I think pushing pretty hard. I just, I wanted a new single to be ready and this seemed like it might be it. So I, at one point, after the band had been rehearsing the music for that song, Fortunate Son for a few weeks, it was getting pretty good. All right. I got to write the words, I got to get the whole song together. I took a little yellow tablet like that went in my bedroom, sat on the bed and instead of what I thought it was going to be, the first thing I said some, you know, this idea of the red, white and blue and they're always super patriots, you know, all this stuff, bluster and all that, right. And how do I get that? How do I get that? Well, they're waving the flag. Yeah, but what's going on now? They're pointing the cannon at you, right? Yeah, but it ain't me. And I realized, oh, wow, that's something I can repeat. It ain't me. I ain't, I ain't no. You know, and literally that, I mean, I just sort of did it in front of you almost the way it played out of me sitting on that bed, literally walked in and 20 minutes later walked out with the whole song.

Joe Rogan (93:05)

Wow.

John Fogerty (93:06)

Coming from. I didn't have any. Anything other than favorite son. The rest was just the stuff that was boiling in my head at the time, of course, basically because well heeled people getting out of the draft, which kind of pissed me off, you know, I just, you know, there were a lot of guys now that I was in them or had been in the military and I knew there were a lot of other guys felt just like me. Well, like they. I didn't grow up that I wanted to be a soldier and go do that. It was just fate that made that happen. So the unfairness of the situation made me want to talk about that.

Joe Rogan (93:49)

Zootopia 2 has come home to Disney. Let's go get ready for a new case.

John Fogerty (93:54)

We're going to crack this case and

Joe Rogan (93:55)

prove we're the greatest partners of all time.

John Fogerty (93:57)

New friends you are Gary the Snake and your last name the snake Dream team.

Joe Rogan (94:04)

Hidden new habitats.

John Fogerty (94:05)

Zootopia has a secret reptile population.

Joe Rogan (94:08)

You can watch the record breaking phenomenon at home. You're clearly barking at Zootopia too. Now available on Disney plus. Rated pg.

John Fogerty (94:20)

If you've got spring fever, Lowe's has the cure.

Joe Rogan (94:23)

During Spring Fest, make your landscape stand out with three free bags of Miracle Gro 3/4 cubic foot garden soil. When you buy three plus get up to 40% off. Select major appliances to keep clothes, food and dishes fresh all season long. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's. Ballot through 422 while supplies last selection varies by location. Seelows.com for details. Soil offer excludes Alaska and Hawaii. Well, you nailed it. It's such a great song. So did you have the music all settled out? When you went to the musicians and explained to them how the song was going to play out, did you have that before the lyrics?

John Fogerty (95:02)

Yes, almost always.

Joe Rogan (95:04)

So what did you think the song was going to be about when you would. You just brought them to music?

John Fogerty (95:09)

Well, as I said, I thought it was going to be Favorite Son.

Joe Rogan (95:13)

So you, you kind of still had the theme in your head of how

John Fogerty (95:16)

it was something around that stuff.

Joe Rogan (95:18)

Right.

John Fogerty (95:19)

I just didn't know what it would. And I also, you know, there's a T shirt though. The older I get, the better I was. You know, I was pretty good then. You know, I guess what I'm trying to say is I didn't know what the song was going to be. But I mean, now I would certainly have a little trepidation. I go in a room with a blank. I'm probably going to come out of there with a. Some, you know, a smiley face that I doodled or something that no words meaning somehow I was counting on myself to do it. But that's. That's pretty precocious.

Joe Rogan (95:58)

Yeah, but that's also that divine intervention of the muse, like you put in the work and you called, you called upon it for inspiration and your mind started lighting up and then you started putting the pieces together.

John Fogerty (96:13)

Yeah. Oh, that's a wonderful Joe. That's, that's an amazing process. When that's what I do. I'm not a prize fighter, you know, I'm not a baseball pitcher, let's say, because there would be an evolution in his work, you know, or something that you can. I'm not those things, but I am a songwriter and that it plays out over some. It isn't just once, you know, it plays out over some time. And that incidence where you suddenly get a hook into an idea, and then the gods, the muse, they let you continue forward with something that is way better than you ever dreamed was going to be it. And suddenly it, wow, this is really cool. And you're excited and you're happy and it's coming to be. And you realize, as I said, that was, by the way, by far the quickest I ever wrote a song. And that's so quick, so fast that, I mean, it's almost like instant replay. That was so fast that you. You. Or at least I did, I thought, man, this is really good. I mean. And you. Just like a minute ago, I was taking a breath, hoping that something would happen.

Joe Rogan (97:38)

Yeah. Well, that's what's amazing about great songs sometimes. Like, John Mellencamp was telling me a story about I Need a Lover that won't drive me crazy. Like that song he wrote in the shower. Oh, like all.

John Fogerty (97:52)

You mean in one shower?

Joe Rogan (97:53)

One shower. He was just taking a shower, and all of a sudden, I need a lover that won't drive me crazy.

John Fogerty (98:00)

Right.

Joe Rogan (98:00)

And then next thing you know, he's got it.

John Fogerty (98:03)

Yep.

Joe Rogan (98:04)

And it's an all time classic.

John Fogerty (98:05)

Yep.

Joe Rogan (98:06)

It's amazing.

John Fogerty (98:07)

Well, that the songwriter, and especially when he's on his game, he knows. And it relates to your own personality, whatever it is you like, the stuff you have gravitated towards. And so when one of those comes along, it really makes you smile because you're going, yeah, this sounds like me. This is the stuff I like. And you. You go with it because, I mean, you know, I am, I would say, notoriously corny. You know, at least I think I am. You know, it's like they make all these jokes nowadays about dad bod and all those kind of things. Yeah. I mean, I literally think that's me. Right. And some of this. I mean, center field is the corniest thing that was ever invented. I mean, I love it. I unashamedly want to be corny. That's who I am. I'm corny. Right. But it. I mean, in that song, it just. That resonates with. I'm glad, I'm happy. I'm happy to be happy. I want to be happy. Right. In other words, I don't have to feel. Because rock and roll is all about dark colors and leather jackets and piercing and, you know, tats and everything. And that scowl, you know, Elvis would. All that stuff. That's good. I mean, you know, But I like, you know. Well, it seems to be me. I can just be unashamedly happy, and I'm glad I've, you know, like, center field is so optimistic and just great.

Joe Rogan (99:50)

It's an awesome song.

John Fogerty (99:51)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (99:52)

I don't think rock and roll is all dark. I think there's aspects of rock and roll that people like that are dark because it's mysterious and these guys are rock, but, you know, rocks everything. It's like, there's so many layers to it. There's so many different types of personality. And you. Happy to be happy is also an awesome part of rock.

John Fogerty (100:10)

Yeah, clearly. Yeah. Well, because actually, real people all, as humans, sort of have all those different parts. Right.

