The return of Fogerty
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Fogerty is returning to the South Okanagan Events Centre on Saturday, July 14.
Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, April 13 at 10 a.m. and range in price from $29.95 to $99.95, plus tax and applicable service charges.
Fogerty, who brought his “1969” tour to the SOEC in November 2014, was recently rated as the fourth-best concert ever in the 10-year history of the complex by Okanagan Weekend.
What follows are highlights of a telephone interview Fogerty had with Valley Editor James Miller in October 2014.
OKW: Your songs have been among the most covered in rock history. When we think of Fogerty covers, Tina Turner instantly comes to mind. Do you have a favourite remake of one of your songs?
FOGERTY: It’s hard to say one. Right at the time of Creedence happening, Al Wilson recorded Lodi and he kind of took it to a different direction — funky. I like Tina’s Proud Mary but Solomon Burke did a really cool version of it as well. It was like the master showing the young man how it ought to go. In modern times, although it wasn’t quite a cover version, I love what Brad Paisley did on Hot Rod Heart.
OKW: CCR holds the Billboard record with most singles that reached No. 2 (six of them), without ever having a No. 1 single. Did you ever wish one of your singles had reached No. 1.
FOGERTY: With Credence, as it was all happening so quickly, I’m not sure that I even realized what was No. 1. Our albums became No. 1 but at the time I didn’t know which singles were at No. 1, it seemed as though they all were. It would be great to say that something reached No. 1 but if that had happened, we wouldn’t have this unique thing of holding a record of five No. 2s in a row without ever hitting No. 1. We’ve become a trivia question.
OKW: When you write a song can you predict if it will be a hit record or not?
FOGERTY: (Laughs) Not any more. There are other factors that interfere and influence what happens with songs on your records. The music business has changed so much. How many guys in their 60s do you see with a record at the top of the charts? Certainly back in the day when I was a young man and in the middle of the universe, I had that going for me. Back then, I was totally tuned in. You can sense how something ought to go. It’s almost like you have blinders on... tunnel vision.
OKW: Which song are you proudest of that wasn’t a hit single?
FOGERTY: A couple. I wrote a song for my infant daughter in 2004 called I Will Walk With You. It was daddy’s promise to his little baby that he’d be by her side and help guide her through life. I loved that I was able to, in my own personality, write that song. Another was Blue Moon Swamp, which I wrote for my wife.
OKW: I want to ask about Centerfield. Have you ever played that song at a baseball park?
FOGERTY: It was most remarkable for me that when they opened the new Yankee Stadim in 2009, I was invited to come stand in centre field, just before that game, and sing my song. I’ve sang it in other places— even a Little League field— but to sing it there. I used to think the coolest thing would be to be in centre field, at Yankee Stadium, which would be the centre of the universe. A long time ago, when I was a little boy, in America there were no major league baseball teams west of the Mississippi River. Not knowing any local teams, as a young boy of five I had heard of Babe Ruth. My dad would take about him sometimes. As I was a little older I heard about Joe DiMagio and remarkably both played centre field. Going on in my lifetime there was Mickey Mantle, another centre fielder. I developed an idea that it seemed the main guy on the team who hits the home runs, Ty Cobb or Willie Mays, who I also mention in the song, was the centre fielder.
OKW: Who’s your team and all-time favourite player? FOGERTY: The Oakland As and Willie Mays. OKW: Did you play baseball? FOGERTY: Yes, I wasn’t real good but I enjoyed it and had a lot of fun. I played with my brothers. I wasn’t destined to be picked up and sent to the Yankess or the Dodgers or the Montreal Expos. It wasn’t in the cards. I think that dream stayed in my soul until I about my 35th birthday.
OKW: What is your relationship with Bruce Springsteen? In concert he often covers Who Will Stop the Rain and Rocking All Over the World.
FOGERTY: We are great friends. Bruce... I love the man, a great guy and I admire his music. As an artist he has written some of the greatest songs of all-time. He’s everything I want to be.