John Fogerty Reclaims His Creedence Clearwater Revival Legacy With New Album

John Fogerty is reclaiming his legacy and songs with Creedence Clearwater Revival with his forthcoming album, Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years.

The news arrives after the music icon gained worldwide control of the band's discography in January 2023, after 50 years of trying to regain the rights to his songs.

In 1980, Fogerty relinquished his rights to the Creedence Clearwater Revival catalogue to get out of a difficult contract with Saul Zaentz’s Fantasy Records, which he initially signed in 1968. Zaentz used the royalty money from CCR hits to fund multiple successful films, including One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus, and The English Patient, all of which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

After decades of fighting and refusing to play the songs he wrote in CCR so Zaentz wouldn't get any money from his performances, Fogerty purchased a majority interest in the discography in 2023. As he celebrates his 80th birthday this year, Fogerty also celebrates owning the rights to his music for the first time in his career.

Now, Fogerty has taken ownership of his music to another level—re-recording Creedence Clearwater Revival classics and releasing them on his new album.

Fogerty, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, has marked a new chapter of artistic ownership by re-recording iconic tracks such as Proud Mary, Bad Moon Rising, Have You Ever Seen The Rain, Fortunate Son, and others, making for a thrilling 20-song collection of Creedence Clearwater Revival classics.

Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years will be released via Concord on Friday, 22 August. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here.

For the album, Fogerty teamed up with his son Shane to produce the collection, while his wife, Julie, provided executive production. Shane and Tyler Fogerty perform on the album, which was recorded with Matt Chamberlain, Bob Malone, Bob Glaub, and Rob Stone, and mixed by legendary engineer Bob Clearmountain.

John Fogerty said of the release, “For most of my life, I did not own the songs I had written. Getting them back changes everything. Legacy is my way of celebrating that—of playing these songs on my terms, with the people I love.”

Julie Fogerty added, “I knew firsthand how much it meant for John to get his publishing back. It has been so joyful and beautiful since this happened for him. This is a celebration of his life’s work. It is the biggest party for the good guy/artist winning.”

You can check out re-recorded versions of Up Around The Bend, Have You Ever Seen The Rain, and Porterville below.