Joe Rogan (100:19)

Yeah. That's why we identify with it, I think the. The brooding, dark rock star is like. It's a fantasy idea that people want to. They want to believe that there's that part of them. You know, there's this just. You know what I mean?

John Fogerty (100:34)

I'm gonna say abs. It's absolutely. And, you know, Marlon Brando on the motorcycle in the. Is it the Wild Ones? I guess.

Joe Rogan (100:45)

Yeah. I think so. Yeah.

John Fogerty (100:48)

You know that he's just so bad.

Joe Rogan (100:52)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (100:53)

And so rock stars. Well, other, I guess, but rock star, because it was right. In that era they invented or gravitated to. In other words, one picture defines me.

Joe Rogan (101:06)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (101:07)

This is my uniform. You know, I sleep in this. Yeah. I mean. And so, you know, I've got a big chain and a leather jacket, you know, now, I mean, it got more and more violent or dark hoodoo, voodoo, you know, all that. But. And it's. It's funny because it's basically, I'm all this. All the time. Yeah. This one picture does it. And I kind of. My wife and I joke about it because she'll kind of say something like, well, you don't dress like a rock star. And then, of course, I'll say, because I'm not. Right. I always sort of. I mean, I have a leather jacket somewhere. Right. Or two even. And it. How can I say it? To me, it was a uniform. To me, it was a pose. And so, you know, I tend to actually just put on clothes you can buy in the store when I get up in the morning. Got to take my kids to school, you Know, I didn't put on the whole, like, just got off stage at. I don't know, name some place at the Whiskey. Right. You know, and now I'm bringing my kids to school. Hey, Mrs. How you doing? Flip my cigarette over into the. I guess I could be a sitcom or something, but that wasn't me. I just. I kind of was normal dad to my. And I'm glad they saw me that way, tell you the truth.

Joe Rogan (102:40)

Yeah, absolutely. The idea is silly that everybody has to be one way. It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous.

John Fogerty (102:46)

Yep.

Joe Rogan (102:46)

Well, clearly, when you look at what you produced, like, you clearly are a rock star and you did it by being yourself.

John Fogerty (102:53)

Like, actually, I think you nailed it there. Here's a real truism when you're making something and we talked about this, and it's resonating with you. It just seems like in your wheelhouse, it's you. That's probably going to be really good. It's comfortable. Sounds like you. You relate. You relate. It's great. If you ever get yourself as a songwriter, singer, whatever. Well, so and so is going to really like that I did this and you're off on some weird thing, trying to, you know, be a change or different or something. That. Not going to work. Absolutely not going to work. Because you think somebody else sees it a certain way and you're doing it for them and God knows whatever that is, but it isn't you at all. You probably are just out of your element. Off the rails, you might say.

Joe Rogan (103:53)

And guys do get off the rails.

John Fogerty (103:55)

I've done it myself. Oh, yeah. Especially being preachy and that kind of thing. You know, there's some songs that. Oh, God, shut up.

Joe Rogan (104:05)

Where does that come from? Does that come from just. You have a big audience and you. All these people look up to you and you just start feeling you're important.

John Fogerty (104:15)

I think. I think some of it. I don't. I don't know all the answers. Who does? But you're in a. In a mood where you're. Or a mode. You're. You're. You want to get some material together, you want to make a record. You want to have some stuff finished and maybe you're not so inspired. Right. Okay, well, I'm going to. How about if I talk about whatever and you start trying? It's almost like a square peg in a round hole. Well, yeah, I got to do something because there is some credence to that. Just work. Just start working. Just start moving, you know, don't just sit there. Do something. Sorry. And keep grinding and maybe eventually it'll get to where it's natural. You know the good part? Yeah. Because just sitting and doing nothing, which I've certainly been accused of, is that's nothing for no one. Right. So you start moving your feet and trying to get the juices to flow and all that. But like I said, yeah, I wrote some songs, a whole album, really, called Eye of the Zombie. It was the follow up to Center Field. And I think, well, I had some other. Some ulterior. Not that I did it on purpose, but some other ingredients came into my mix. I'll get there in a minute. But anyway, the album as a whole is pretty dark and pretty and not. Doesn't ring true to me. I think it's kind of misses the mark. It's off. That's a. That album and that period of my life is a really interesting. Really interesting phenomenon. I think that I'm not the only one. It's just that I consider myself lucky. So I worked for, you know, I had this enormous band, number one in the world. Get screwed by the record company, lose my life savings, band breaks up, bands in the. In the newspaper saying nasty things about me, etc. I'm held kind of in a dungeon by the record company, and I gotta either give them my music or no one else, you know, And I somehow managed to get through all that. And it's 15 years after Creedence breaking up, basically, finally come out with an album called Center Field. There's happy, joyful music on it. It goes to number one, it's acclaimed, which is a wonderful thing, and it's a hit, I think. What happened? This is the story I tell about it. It's as if you'd been unjustly in prison, you know, convicted of a crime, put in the penitentiary for a long time, and one day they decide, oops, you're right, we made a mistake. You're free because you didn't commit any crimes. We're going to let you free. And you're so happy, you walk out the door, that's Centerfield coming out. And you come out into this big meadow where, you know, green grass and bluebirds. You know, it's a Disney cartoon. Right, Right. And then you turn around and you see fricking San Quentin, the prison that you were in. And now you're angry. You look at that and you just, well, what the. That's what happened. You know, I. When Centerfield came out, I should have. And was a success. In other words, I was exonerated or Vindicated. I should have immediately gone to therapy, right? Seen a shrink. But that's kind of not my. I wasn't raised anywhere near any of that kind of stuff, so I didn't know to do that. Instead, all that stuff that I was repressing so that I could do center field, it just came out like. And I was. Instead of being overjoyed, I was miserable, bitter. And it happened all at once. It didn't, like, develop. It was bam. And for like two years, it was like you could say Saul's name and I would implode. Like the werewolf in Werewolves of London or something, you know, or the. What's that guy? The Hulk.

Joe Rogan (109:03)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (109:07)

And so I made that album and that's all that stuff. I mean, I just didn't have the sense to see that it was. It was nothing like center field.

Joe Rogan (109:15)

Right.

John Fogerty (109:15)

Not a good. This guy's not happy. It was not a good follow up.

Joe Rogan (109:22)

How did you bounce back?

John Fogerty (109:24)

I met Julie, you know, right in the middle of that tour in 86 for Eye up the Zombie, or As We. So I am a zombie, you know, I met Julie and even though I didn't know, I thought I was in perpetual binge mode. Basically. Okay, I'm going to go out and tour now. I'm just going to be a rock star on the road and be everything I never got to do for 20 years. Right now I'm a little kid musician again. That's what I thought I was doing. Obviously that comes from some anger to talk like that. And so I just thought I was going to make my way through the Hollywood Hills, you might say. I think I actually said that in those days and one day just suddenly met Julie, not expecting to meet the love of my life as the person I feel that was that I was destined to meet and the person that would, through her good graces, help me find myself and help me enjoy and find the joy of life again. And it all changed.

