John Fogerty blasts Henson’s film for using his song
Rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival’s cofounder John Fogerty has blasted actor Taraji P. Hensons new film Proud Mary for using his song without his consent.
Fogerty, who wrote the 1969 hit song Proud Mary, has spoken out against the film that he claims used the title and one of the lines of his song, reports variety.com. Fogerty posted on Facebook, saying, “I wrote the song Proud Mary, 50 years ago, and I was excited to have written such a good song. In fact, it was my very first good song. My songs are special to me. So it irks me when people seek to capitalise on the popularity of my music and the goodwill it has earned with the public for their own financial gain. Over the years, I’ve found myself directly opposed to these uses.”
One of the promotional posters for the film uses the lines “working for the man every night and day” and “killing for the man every night and day”, which further fuelled the musican’s anger.
“No one ever asked me about using my song this way, or even about the meaning of Proud Mary. The movie poster has my lyrics changed to read... ‘killing for the man every night and day’. I wrote the song about a mythical riverboat, cruising on a mythical river, in a mythical time. It was obviously a metaphor about leaving painful, stressful things behind for a more tranquil and meaningful life. Far from a story about killing people for money,” Fogerty posted.
A representative for Fogerty has said the musician cannot pursue damages against the filmmakers for using his song title and so will not take legal action. Fogerty has been involved in numerous lawsuits and royalty disputes over the course of his career and wrote the songs Zanz Kant Danz and Mr. Greed in reference to his legal complaints.