John Fogerty
6:30pm, AMD stageSince he’s played Austin a couple of times in the past decade, John Fogerty’s appearance at Austin City Limits isn’t exactly once in a lifetime. Yet there was a time, in the 1970s and 1980s, when his performances were nil, leaving his immortal Creedence Clearwater Revival songs unperformed. Since 2004, however, he’s toured consistently, even releasing his latest album, Revival, on CCR’s original label, Fantasy, after resolving a lengthy legal battle with it.
“Fortunately, it’s not like being an athlete trying to come back in your 50s,” Fogerty declares with a laugh. “That’s probably not going to happen. But making music, you can have it all intact and blessedly so. I find I’m able to sing everything I ever could, and certainly my playing is a lot better than it ever was. So this is probably the best version of me. It’s what I was meant to do, and I’m so happy that it’s come full circle.”
While his music is rooted in the past, at 63, Fogerty’s still a man of the times, speaking of playing video games and owning an iPod.
“I think the last thing I downloaded was several different versions of ‘Bonaparte’s Retreat,'” he recalls. “My normal thing is to buy a CD, put it in my computer, and from there it goes to my iPod. What’s disturbing to me about the whole downloading thing is basically we’re at a point where musicians have a heck of a time earning a living. I don’t mean to sound like a grouchy old grandpa, but that will have to be resolved. People love hearing new things. There are always new people making new music, but there has to be a way for them to be financially rewarded, otherwise nobody can afford to do it.”
This article appears in September 26 • 2008.