Joe Rogan (110:55)

That's awesome. That's awesome. It's great that you bounced out of that because a lot of people don't. You know, when something bad happens to them, they just go into a spiral again. It's kind of amazing that you were joyful at first, but then you started getting resentful and thinking about it, which is totally understandable.

John Fogerty (111:14)

Well, you said a spiral, and that's just what it felt like. You just kind of getting. It's getting worse and worse, not better.

Joe Rogan (111:21)

Alcohol as well, right?

John Fogerty (111:22)

Yep.

Joe Rogan (111:23)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (111:24)

And boy, you don't. You know, they call it. It takes You a long time to figure out it's a depressant. Yeah, you are. You're drinking. You think you're drinking to forget stuff, but you're getting more and more depressed.

Joe Rogan (111:37)

Right? Yeah. And it's weakening your resolve, your. Your. Your body. It's weakening your vitality. So you're tired and you're angry.

John Fogerty (111:45)

That too. And you and your mindset.

Joe Rogan (111:47)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (111:48)

You just in a. In a miserable mood.

Joe Rogan (111:51)

And it's also. That's also in the rock and roll stereotype, you know, the. The drinking hard, partying. Like, one of my favorite songs when I was a kid was Bad Company, Shooting Star. And every kid that used to listen to that thought they were Johnny. Like, Johnny was a schoolboy when he heard his first Beatles song. It's a sad song. The guy dies young, comes a rock star and winds up dead. And everybody, like, was romanticizing this song of this terrible lifestyle that this guy lived. This guy was super talented and had the gift.

John Fogerty (112:26)

Well, it's based on, you know, some reality there, of course.

Joe Rogan (112:30)

Sure. Yeah.

John Fogerty (112:31)

Yeah. Unfortunately. Yeah. We really romanticized the idea of dying young. Burn bright, die young. And it's all cool until they're pointing at you and you're the one that's gonna die.

Joe Rogan (112:48)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (112:48)

I mean, at that moment in life, most people. No, I don't want to die. You know, up until then, it's just sort of a vague idea out there somewhere.

Joe Rogan (112:58)

Right, right, right. But weird that it's a romantic, vague idea. You know, Johnny died one night. Died in his bed, bottle of whiskey, sleeping tablets by his head. Like, we just, like, assumed. Like, this is how it goes, you know, like, this is the rock and roll romantic story.

John Fogerty (113:15)

Well, you hear those words when you're young, of course, and. Right. That actually sounds kind of positive, you know, because rock and roll, man, when you're older, you can hear the same words, and you say, yes, that's real, but it's not a positive thing anymore. It's just sort of a statement of fact. Right.

Joe Rogan (113:38)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (113:39)

I mean, there's a. I'm sitting here now, you know, talking about some parts of me that are certainly embarrassed about and probably ashamed of. I've let the shame part go. It just happened. Right. I mean, I don't encourage anyone, and I try to tell them, no, stay away from. Don't do what I did. But I used to beat myself up a lot with the shame part. And I think that might be part of the healing, part of the getting out the other end, because the more and more solid you get in the resolve of the way you're going to really live your life. And not that the kind of. More the shame dissipates and you're not. So it's not tenuous anymore, like, oh, I might fall back. You know, you're not so scared that that could happen anymore.

Joe Rogan (114:33)

I think the shame is an important element.

John Fogerty (114:36)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (114:36)

I think the shame of your. Your past and the mistakes that you've made motivates you to never make them again.

John Fogerty (114:41)

Yes.

Joe Rogan (114:42)

As long as you don't think you're still that person. That's the problem with some people. They'll do something in high school, and they carry that for the rest of their life like that. Whatever it is, whatever stupid mistakes they made, whatever behavior they think, that's them forever. And that's what's crazy.

John Fogerty (114:58)

We should be able to grow up and, you know, kids. I got married the first time at 20. I mean, there just should be a law, you know, you're just too young. You don't know what you're doing. You don't know what all this really means.

Joe Rogan (115:18)

Right.

John Fogerty (115:20)

Certainly by the time I met Julie, you know. You know what, though? That experience made me shy away for a few years there from the whole idea of a marriage commitment. I was committed, but the marriage part scared me. You know, it just. Oh, my goodness. And then one day I realized I was sort of. Well, wait a minute. Go back to square one. What's the most joyful, happy thing you can do? Well, I want to marry her. Right. And have children and have a white picket fence in a house, and we go to kindergarten and all those things. You know, we bake cookies at the pta. I want all that.

Joe Rogan (116:02)

Yeah. So, sure, it's crazy because that's not what anybody thinks of when you think of a rock and roll life.

John Fogerty (116:09)

Uh. Oh, right. I suppose. See, I'm corny again.

Joe Rogan (116:14)

It's not corny. I think it's authentic. I don't think there's anything wrong with the way you think at all. I think it's. It's healthy.

John Fogerty (116:22)

You know, I. I just really. Even though my. My mom. I mean, she was a warrior, you know, think of it. There were five boys. That was my family. My parents split up when I. It was kind of a long, ongoing thing, but somewhere around 8 years old. And so it was my mom's job to raise these five boys. And I, you know, at some point, being a teenager a little later, I said, it's a wonder we're not all in San Quentin, you know, I mean, Somehow she had enough of her. She gave enough of her to inspire us, all of us, really, to be good people. I mean, you know, we all had our faults and foibles and fell down and all that, but yet the ideal was to try and reach up here and be a good person. And it was because our family wasn't, in some sense, to try and have a normal family. You know, leave it to Beaver and all that sort of thing. Yeah. So that was a. That was a big goal to me. A big inspiration to. To want that.

Joe Rogan (117:32)

Well, it's a beautiful thing. There's nothing wrong with that idea.

John Fogerty (117:36)

Not at all.

Joe Rogan (117:37)

Not at all. It's just the idea that there's something wrong with it is that that's the fake rock and roll vision. That's the vision of the dark artist,

John Fogerty (117:46)

you know, I think. I don't know if I talk with Julie about this. Sometimes we show up at stuff and there'll be a lot of characters. I'm talking about musical things. Lot of characters roaming around, you know, and, you know, I kind of look like Ward Cleaver, Beaver's dad. You know, Mr. Mr. Boy Scout or something, walking around, you know, she's looking at me like, couldn't you have worn something a little more.

Joe Rogan (118:16)

I don't know, a little more rock and roll?

John Fogerty (118:18)

Yeah, maybe. And I'm just not bothered. I mean, it is kind of funny, though, actually. I've worn some cool clothes at some of the stuff that would. That would all be Julie's doing, of course. Yeah. I mean, it's. It's almost like, you know, could you. Could you show up at a reunion of rock guys, you know, in their 50s or something? Everybody pull out their blotter, you know, their police blotter. Oh, yeah, I got busted for me. And everybody would have a.

Joe Rogan (118:54)

A rap sheet.

