John Fogerty vs. CCR

John Fogerty vs. CCR

By Sam Caldarone

Creedence Clearwater Revival was one of the biggest bands of the 1960’s. They were led by frontman John Fogerty, who was the lead guitarist, singer, and lyricist. The band had some early success; their remake of the 1956 song ‘Suzie Q’ reached #11 nationally. However, they reached their prime in 1969 with the album ‘Bayou Country’. This album produced hits like ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘Born On the Bayou’. Despite all this success, there was a lot of turmoil in the band.

The rest of the band was very irritated by John Fogerty’s lack of business sense. John Fogerty’s older brother, Tom (also a guitarist in the band), wound up leaving the band multiple times, only to be coaxed back into joining the band. Tom Fogerty left for good in 1972, and the rest of the band didn’t search for a replacement. The band officially split up later that year.

While with Creedence Clearwater Revival, the younger Fogerty had signed a massive 14-album deal to Fantasy records. When CCR broke up, they had only made 6 albums. However Fogerty simply refused to work for Fantasy records any longer. The dispute was resolved when Fantasy records bought the rights to all of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s songs. John Fogerty now has to pay a royalty tax every time he performs a CCR song live

John Fogerty went on have a moderately successful solo career while signed with Warner Bros., but his biggest success came in 1985 with the album Centerfield. The song ‘The Old Man Down the Road’ spent 3 weeks at #1 on the billboard charts. This caught the eye of Saul Zaentz, owner of Fantasy Records, who had worked with Fogerty during his CCR years. Zaentz claimed that this song was a copy of the CCR hit ‘Run Through the Jungle’. Fantasy records sued Fogerty for copyrighting his own song, and Zaentz sued Fogerty on accounts of defamation for the songs ‘Zantz Kant Danz’, and ‘Mr. Greed’. The court ruled in favor of Fogerty in the copyright case, but ruled in favor Zaentz on the accounts of defamation.

This case shows just how murky the law can get – it’s absurd that John Fogerty can be sued for infringing on his own music. Fantasy records had a solid case (the songs do have a striking similarity), but the whole case just sounds to ridiculous. The only reason this case hasn’t received more notoriety is because that the court ruled in favour of Fogerty. It is conceivable that they ignored the similarities between the songs and just wanted to avoid controversy.

Although Fogerty is partially to blame (his bad business skills got him into this situation), the court made the right decision to side with Fogerty. If they had sided with Fantasy records, there would have been a massive uproar amongst CCR and Fogerty fans. The courts decision was a smart, calculated one, because, although Fogerty had to pay defamation fees, he didn't have to pay the massive copyrighting suit, and the suit didn't stop him from having a successful career as a solo artist.

Boy in the moon blog

Independent reading blog

Sam Caldarone

When Ian Brown first visits the L’arche community in Montreal, he immediately realizes what a beneficial and special place it was. He was a little daunted by the severity of some of the disabilities when he first arrived (‘I had no idea where we were going, what to expect and what was expected of me’ p. 190.) But those feelings of intimidation soon disappeared, and he realized what a wonderful place L’arche is. It is at these communities that he realizes how beautiful and fulfilling having a disabled child is (‘the purpose of intellectually disabled people like Walker might be to free us from the stark emptiness of the survival of the fittest’ p. 234). This shows just how valuable Walker is to Ian, even if Ian sometimes forgets that lesson.

Reading The Boy in the Moon has taught me about the hardships of having a disabled relative, and the daily battles you must endure. The severity of Walker’s condition is beyond belief; it is a task I hope I never have to withstand. Seeing the tribulations Ian Brown has to go through to keep his son alive and healthy is astounding, and it has given me some perspective on life. On top of the realization of the difficulties of raising a disabled child, I’ve also realized how ignorant our society is towards families like the Brown’s. Walker’s story has also taught me that disabilities are nothing to make fun of and that using offensive terms are never okay, regardless of the circumstance. Society needs to donate to communities like L’arche, and to the doctors who are working on ways to prevent CFC.

QUESTIONS:

1. If you could have one conversation with Walker, what would you want to talk about?

2. Has there been a major increase in researching CFC since the release of this book?

3. What is your favorite trait of Walker’s?