Born on 28 May: John Fogerty, the legend of Creedence Clearwater Revival

He was born in 1945 in Berkeley, California, into a family of five boys! He received his first guitar at the age of 12, but one of his favourites is still a 1971 Goldtop Les Paul modelled after the 1954 version. Yes, really…

With his no-nonsense riffs, like on the famous "Proud Mary", John Fogerty never overdoes it, but gets straight to the point. And, since the end of the 1960s, he has written some of the most unstoppable classics in American rock like "Have You Ever Seen The Rain", "Bad Moon Rising" or "Down On The Corner". He's celebrating his 80th birthday today in fitting style by continuing to perform on stage. After a few gigs at the famous Beacon Theatre in New York, he's also scheduled to play a handful of concerts in Europe this June.

He formed Creedence Clearwater Revival with his school friends Stu Cook and Doug Clifford as well as his older brother Tom. CCR (as they are often called for short) took off from their self-titled debut album released in 1968. And the stunning cover of "I Put A Spell On You" by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins certainly played its part. All the ingredients that made John Fogerty and his bandmates famous are there.

Although the band came from California, their sound was steeped in southern rock, blues and even a hint of country. In 1969, they managed the impressive feat of releasing no fewer than three albums in less than twelve months ("Bayou Country", "Green River" and "Willy And The Poor Boys"), all of which are remarkably consistent. In just four years and —get this— seven studio albums, the band added no less than 62 songs to their repertoire between 1968 and 1972. "Mardi Gras", also one of their best-known records, marked their swan song in 1972 after ongoing internal tensions. Tom had already stormed out in 1971, believing his brother was hogging the spotlight.

In 1969, the song "Fortunate Son", which denounced the privileges of the elites who evaded conscription during the Vietnam War, became an anthem against it — not just in the United States, but even on the battlefield.

After the band broke up in 1972, John Fogerty’s solo career was far from smooth sailing, with ten silent years in terms of recording (between 1975 and 1985) and a memorable legal tussle with his former label Fantasy Records — to the point where he refused to play his own songs live for years. He returned to the spotlight with albums such as "Centerfield" (1985). Today, Fogerty continues to celebrate the musical legacy of CCR by still playing a good dozen of their songs on stage and finishing, much to the audience’s delight, with "Proud Mary".

A few concert dates:

28/29/30: Beacon Theatre - New York (USA)

23 June: Ziggo Dome - Amsterdam (Netherlands)

25 June: Sportpaleis - Antwerp (Belgium)

26 June: Zénith - Paris (France)

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: John Fogerty at the Werchter Boutique Festival (Belgium) on 14 July 2019