John Fogerty (118:55)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (118:56)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (118:57)

I mean, it would be a badge of honor. But I suppose, to me, I'm just really glad that it wasn't like that.

Joe Rogan (119:04)

Well, it's just you being authentic, that's a powerful thing. It's great, too, because the influence is to not. The influence is to create an image, you know, And a lot of people cultivated that image, of course, and they get kind of captured by it, and then you have to be that person forever. You can't, like, switch Letterman to Pee

John Fogerty (119:27)

Wee Herman on his show. Just think, pee Wee, you're gonna have to dress like that for the rest of your life.

Joe Rogan (119:34)

That's true. Right, right.

John Fogerty (119:36)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (119:37)

You become a character, and then that's what people love. They don't love you. They love this fake thing that you've.

John Fogerty (119:44)

Well, you know, it's the cowboy thing, the motorcycle, whatever look. I like all those too, actually. You know, I love the. I like keeping it as a fantasy. I watch some TV shows and my favorites are the modern, like Yellowstone and all the other ones. After that, there's probably a lot of. What do you call that, literary license, you know, for imagery. But I love the imagery. I mean, I sit there and watch that river flowing back past those rocks and the pine trees forever and some cows going over there. That's okay.

Joe Rogan (120:27)

Stoic cowboys living this rough life.

John Fogerty (120:31)

I like all that.

Joe Rogan (120:32)

Of course. Everybody does. It's very romantic when you're looking at it from the outside especially. I mean, how many people moved to Montana because of that show?

John Fogerty (120:39)

They're hoping not so many.

Joe Rogan (120:41)

I bet a lot did, though. A lot did. And I think a lot left. Yeah, I think they realize how hard the winters are and they're like, all right, whoa, this ain't. This ain't my romantic idea.

John Fogerty (120:53)

Yeah. And it's a long winter up there.

Joe Rogan (120:54)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (120:55)

Oh, boy.

Joe Rogan (120:56)

Yeah. Music is. It's one of the most powerful things in American culture because a great song like Fortunate Son can inspire people to change their lives. It can inspire people to make decisions. It does things to people. It gives you fuel. Like I was saying, like, if I listen to that song when I'm working out, it's like I took an energy pill. Like, all of a sudden I have more energy. Like, that's real. It's a. It's a powerful thing that you've created. It really is. You know, and the fact that you did it out of love and enjoyment speaks to why the music is so. It resonates so much with people.

John Fogerty (121:34)

Well, you know, especially with that song. At that point in. In the career of my band, remember, I was writing all the songs. I'll talk about that after this, I guess, in a minute. But I wanted to have just an all out screamin rocker, which we didn't have yet. You know, the career was about a year and a half old. And so, I mean, I commissioned myself to. I want to have that absolutely loud screaming song with the guitars and all. So that was sort of the commission I gave myself to create.

Joe Rogan (122:21)

As opposed to something like, have you ever seen the rain?

John Fogerty (122:23)

Yeah. Or even down on the corner, which is a different vibe. You know, I wanted to because I like that. I like when bands, you know, the Beatles, actually. I want to hold your hand. Or she was just 17, saw her standing there, I guess. You know when or it's not really fast, but it certainly had that vibe. You know the instrumental rumble by Link Ray. I see. I've missed you. Cool.

Joe Rogan (122:53)

Yeah. I don't know what that song.

John Fogerty (122:54)

Can you put that one up?

Joe Rogan (122:56)

Yeah, pull that one up. We'll get flagged. We'll remove it.

John Fogerty (123:01)

Do you do that? Do you play little snippets of music?

Joe Rogan (123:03)

We can play snippets, but the problem,

John Fogerty (123:04)

you know, everything we just been talking about. Yeah, everything. Including the guy. If there's a clip of him playing

Joe Rogan (123:11)

that, the only problem is. Well, we can't put it on the podcast itself or we'll get flagged, but we can listen to it right now. And then we just cut that part out.

John Fogerty (123:21)

That was the musical scale right there.

Joe Rogan (123:23)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (123:24)

What is that? I took so much out of that. But anyway, he was the rumble, the song. Who's the guy? Link Ray. Oh, God, that's so cool. And when you saw him, black leather jacket, skinny as a rail, probably had a. Yeah, probably a motorcycle. I mean, it was the entire thing in one little two and a half minute song.

Joe Rogan (123:47)

Look at him there. God is.

John Fogerty (123:49)

He's a little older there, but it's. Yeah, he's bad.

Joe Rogan (123:54)

Wow. He looks cool as hell. It's always fascinating to me where artists had, like, one incredible song and then never made it. Like. And you'll find out about that song. And you go, this is incredible. How did this guy never make it? How am I. Do you know who Johnny Thunder is?

John Fogerty (124:17)

I've heard the name.

Joe Rogan (124:18)

Okay, play I'm Alive for him. There's a song that my friend Brian Simpson told me about. God, must have been, like, a couple years ago now. And he played it for us in the mothership, the comedy club, the Green Room. He goes, you're gonna love this song. And I went, who is this? We had to figure out who it was. It's a song from 1969 by this guy, Johnny Thunder.

John Fogerty (124:40)

69.

Joe Rogan (124:41)

1969. And it's incredible. It's such a good song. And I'm like this. If. If I didn't know any better, I'm like, oh, this guy must have been a huge star. Like, if. I know. But if I heard that and someone said, this guy's a huge star. Have you heard this song about. Oh, my God, it sounds like a huge star. Like, this guy's fantastic. Listen to this. Listen. How good is that?

John Fogerty (125:03)

It's great.

Joe Rogan (125:03)

How good is that song is phenomenal, right?

John Fogerty (125:06)

Yeah. Did he ever, like, under A different name or anything? Have.

Joe Rogan (125:10)

No.

John Fogerty (125:10)

Oh, my goodness.

Joe Rogan (125:11)

Nope. Isn't that crazy? Now we started playing that song.

John Fogerty (125:16)

Attitude's great. He's saying a lot of great stuff. It's great.

Joe Rogan (125:19)

It's incredible.

John Fogerty (125:20)

Yeah, that's.

Joe Rogan (125:21)

The voice is incredible. The sound's incredible. We played that song on the podcast a couple years ago, and now the song's in commercials and all these different things.

John Fogerty (125:30)

Oh, is that true?

Joe Rogan (125:30)

Yeah. Yeah.

John Fogerty (125:31)

Cool.

Joe Rogan (125:31)

But he's dead now. He's dead. He died. I think he died in 2019 or something like that. In 2024. 2024. Wow.

John Fogerty (125:41)

Wow.

Joe Rogan (125:42)

So he probably died, like, right after we discovered him. That crazy. That crazy.

John Fogerty (125:49)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (125:49)

I mean, you hear that, you're like, how did that guy not be one of the biggest artists in the world?

John Fogerty (125:55)

Or at least have that song be a big thing?

Joe Rogan (125:59)

That song wasn't even a big hit.

John Fogerty (126:00)

Right.

