John Fogerty Denounces ‘Angry’ Former CCR Members After Lawsuit
Former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty is less than thrilled that his onetime bandmates are now suing him for a variety of claims, including trademark infringement for allegedly using the band name. Although the lawsuit did not conclude by asking the singer to stop playing his CCR songs live, Fogerty said in a statement that he’s standing by his works.
“The people who come to my shows know they will hear me sing and play the songs I wrote and recorded over the past four decades of my career,” the singer said. “Every night we play live, I’m thrilled to see all of those fans singing along to the songs that have touched them. I am at a wonderful place in my life. I am playing the music that I love and wrote, with full joy and having my son Shane joining along side of me – It doesn’t get much better than that.
“No lawyers, lawsuits, or angry ex–band members will stop me ever again from singing my songs,” he continued. “I am going to continue to tour and play all my songs every single night I am out on the road.”
Members of Creedence Clearwater Revisited – original CCR bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford, as well as the wife of the band’s late rhythm guitarist (and John’s brother) Tom Fogerty – contend that when John made comments to CTV that he would prefer they didn’t tour as CCR, he was violating a contractual agreement, among other claims.
“Using the name is sort of a sacrilege to what we believed when we were young guys in a band together – but you know, I don’t sit around and worry about it too much,” the singer told the Canadian Press in 2011.
Fogerty’s ex-bandmates are seeking damages and injunctions related to the singer’s alleged misuse and malfeasance of the band’s name, according to their complaint, via The Hollywood Reporter.
The former members of CCR, who disbanded in 1972, have long been at odds with one another. At the group’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, John Fogerty refused to perform with the other members of the group. THR reports that Fogerty sued his former bandmates three years later for misusing the band’s name, which eventually led to a settlement agreement in 2001.
Despite the bad blood, Fogerty told the Calgary Herald in 2011 that he had let go of his bitterness toward his ex-bandmates. He also hinted at the time that he would be open to a reunion. “‘Never say never’ is I guess what people tell you,” he said. “In this life, all kinds of strange things come to pass. Realizing that it doesn’t really kick up a big firestorm of emotion, it kind of suggests that at least if someone started talking I’d sit still long enough to listen.”