Unabashed joy creeps into John Fogerty’s satisfyingly Southern sandpaper baritone when he talks about his music. The 61-year-old singer-guitarist, best known as the head of Creedence Clearwater Revival, seems happier than ever in his current solo role, which finds him deep into a 30-city tour with country legend Willie Nelson.
It wasn’t always the case, as Fogerty has taken long, erratic breaks in the past and fought with his old label, Fantasy, over ownership of the CCR catalog.
Fogerty’s Aug. 25 appearance at Denver’s CityLights Pavilion will be special. Besides the fact that he’ll headline the event (sans Nelson), the show will serve as a fundraiser for Mullen High School, a self-funded local institution that helps provide scholarships to inner-city students.
We spoke to Fogerty last week as he traveled to Detroit.
Q: You recently called Willie Nelson an icon in the same ranks as Babe Ruth and Mount Rushmore. Do you think you’ll ever be regarded that way?
A: I’m much too young, and I jump around too much to be one. Maybe when I’m a little older and I turn to bronze. I see myself as a kid, very much still trying to run the bases as fast as I can.
Q: Do you enjoy playing the old Creedence songs now that you’ve regained copyright control over them?
A: It’s wonderful coming full circle. For a while I certainly didn’t feel like playing those songs and had a bit of a jaundiced eye towards the industry, considering what had happened. Now that I’ve reconnected with my songs it’s been great because I perform the stuff with complete joy.
Q: You’ve toured heavily this year, first in Europe and now in the U.S. Why the big push?
A: I don’t count days, and I don’t count miles because each show is unique. Each show is like being in the World Series. You try and give it your best.
Q: During your spring European tour I understand you had a Deadhead-like following, with some fans coming to every concert?
A: I named their little group. I said, “My god, you must have traveled a million miles,” so after that they called themselves the Million Milers Club. It was just an amazing commitment to come to every show. They’re going through the same travel hassles the band and I are. Sometimes we go 500 miles between the first and second stop.
Q: What’s it like being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with your idols like Chuck Berry and Little Richard?
A: I’m eternally amazed at how those people’s personalities made them do things a certain way. When you’re 11, it all seems pre-ordained that someone would play piano, but when you’re older you realize it was really unique what Jerry Lee Lewis was doing. I guess you need a lot more experience to realize how few and far between these artists are.
Q: What’s your take on the current state of the industry?
A: Certainly sometimes I see it as being pretty programmed. They grab some 16-year-old kid and say, “We’re going to make a million dollars off of you,” then they proceed to shove him down your throat.
Q: Your 2004 album, “Déjà Vu (All Over Again),” was a critical response to the Bush administration’s war in Iraq. Do you think the tide of public opinion has turned at all since then?
A: More and more people are reading between the lines and seeing that the administration is really more about business and greed than it is about the American people. When a company overtakes another company on Wall Street, most of us could care less, but when you have American kids dying so some guys could have a better oil relationship, that’s obscene.
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com.