Joe Rogan (126:01)

It's crazy. It's just. You realize the slippery nature of success, especially with art. Like, sometimes guys just catch lightning. They got that one.

John Fogerty (126:17)

Yep.

Joe Rogan (126:18)

And that's it.

John Fogerty (126:19)

You know, I think any artist that's been around a while, he had another hit. Yeah.

Joe Rogan (126:23)

That was his biggest hit de loop.

John Fogerty (126:25)

Oh, I know that song.

Joe Rogan (126:27)

Oh. Johnny Thunder featuring the Bobettes.

John Fogerty (126:30)

When did this come out?

Joe Rogan (126:31)

It's 1963. Reach number four.

John Fogerty (126:34)

Oh, that's the song. I know. I know that one.

Joe Rogan (126:36)

Wow.

John Fogerty (126:37)

I didn't know who the. The name. Here we go. Loop D. Lou.

Joe Rogan (126:41)

Isn't that crazy? That song was Johnny Thunder's only top 40 hit. That's incredible.

John Fogerty (126:47)

How high did it say it got?

Joe Rogan (126:49)

Said number four. Number four. The US pop charts.

John Fogerty (126:52)

Wow.

Joe Rogan (126:52)

Number six. US R&B charts. Wow. And the album in Canada reached number 14 two separate weeks. It's incredible because if you hear that other song, like, that other song is, that should be gigantic. I'm Alive should be a huge hit.

John Fogerty (127:12)

Right? Mean, weird statement of, you know, it's like, I'm a man or something.

Joe Rogan (127:16)

I played that for so many musicians, and they listen to it and they never heard it before.

John Fogerty (127:20)

Right.

Joe Rogan (127:21)

So many guys like, oh. Oh, my God. You hear. You hear him? Like, oh, baby. It just cracks. It's a perfect song. It's an amazing song, but it's like the slippery nature of art, you know, it's just like, sometimes.

John Fogerty (127:37)

Yeah. So why. Why would something that good just, you know, did something. I don't know, the. The week it came out was 911 or something.

Joe Rogan (127:48)

Well, you know what my fear is? My fear is that he got trapped up in the music business. Scent side of it.

John Fogerty (127:55)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (127:55)

And they just decided not to promote him or something. You know, he ran afoul with the music company or something. It just doesn't make sense that a guy who could make a song that good. If you can make that song that good, you can make a ton of songs.

John Fogerty (128:09)

You think so?

Joe Rogan (128:10)

Yeah, you just need the right people with.

John Fogerty (128:11)

Yeah. Because he had the voice.

Joe Rogan (128:12)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (128:13)

Always do that.

Joe Rogan (128:14)

The voice, the sound, the. The. The soul to his. His music, the way he sang. You know that part.

John Fogerty (128:21)

I'm a man. Yeah. Hey.

Joe Rogan (128:23)

Oh, my God. It's so good. It's so good. It just. It's. It is. It's a very difficult thing to capture. And even capturing it only once doesn't ensure a long career of getting it right, of finding that thing.

John Fogerty (128:44)

Well, yeah, we were talking about that a little bit a while ago. You know, that. That first blush when you realize you can do it because you've never done it before. When you cross that particular threshold, that's an amazing transformation, I guess, in an artist's the way he grows. Because until you actually do it, it's all just a dream, you know? I mean, I. I had grown up writing songs, you know, they weren't great songs. I mean, I kind of knew it. I was watching all the people I loved. I'm talking about from being four or five years old all the way through growing up, and you. You know, things happen. Elvis, Motown, and Beatles and all these things happen. And, wow, you really like all that. And meanwhile, you're having the dream of being in music somehow, but you never really know if you're going to be able to do that or not.

Joe Rogan (129:53)

Right.

John Fogerty (129:53)

I mean, this. This sort of spreads out in a lot of strange ways in entertainment. I mean, I kind of make it similar to what if you're baseball player and you dream of growing up and getting to the major leagues, Right. And somebody becomes Willie Mays. Right. And a lot of people don't, you know, and there's. You just don't know. There's that realization. I mean, for Willie, actually, he was. It was slow. If you read about him, him and Durocher were kind of, you know, Darocher could see it. Willie's gonna. Yeah. So if you're lucky enough and you become Willie Mays, I mean, God bless you. Right? But there is that for most of us, that moment that, oh, sorry, kid. You know, you just. You're average, but we don't need average. Right, Right. And that just happens a lot in music. There was people like me when the four people that became Creedence sort of got together in 1967, after I got off active duty, and we said, okay, we're going to go for broke. Yeah, okay, we'll have a democracy. Yeah, we'll vote on everything. Yeah, we'll all write songs and everything, right? Okay. One of the things that happened going along those lines, I would show up at the rehearsal. You know, at that point we started, we said, we got to do this all the time if we're ever going to get any good. So every day during the week, we'd meet at noon, or actually a little before that, maybe 11, and sit and talk. And then noon was rehearsal time. And so I'd say, okay, anybody got any songs? And people started looking down, all right, well, look, I got something. And we'd work on my song, right? I mean, we're just sort of getting organized. I've just come off active duty. I've been away from the world, you might say. Then next day, same thing, you know, at home, I'd work on some stuff. Anybody got any songs? I mean, it was the weirdest quiet a week later, you know, same thing. And finally I just. Well, look, I've been. You know, I began to feel this thing inside that I gotta push. I mean, I think I can do this. And so eventually I got the idea the songs I'm working on aren't quite there. How about if we take an old song and I'll just trick it up, like, psychedelicize it, because I'll pick a song I already know is good. It's got good stuff in it. And that's what I did with Suzy Q. I just kind of really arranged it and had all this cool stuff going on. It wasn't something I wrote. It kind of relieved me of the pressure of having to do that and was able to just. Hey, just the. That blank page turned into a different rainbow Full of Nobody can fault because it's not my song, right? Did all this great stuff, this cool musical stuff to got. The whole point was to get that tape on a local underground station that was actually playing unpublished tapes, you know, by certain bands. The most famous one you ever heard about, there was a tape of Janis Joplin singing Hesitation Blues and Yorma's playing guitar, but in the background, somebody's typing their term paper. It was done in their kitchen, and so they were. It was just sort of amateur, unauthorized thing. But they played it on this one station. It became a hit on that station. People requested it. There were a couple other bands that had tapes like that.

Joe Rogan (134:13)

And you can hear the typewriter in the background.

John Fogerty (134:15)

Yeah. Going, yeah, yeah. She's singing hesitation blues.

Joe Rogan (134:19)

Wow.

