Music Legend Reveals His Genius Plan to Get His Songs Back
The Creedence Clearwater Revival legend spent decades locked out of his own catalog.
John Fogerty has revealed how he finally reclaimed ownership of some of the most iconic songs in American rock history. Accepting the Johnny Mercer Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony in New York on Thursday, Fogerty delivered the punchline to a decades-long legal saga. “I had a plan, and the plan was I outlived all those sons of b----s, and I got my songs back!” he told the cheering crowd. Fogerty wrote “Proud Mary,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Fortunate Son,” and a string of other classics during Creedence Clearwater Revival’s extraordinary four-year run from 1968 to 1972—only for contracts signed early in his career to hand ownership of those copyrights to his record label. The dispute grew so bitter that he largely stopped performing the songs live for years and was even sued by his former label for allegedly copying a song he himself had written. In 2023, he announced he had acquired a majority interest in the worldwide publishing rights. “I had to live so much of my life not owning my own songs,” he told the Hollywood Reporter. “It was, of course, a tragedy, but it was a part of me.”
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
- Account (completed)
- Payment (completed)
- Confirmation (completed)
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
- 1Account
- 2Payment
- 3Confirmation