Creedence Clearwater Revival was originally influenced by British bands of the s, such as the Beatles, Them, and the Yardbirds. When they found their own sound, John Fogerty became their main songwriter. He mostly avoided songs about women or romance, instead focusing on social issues such as the Vietnam War, according to Britannica. John Fogerty is a gifted songwriter who was able to capture the late s and early '70s in his music. His lyrics lasted despite their contemporary influence, as opposed to songs that would have fit into any time and place.
Tom Fogerty was Creedence Clearwater Revival's rhythm guitarist. He was John Fogerty's older brother and joined after John had agreed to be in a band with Doug Clifford. Although he was the younger brother, John's star was destined to rise higher than Tom's.
They signed with Del-Fi Records but didn't release anything before breaking up. Tom then joined with the Blue Velvets as their lead singer. When the band's name was changed to the Golliwogs, Tom became co-songwriter and co-vocalist with his brother John. Around that time, it also became clear that John was better at both singing and penning lyrics, so Tom stepped over to rhythm guitar.
From there, CCR was born. In , Tom left the band over issues with creative control. He went on to a solo career, releasing albums throughout the s, but only 's Tom Fogerty landed on the charts. Despite the friction between the Fogerty brothers, CCR managed to get it together long enough to play for Tom's wedding in An unscreened blood transfusion reportedly caused his infection.
Tom Fogerty died young, and it's interesting to contemplate what he might have been able to do with more time. He was a fairly accomplished vocalist and was also the first member of the band to realize that Creedence Clearwater Revival wasn't where his future lay.
Around , the other members of the band began asking him to have more input in CCR's business and creative decisions. Tom Fogerty, after quitting the band over this very issue in , continuously complained in the following years that his contributions to the band had not been appreciated at the time, writes AllMusic.
This is where the story starts to splinter into pieces. As detailed by Ultimate Classic Rock and Uncut , according to Cook and Clifford, John told them that if they really wanted that, then for their upcoming album, they would write all the music and lyrics or he would leave the band.
John said he would only play rhythm guitar on their compositions. According to John Fogerty, the conversation went differently. It's worth noting here that these musicians had a rough falling out, and even now, 40 years later, it's impossible to really know who has the right of it. Regardless, writes Uncut, according to John, his bandmates said they'd leave if they didn't get more creative control on the next album.
Mardi Gras was CCR's seventh album. John Fogerty actually ended up writing three songs contrary to what he had told his bandmates , Stu Cook wrote four, Doug Clifford penned three one co-written with Cook , and the last was a cover of Ricky Nelson's "Hello Mary Lou.
Few groups have produced so much important work in such a short period of time — or suffered so much internal pressure. Beginning with "Suzie Q" in , in an almost mind-boggling burst of activity CCR delivered a string of singles over the next few years that included "Proud Mary," "Born on the Bayou," "Down on the Corner," "Fortunate Son" and many more.
The band also managed to squeeze in appearances at Woodstock and on The Ed Sullivan Show , but by the time the group recorded 's Pendulum , the writing was already on the wall that the end was near for Creedence Clearwater Revival. Lead singer, principal songwriter, guitarist and frontman John Fogerty had always played a dominant role in the group, and as time went on his bandmates — brother and guitarist Tom Fogerty , drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford and bassist Stu Cook — pushed for more of a voice in the band's music and business decisions.
Tom Fogerty finally departed the band in , and for the group's next album, John Fogerty told his remaining bandmates that if they wanted more input, then each member would contribute their own songs, on which he would only play rhythm guitar. The result was Mardi Gras , released in to a resounding critical drubbing. Sometimes I'm pretty much in awe of the whole situation. Listen Live. More News. But contract negotiations with Fantasy had come to a standstill.
This situation deteriorated. Clifford says Tom threatened to quit several times during , and that he and Cook would go round and talk him out of it. In February , just after the release of their Pendulum album, Tom Fogerty made good his threat. Creedence continued as a trio. They toured Europe again, and Australia and Japan. And within the business people were increasingly aware that all was not well with the band.
The rest of the world found out in May when they released the Mardis Gras album. The songs were divided equally between Fogerty, Clifford and Cook. For Clifford and Cook it was the first songwriting credits they had had. And it showed. Those accounts then invariably follow that up with an excoriating attack on the album. And Creedence fans are not going to understand this.
Artistically that was a mistake, but we felt we were trying to save the band. In October , five months after the Mardis Gras album which still reached No. Clifford and Cook were released from their contracts with Fantasy the contracts that had never been renegotiated.
Fogerty was not released from his contract. There were no Blue Ridge Rangers — Fogerty sang and played everything on this collection of country covers. But Fogerty claimed that Fantasy did not promote the record properly, and demanded to be released from his contract. Fantasy said no. The contract still had eight albums to run. Fogerty refused to record any more songs, so Fantasy sued him for breach of contract. His self-titled solo album came out in , and was Creedence Clearwater Revival without the band — quite literally.
The critics loved it but the public was less enthusiastic.
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