John Fogerty (134:21)

So that became the. Let's do that. Let's do an end run around record companies and just bring the thing straight to the station. Well, they loved Susie Q. They started playing it probably eight times a day. Each different disc jockey would play it. It's 8 minutes and 20 seconds long or whatever, right? And that was really the true beginning. Finished that album. My songwriting was, you know, wasn't great. It was competent. But somewhere right after the album came out, oh, I wanted to make that point. Everybody had ample opportunity to write a song, and it just kind of wasn't coming. I would show up at the. At the rehearsals. Well, anybody got a song? You know? And everybody got real quiet. And so I said, well, look, okay, let's work on this. And I began to realize inside that it was going to be up to me. It wasn't. I want to control everything. It was, I got to start rolling this boat or we're going to sink in the middle of the ocean. So I started pushing myself harder and harder. The first album comes out on my birthday, 1968. I'm 23 years old. And within sometime shortly after that, I can't really pin down the. I'm still in the army, right? But I'm working on getting released, getting out somewhere, I think in June or July, I don't exactly know. My honorable discharge shows up. I open this package that's been sitting there for a couple days because it said, official government business. Who's that for? And I find it was, for me, it was, you know, an apartment house. I'm overjoyed. I mean, this is the biggest struggle has been of my life. Wow, wow, wow. I turn a little cartwheel on the lawn. Cause I want to remember that I turned the cartwheel and ran in the house and picked up my guitar and started playing these chords that are somewhat like Beethoven. Oh. I start strumming this beat. I start hearing this chorus, see? Left. The first thing I said was, left a good job in the city. That was getting out of the army. Wow. Working for the man every night and day. Wow. What is this? Eventually I arrive at this thing where I say, rolling, rolling. Oh, I like that. Rolling, rolling on the river. That's starting to be beyond me. Out of me, right? I look in my book because I said, what is this thing about? What am I doing here? The very first thing I had written in my little book of song titles was proud Mary. It's the actual first line. First thing I looked at that and I said, wow. This is about. Proud Mary's a riverboat. This is a boat named Proud Mary. That's what we're doing here. And I finished the song. Right. I mean, it was kind of Mark Twain, kind of Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper, you know, Had a little bit of kind of gospel flavor and the Old south in it. Wow. When I got done, which was about an hour, I was about an hour from when I'd opened my honorable discharge. I'm actually holding the little yellow tablet I've been writing on. John, you've written a classic. I realized that this song was. I had evolved. It was way better than anything I'd ever done before, you know, and so those meetings I'd been having, going to see the band. Well, has anybody got anything? And no one ever did. And I'd show my little piece of something I was working on that kind of led. How can I say it? To the confidence to do something really great by just doing it. Right. And the knowledge. I mean, I had. I was self aware. I'm looking at this thing, Proud Mary, and it's got Americana in it. Although I don't think I had a word then. It's got. I knew it was Mark Twain and the river and all this soulful stuff. Wow. This for sure is the best thing I'd ever done. I knew it was a great song. And the next. God, I hope I get to do this again. Because you just don't know. Right, Right.

Joe Rogan (139:51)

But that was a bolt of lightning and inspiration charged up from the discharge.

John Fogerty (139:57)

Yep.

Joe Rogan (139:59)

Right?

John Fogerty (139:59)

Yeah. But yes. And something led me to be better than I was.

Joe Rogan (140:05)

Wow.

John Fogerty (140:06)

I mean, I think what my point was, it was kind of the Willie Mays thing. I never knew if I would be able to do that or not. Right, Right. You. You're going along. You're just plunking along, clubs, whatever, learning a chord here and there, learning something off a record, hoping you have a career in music because you like music. Me, because my mother had focused, had kind of pointed out songwriters. It put me in that realm, made me at least realize that that was one of the functions of music. That's another story I could tell you. I don't know if you want to hear that.

Joe Rogan (140:53)

I want to hear every story. That's a fantastic story, though, because

John Fogerty (140:59)

you

Joe Rogan (140:59)

just getting that notice that you've been relieved and you're no longer in active duty. You've got an honorable discharge, you're free. And then the inspiration Comes and you write your greatest song of all time. Like that.

John Fogerty (141:14)

Yep.

Joe Rogan (141:14)

Or at least the greatest song to that moment. And realize this can be. This can happen. You really have it. You really have it. Because you don't know until you try and when.

John Fogerty (141:25)

You don't know till it happens.

Joe Rogan (141:26)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (141:27)

You don't know, you know, until Willie Mays one day did something on the field.

Joe Rogan (141:32)

Right.

John Fogerty (141:32)

He didn't know.

Joe Rogan (141:33)

Right.

John Fogerty (141:33)

And there was a point, as I alluded to I've read about. Durocher knew when he saw him and Willie wasn't so sure yet.

Joe Rogan (141:41)

Yeah. That's crazy. That's crazy. Bad Moon Rising is another great, fantastic song. Another huge favorite of mine, but also because it's in one of my all time favorite movies, American Werewolf in London. Yeah, that scene. Yeah, that song. That must have been cool to have that song play in that movie.

John Fogerty (142:02)

It's very cool to me now. I don't even know if I saw the movie at the time it came out. That was during the time I was still, you know, away from music and kind of angry and pissed off about my situation. So when something would get done with my music, it kind of made me mad because nobody asked me.

Joe Rogan (142:27)

Oh, really?

John Fogerty (142:28)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (142:29)

Oh, right. Because you didn't have the rights to it.

John Fogerty (142:31)

Yep.

Joe Rogan (142:31)

Oh, wow. Still, phenomenal song. Phenomenal song. So did you write all the songs?

John Fogerty (142:39)

I wrote all the songs from Credence.

Joe Rogan (142:41)

Wow.

John Fogerty (142:42)

Until the. The last album, the seventh album. That was basically a result of the guys saying, we want to, you know, there was a big band meeting. We want to write the songs, and we demand that we get to write the songs and sing the songs and make up our own musical parts. I was then resisting that because I just, I thought it was going to really. I literally thought it would be career suicide, you know, change everything now.

Joe Rogan (143:12)

Right?

John Fogerty (143:13)

Yeah. Because. Well, here's another part of it. You're struggling in, you know, the early days of your career and all your life getting to that point, you're trying to figure out what works. Right, Right. I mean, it's just everyone goes through that because you clearly, you don't know what works yet. Haven't figured it out. And one day when some stuff starts happening, well, that's how you do it. This and this and this. This works. And I got very good at that.

Joe Rogan (143:41)

And you had put in that work and they hadn't. So they weren't really contributing. And I must have gotten resentful that you were the one who wrote all these big hits. And eventually they're like, we Want to try? We're Credence, too, Right?

John Fogerty (143:54)

Well, especially because two of them had never written a song in their life.

Joe Rogan (143:57)

Oh, that's crazy. And then they wanted to write a song for Credence while Credence was huge.

John Fogerty (144:04)

Yeah. I mean, there's a bit of. What's the word? Boulder Dash into that. I mean, it's. Wow. But maybe you should, you know, rehearse a little first. I mean, I've been writing songs since I was 8. Not that they were jumped in.

Joe Rogan (144:20)

They could have jumped in. When? In the beginning.

