Former Creedence Clearwater front man John Fogerty celebrates 80th with
show in Manhattan
[May 30, 2025]
By HILLEL ITALIE
NEW YORK (AP) — As he turned 80 this week, John Fogerty was in a mood to
honor his past and to revise it.
We should all be so alive and so remembered at his age. Fogerty, in the
midst of an international tour, played a rowdy 100-minute set Thursday
night to an adoring, near-capacity audience at Manhattan's Beacon
Theatre. Crowd members spanned from those likely to remember “Proud
Mary,” “Fortunate Son” and other Creedence Clearwater Revival hits when
first released a half-century ago to those looking young enough to have
heard about them through their grandparents.
At least from a distance, Fogerty didn't look or sound much different
from his prime with Creedence, which was rarely off the charts between
1969 and 1971. He wore his trademark flannel shirt; had the same shaggy
haircut, although with his bangs brushed back; sang with a vintage roar
that has mellowed only slightly; and even played the same guitar, a
Rickenbacker, that he had acquired back in the late '60s.
Fogerty presented himself as a proud rock ‘n' roller, and a very proud
family man. His band includes two of his sons on guitar, Shane and
Tyler, with daughter Kelsy briefly joining them on a third guitar. Off
to the side was his wife, Julie, whom he praised as the love and the
hero of his life, if only because she gave one of the greatest gifts an
old rock star could ask for: She helped win back rights to his song
catalogue. Fogerty had battled over his copyrights for decades, and at
one point found himself being sued for plagiarizing one of his Creedence
hits, which at the time he didn’t own.
He has marked his victory with an upcoming album, “Legacy,” for which he
recorded new versions of 20 songs. If you were in the house Thursday
night, you couldn't help hearing about it. A promotional film about
“Legacy” opened the show and Fogerty mentioned it again before his
encore set. Both the album, subtitled “The Creedence Clearwater Revival
Years,” and his concert tell a story of how he wants to look back.
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Musician John Fogerty performs during his 80th birthday celebration
concert at the Beacon Theatre on Thursday, May 29, 2025, in New
York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
 As Fogerty noted at one point
Thursday night, Creedence Clearwater Revival soared to the highest
heights before imploding bitterly in the early ‘70s and never again
recording or touring together. Only Creedence diehards would have
known the identity of the other band members — drummer Doug
Clifford, bassist Stu Cook, and guitarist Tom Fogerty, John’s
brother, who died in 1990. Their names were never mentioned, their
faces near-invisible among the rush of images that appeared Thursday
on a screen behind Fogerty and his band. The new tracks on “Legacy,”
each labeled “John's Version,” leave only John Fogerty from the
original group.
The Beacon show was very much about where is he now, and how much he
likes it. He dashed about the stage, rocked out on his Rickenbacker
with the joy of a teenager on air guitar and even poured himself
champagne. Fans clapped and danced, while being showered with
confetti and dazzled with lasers and fog. The more informed sang
along with “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” and the baseball anthem
“Centerfield," Fogerty's most famous post-Creedence song. Virtually
all stood and cheered to serenade the night’s guest of honor, whose
birthday was the day before.
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