Fortunate Son

October 12, 2015
It is fitting that writingâi.e., songwritingâis the main theme of Fogerty's biography, which was penned with the same depth of feeling as his music. Fogerty (b. 1945) has written some of the finest rock 'n' roll songs in the American canon, including "Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising," and the titular "Fortunate Son." Here, he recounts his life chronologicallyâfrom his introduction to Stephen Foster's work as a child to the writing of his megahits for Creedence Clearwater Revival starting in the late 1960s. Musicians will revel in the details about chord and tempo changes, while other fans will be interested in the stories behind the CCR classics. Fogerty carefully documents the personal, financial, and legal issues with his band mates and record label that left Fogerty without the rights to his songs and so depressed he was unable to write new music for years. Arguing that his CCR band mates sold him out and explaining why he didn't play with them at the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Fogerty slings just enough dirt to keep the courtroom and tabloid tales interesting; but he mostly focuses on his own battles with alcohol and depression. Interestingly, his wife Julie, whom he credits with getting his life and career back on track, contributes sections towards the end of the book, portraying Fogerty as others saw him. But this isn't just an account of one musician's ups and downs with art and life; Fogerty has created a solid study of popular music over the past 50 years.

October 15, 2015
A memoir by the Creedence Clearwater Revival founder and writer of canonical 1960s songs such as "Proud Mary" and "Down on the Corner."Sensitive readers will cringe from the beginning, when Fogerty, that great exponent of gritty swamp rock though a child of the Bay Area, hazards that the fact that he had a black babydoll as an infant "predisposed me to love black music, black culture," while a beloved recording of "Camptown Races" predisposed him to imagine himself a Southerner just as Stephen Foster, a native of Pittsburgh, did. Certainly the poverty of his childhood gave the author authentic working-class credentials, though he became a working musician as a teenager and hit stardom early on. Fogerty's account of that ascent is full of previously aired grudges against Fantasy Records head Saul Zaentz, who locked him into a punishing contract that he admittedly didn't read. He doesn't have a lot of good to say about his former band mates, either; he grumbles that they were suing him over trademark issues even as he was wrapping up this book. One wishes better of Fogerty, who's written so many enduring songs but whose best moments here are in the fannish geekdom of 45 records and guitar heroes--even if some of the worst moments are tossed-off assessments of his own contemporary favorites. On Brad Paisley: "He is obviously one of the most talented guitar players that has ever lived." On Bruce Springsteen: "A really great guy." The least satisfying moments are when Fogerty turns over authorship to his wife, Julie, who may have saved him from addiction but who can't quite redeem this book. "I try and have him be in the moment," she writes blandly, "unrehearsed and wonderfully him." The effort, joint and individual, is obviously well-intentioned, but the book is largely unrevealing, a pale shadow compared to, say, Keith Richards' Life (2010) or Neil Young's Waging Heavy Peace (2012). Fogerty has had better luck than most, but overall, this is an unfortunate autobiography.

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June 1, 2015

Once songwriter, lead singer, and lead guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fogerty was named one of the 100 Greatest Singers and 100 Greatest Guitarists by Rolling Stone, which also named his Wrote a Song for Everyone one of the 10 Best Albums of 2013. With a ten-city tour and a 100,000-copy first printing.

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