John Fogerty (144:23)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (144:23)

When you were writing all the songs and they weren't coming up with anything. If they did, you probably would have did their songs as well. If they went on a similar path,

John Fogerty (144:31)

it would have been like, yeah, my songs weren't that good at that time. But they were. How can I say? They were maybe better than average. They weren't great songs yet. They were album songs or something. Right, right. But what I'm getting at is that the other guys. There was no song. So that's that thing in. I keep using the Mouly Mays, you know, metaphor, if that's what it is. You know, that example, at some point, you're working with the elements in the field that you love, and then you realize how to put it together and to make it happen, if you're lucky. And then comes the time when you actually make something that's good. Right. And that. I mean, but that. I can't think of anyone that the first song they ever wrote. Boom. Was Ave Maria or something, you know? Right. It's. You know, so I just thought it was a journey. And I mean, I have been on the journey myself and seen it come. But I think now I look at it, I was. Excuse me. I was probably destined, you know, it was what I loved, and that was what was calling me.

Joe Rogan (145:53)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (145:54)

I mean, I. That was my. My motivation the whole time, since I was a child. I just loved it and wanted to do that, whatever it was.

Joe Rogan (146:06)

Well, that's why it worked.

John Fogerty (146:08)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (146:08)

You put in the work and you loved it and you worked at it, and you tried to get it better. And you also got inspiration. You were also open to that inspiration. It's just funny that the band members didn't contribute until the seventh album, and they wanted to jump in. It's kind of crazy, but understandable. I mean, it's human nature to be resentful, especially if you got a huge band and one guy is the lead singer, and that guy's also writing all the Songs.

John Fogerty (146:37)

Yeah. Well, I walked around for many months, you know, mulling over this whole thing, because right after that meeting, shortly after that, my brother Tom decided he just left. You know, even though I kind of gave in to all the demands. Okay, we'll do it that way. I could see that the band was going to disintegrate unless I acquiesce. Right. I mean, it was. Up until then I'd managed to keep it. Don't do that. Don't do that. It's going to wreck us. So when I agreed, I mean, it was literally a couple months later, Tom left. And so now. Oh, God, what's going to happen now? So I didn't know if I was just going to go, nah. Call it quits or. The image in my mind was, of course, when Elvis got taken by the Colonel, just kind of pulled out of the other guys and they left them in a lurch, you might say. That's the way it looked to me. Right? It's like Elvis got all new guys and just kind of. And it was readily apparent because I had already seen what the Elvis comeback special, the part where they sat around in a circle and did the old songs. And he had the old guys, Scotty and Bill, and. Or maybe Bill was gone by then, but J.D. fontana or J.D. fontana. And it was just apparent that that was the best thing. Everybody loved that part of his special. Most people just forget that anything else was on that thing other than Elvis singing those songs. And that sort of was in the back of my. Well, maybe they deserve a shot. Maybe they should. You know, maybe I should do this. And so that's kind of why I went forward with it. Almost like flipping a coin, like, well, the odds. I. I think my own sense tells me this isn't going to work, but maybe they deserve a chance. So I kind of went at it blindly that way like that.

Joe Rogan (148:45)

What was it like in the studio when they started bringing the songs?

John Fogerty (148:51)

Well, that's. I mean, that's it. I mean, everyone can hear that. All of us can. You know, you just. The album's called Mardi Gras, and in the press, it was murdered. Rolling Stone said, this is the worst album ever made by a major group. And I read that and I said, I know. I mean, I literally. I felt that it wasn't like I was trying to defend it. It was. You know, it was just.

Joe Rogan (149:20)

How did the band react to that?

John Fogerty (149:23)

Here's the deal. Instead of going, yeah, that was a mistake, instead they said, he made me do it. And so, yeah, they Said I made them do it, whereas that was their idea, of course. I didn't want to do that. And after that, I just, you know, I think we did a tour. Oh, right. We did a tour. One by one, their songs dropped out of the set. The songs that they had done on Mardi Gras, the other two guys. Yeah, I don't want to sing that anymore. And so we, of course, went back to Proud Mary and Fortunate Son and all that. And there was a point that I could tell that the fans were kind of upset with this whole premise. And so I.

Joe Rogan (150:22)

Which whole premise? What?

John Fogerty (150:24)

Of them singing songs and kind of struggling along with equal time for everybody.

Joe Rogan (150:30)

Oh, I see. Yeah. Yeah.

John Fogerty (150:33)

And so finally it was time to. There wasn't enough. There wasn't any way to put it back together that I could see.

Joe Rogan (150:42)

Right.

John Fogerty (150:43)

It was beyond me now in later, later, later years that, you know, I'm a much older guy. I mean, there were, you know, there's some decisions that I made. One of them was the decision to not be in the movie Woodstock. They sent a tape of the band doing Bad Moon Rising. It was okay. But what had happened at Woodstock was the Grateful Dead was on before us. Grateful Dead had all taken LSD. We were supposed to be on at 8 o', clock, but it's now 2 o', clock. 2:30 in the morning. By the time we get, Grateful Dead goes on, kind of loses their way. But they're on stage for an hour and a half or something with nothing going on. So that poor audience that's been through rain and all the rest and Muddy and they just. They just crashed a half a million. Just boom, you know. And that's what I get, right? We come running out on stage and we playing a few songs and all I see is sleeping people. And eventually, the last, I think, 20 minutes of our set finally got him up. We warmed them up for Janus. That's the way I always say it, you know, they got going again, but that was a struggle all through that. So I get sent. And it was. Ait was a bad taste in my mouth about that evening because everybody. We'd gone to so much trouble. And at that moment, we were certainly the number one band in the US and probably on our way to being number one in the world. And so I just, you know, here's this kind of ordinary tape of Bad Moon. And I just thought, I don't know. This doesn't help us. Doesn't further us at all. Nah, I'm going to pass, by the way. The Grateful Dead is not in Woodstock either. I didn't really didn't see that until about a year ago. You know, I just assumed the Grateful Dead was in Woodstock, Right?

Joe Rogan (152:55)

That's probably unusable.

John Fogerty (152:56)

So if there'd been an older guy around us, a manager that was like 50, instead of me with my bad taste about the evening, the older guy might have said, hey, you know, your version of Suzy Q Live, even though those people were sleeping, the band was cooking. You know, you guys played good. You can't hardly see anything anyway, that crappy old. He said, but that recording's good. Maybe we should demand that. Look, you put us in the movie and give us eight minutes, not two minutes. Or by then, it was probably 15 minutes long. You know, I think that was a decision that could probably. I could reassess, you know, if it was someone else. But that's not what was on my plate at the time. I was only offered bad mood, you know, and at the time, I felt I was right because we went on and did great. And by the way, the band broke up before Woodstock came out anyhow, so it kind of was a mute point.

Joe Rogan (154:02)

Did it feel better for you when you were on your own? Did you like that better? Or it was just the John Frogarty Band. You didn't have to have all those guys and all the bullshit.

John Fogerty (154:13)

Well, you're asking. You know, we're all human beings, and we've got a lot of years behind us. If you're asking me right now. Yeah. Because I play in a band with my sons.

