John Fogerty finally gets the rights to his songs back

[Rick330man]

Dave Clark seems to have been way ahead of the other artists of his day.

 

[maxvintage]

Wow, kind of more sad than joyous?
How old is John now?
What will be the next reason his name comes up on guitar forums?

There will be a couple more threads about how his tone had to have been bad because he used solid state amps.

I'm glad he gets the rights back to songs he wrote. He still seems like the Roger Waters of Swamp Rock

 

[Masmus]

There is an argument for both sides. But remember he was also sued for sounding like himself for Old Man Down the Road.

 

[kuch]

It's about f***** time! He got the shaft.....

 

[Wildeman]

I'm happy for him, so many people got burned back then and died with nothing, it's good to see this.

 

[String Tree]

GO JOHNNY GO!!!

 

[beyer160]

They weren't taken away; John signed them away early on.

This is key.

In 1967, the band that would shortly become CCR already had a failed career on Fantasy Records as the Golliwogs. The fact that Zanetz was willing to give them any contract at all was the best (and probably last) chance they were going to get. Stu Cook's dad worked for a firm that represented the Oakland Raiders, which wasn't really entertainment law. Besides, the contract was the standard bad deal all unknows got in those days (and isn't far removed from the bad deal artists get today).

The real problems started in 1969. By then, CCR was one of the hottest bands in the world and John Fogerty decided it was time to renegotiate their bad record deal (which it was). He did this on his own, and the resulting Chernobyl-level disaster was of his own making. Stu Cook says he warned Fogerty that it was a bad deal, but what matters is that Fogerty signed it of his own accord. He's blamed everyone in the world but himself, but he's the one that signed those rights away.

 

[Wheelhouse]

He screwed himself out of millions, and a rightful place in the pantheon of the true greats, by refusing to do any CCR songs and mucking things up in the courts, when the Big Book of Classic Rock was being written in the AOR days.

They were the possibly the biggest act on earth, from '69-'71, but then there was a solid decade where CCR got no airplay and had no visibility, which is a big part of the reason Fogarty plays small theaters now, instead of stadiums.

Fogerty's bitterness is almost as big a part of the story as his music, and that's saying something.

Sing it with me now... Zaentz can't dance, but he'll steal yo money...

 

[Peegoo]

Stu Cook's dad worked for a firm that represented the Oakland Raiders, which wasn't really entertainment law. Besides, the contract was the standard bad deal all unknows got in those days (and isn't far removed from the bad deal artists get today). The real problems started in 1969. By then, CCR was one of the hottest bands in the world and John Fogerty decided it was time to renegotiate their bad record deal (which it was). He did this on his own, and the resulting Chernobyl-level disaster was of his own making.

Ohhh it was Cook's dad. Thanks!

 

[David Barnett]

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs." -Hunter Thompson

"There's also a negative side." You left out the punch line.

 

[Tone Quest]

Great news.

 

[schmee]

I'm very happy this happened, but it's too little too late. As I remember they were not allowed to those songs on stage.... at least without paying royalties on their own songs...?

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

The rights to the songs weren't part of the initial Fantasy deal. It was just a bad deal that paid little in the way of royalties to CCR. After CCR broke up, Fogerty did two Blue Ridge Rangers albums for Fantasy, and still owed them several albums under the initial deal. He wanted out, and signed over his publishing so they would void the contract.


I believe it was Andrew Loog Oldham who went after The Verve. The main hook of 'Bittersweet Symphony' is from Oldham's 'orchestral version' of 'The Last Time'--he released an album of Stones songs given this treatment:

It was Allen Kleins company ABKCO who went after the Verve. His company still owns all the RSs publishing all the way up to Brown Sugar. They also own Sam Cookes songs, as well.

Don't blame the Stones...

AK is dead & the $ is still rolling in.(pardon the pun)...

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

He screwed himself out of millions, and a rightful place in the pantheon of the true greats, by refusing to do any CCR songs and mucking things up in the courts, when the Big Book of Classic Rock was being written in the AOR days.

They were the possibly the biggest act on earth, from '69-'71, but then there was a solid decade where CCR got no airplay and had no visibility, which is a big part of the reason Fogarty plays small theaters now, instead of stadiums.

Fogerty would still be playing small venues regardless. He ain't Springsteen. (whose music I don't care for, btw)

 

[beyer160]

I'm very happy this happened, but it's too little too late. As I remember they were not allowed to those songs on stage.... at least without paying royalties on their own songs...?

Not true.

John Fogerty as alluded to this many times over the years, and it's given people the false impression that he either wasn't allowed to play his own music, or that Saul Zanetz got all the money if he did.

Neither of those things is true.

You and I could go play CCR songs at an open mic night right now, and no one could stop us. John Fogerty has had that same ability from the day he quit the band. No copyright holder has ever legally prevented anyone from performing a song in public.

What about the money, though? Has anyone ever sat down at the end of the night and written checks to all the artists whose music they covered during the set? Of course not. Performance venues buy a Public Performance License through a Performance Rights Organization (PRO) like ASCAP and BMI. The money from these licenses is distributed to member artists via a complex formula, but it isn't based on having people count the number of CCR songs played at every venue in the world. As a copyright holder, Saul Zanetz made the same money whether Fogerty performed those songs or not.

It was certainly up to John Fogerty whether he wanted to play those songs, but no one forced him not to. Cutting off his nose to spite his face was completely voluntary.

I don't know if Fogerty was actually looking to deceive anyone or not, but he sure gave a lot of folks a false impression.

 

[GGardner]

The tragedy was not the tale of another naïve talented artist getting ripped off by the folks he trusted—I mean that’s become cliche—but it’s how he seemed to hold on to his rage, frozen in time, for decades. I imagine there must have been a bloody Civil War raging in his family for the last 40+ years.

 

[markxus25]

I heard the Beatles each got a bottle of Brut aftershave for Christmas 1963 from the guy that Brian Epstein gave away their publishing rights to.

As for John Fogerty, always loved his music. One highlight of my life was seeing him do all those CCR songs live. I was only 10 when CCR played Cobo Hall in 1968 and my big brother was too cool to take me. For years Fogerty refused to play the CCR songs cause he didn't own them. Finally he gave in. Saw him at a tribal casino down by San Diego. He played every one of them note for note. Saw his set list taped to the monitor: Twenty five of the best and most uniquely American songs ever written. He owned them, even when he didn't own them.

 

[VWAmTele]

Great news for John. Really enjoyed his family videos released during the great plague a couple of years ago. Looks like he has a great group of kids.

 

[WireLine]

I’m just hoping all the animosity will now be set aside…and CCR can perform as a band.

 

[ZackyDog]

Great news!

You may remember that he recovered his Rickenbacker 325 in 2017 after 44 years.

How John Fogerty Reunited With Creedence Guitar After 44 Years

1969 Rickenbacker used in studio and at Woodstock presumed lost for decades before finding its way home

www.rollingstone.com