Joe Rogan (154:28)

Oh, that's awesome. Yep, that's awesome.

John Fogerty (154:31)

And I don't know, there might be a picture of that somewhere. And so. And all the other guys in the band are their age.

Joe Rogan (154:43)

Oh, wow.

John Fogerty (154:43)

And so. How can I say it? You don't. You don't have a whole bunch of people trying to prove something like their record deal or, you know. Because you asked the question. Kind of caught me by surprise. After. Well, after Credence, I didn't play for a long time.

Joe Rogan (155:04)

How long?

John Fogerty (155:05)

But the first being. Huh?

Joe Rogan (155:07)

How long? How long did you not play for?

John Fogerty (155:10)

I went on tour in 86 with a bunch of hired hands, they call it. Right. Studio guys. And that was. It was behind number one. I didn't play any Credence Era songs. I was so mad at my situation, I just played new songs. Wow. Everyone on the left, that's Shane. That's me. That's my son Tyler. That's my daughter Kelsey. And then that's Jesse Wilson back there. Our bass player.

Joe Rogan (155:48)

That's awesome.

John Fogerty (155:49)

And so, yeah. And there's a. Right, then that might be a moment in Chuglin where we all do a riff together and all that. And it's just so cool to all be standing there.

Joe Rogan (156:00)

That's amazing.

John Fogerty (156:01)

So, yeah, I mean, you know, don't get me wrong. The beginnings of Credence was magical and wonderful. Right. I mean, it truly. Look what you waited and planned for your whole life. And it stayed that way for about a year, I think. And then other stuff that I never understood. I mean, it was beyond. It was unpleasant, and I didn't understand why. So after that, that was difficult. Then when I first started playing again in 86 and also and much more in 97 after blue moon Swamp came out, and I had a series of bands that were, I can say, trying to put people together, parts from here and there and there. So it kind of never really was one solidified thing. And you would find that a lot of people had personal agendas. You might say they were working on their own career and all that. And there was sort of, believe it or not, even at that level, different jealousies and things. Again, there I was. I could sense it. Sometimes people were jealous, you know. Oh, my God. When you see that picture, there's no jealous.

Joe Rogan (157:26)

Right.

John Fogerty (157:27)

See, I mean, this is really fun for me now.

Joe Rogan (157:30)

Well, that is the problem with so many bands. It's the conflicting personalities. It's always a miracle to me that any band stays together and that they could stay together. Like the Stones, where they're still touring now after all these years.

John Fogerty (157:43)

The Stones are a lesson in how everyone should be. Cause we've all heard the stories about the Stones. We know there's problems here and there and everywhere and all that, yet they rose above that. They just decided that, you know what. Yeah, okay. What? I don't like that guy over there tonight, but I'm just gonna do this. And they're all brothers when they're out there doing that. Yeah. And that's great.

Joe Rogan (158:10)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (158:11)

You know, there's. I mean, there's times, let's say, in war or whatever, where you have to kind of subjugate your personal stuff for the greater good.

Joe Rogan (158:20)

Yeah.

John Fogerty (158:21)

Right. And that kind of what they do, the Stones, and God bless them.

Joe Rogan (158:25)

I just think the thing is, everybody wants to be the man. And when you got so many egos and there's one guy like you who's writing all the songs, all these other people, they're just like. They feel less. You know, and they get resentful Yep.

John Fogerty (158:40)

I think that's pretty normal human nature. And then that has to be dealt with.

Joe Rogan (158:47)

Yeah. Sometimes you can't, though, you know, some people can't be reasoned with. Some people just are. They're not rational. They see things in a distorted lens. Especially if they're not the people that created everything, but yet they've been along for the ride. They don't feel like they're getting what they deserve. That's what it seems like.

John Fogerty (159:06)

I wanted to tell you a story about how I got into this in the first place. Place.

Joe Rogan (159:10)

Okay.

John Fogerty (159:12)

I told you about my mom noticing the music coming out of me one day. She brought me home from nursery school where she was one of the helper teachers, I guess one of the moms, you know, of the staff. She brought me home and sat me down on a little chair. Now I look back, it was a little ceremony. She had a little yellow record, a kid's record. And it. Basically what she did was she played both sides of this little record. One side was oh, Susanna, and the other side was Camptown Races. Doo Dah, Doo Dah. You know that one? And then she asked me, well, do you like this music? I said, yeah, mom, these are cool songs or whatever. A kid says, I really like these. She says, well, I'm going to play them again, Johnny. She plays both songs and she says, do you know that Stephen Foster is the man that wrote both of these songs? What do you mean, Ma? He said, well, Stephen Foster is a real person that wrote this music, and I wanted you to know that these are his wonderful songs and that people do write songs. And then she gave me the record that came, kind of became my little possession, right? And I've reflected on that moment in my life for. I mean, I used to tell people, why did she do that? What in the world was she thinking, right? And all through the years with that, I was living at home with my mom. You know, there'd be somebody on tv, there's Irving Berlin. And I go, yeah, mom, hey, he's a songwriter. Or she let me know. Hoagie Carmichael was one of her favorites. So he became one of my favorites, right? And of course, on into the rock and roll era, as you notice, the Beatles, Lennon and McCartney were writing these songs. I mean, it just became a thing, a part of me. And it all started back there with my mom and Stephen Foster. And number one, he was a great songwriter. So that lilt, that sort of kind of songwriting, he's also very corny. I mean, that. That voice that Personality certainly became. It got contributed, it got lent to me through the records, the recordings, as Stephen didn't make any records as far as I know. And those songs just sort of got in, filtered into my personality. I mean, my mom put it this way. I think I even talked it over with mom. I. I feel like Stephen Foster could have written Proud Mary. It seems like that territory. Yeah.

Joe Rogan (162:09)

Wow.

John Fogerty (162:10)

That's awesome. Right? I don't know what. My. My mom was giving me a gift, you know, in that you just never know how powerful those little moments with your kids are. But that was a big one for me.

Joe Rogan (162:23)

That's awesome. That's awesome. Listen, John, it's been an honor having you on. Thank you very much. I'm a gigantic fan. So for me, it was a real pleasure to get to talk to you.

John Fogerty (162:33)

Same here.

Joe Rogan (162:33)

The story's fantastic. Thank you very much. And you're on tour. Tell everybody where they can see you.

John Fogerty (162:40)

Oh, wow. Well, you know, we are the Legacy Tour. You may know. I've just re recorded a lot of my old songs from the Creedence time and I'm having a ball. We're just all over.

Joe Rogan (162:52)

Look at that.

John Fogerty (162:53)

Oh, there you go. Wow. That's a picture from back in the day. Of course.

Joe Rogan (162:58)

What a cool album, too. Does it really look like that?

John Fogerty (163:00)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (163:01)

Oh, nice. That's sick. I love it. Beautiful. Thank you, sir. Really. Thank you very much. It was awesome.

John Fogerty (163:09)

Bye, everybody. Sam,