John Fogerty is reflecting on the long and painful struggle to reclaim the rights to the Creedence Clearwater Revival catalog, admitting he spent decades feeling like a “sucker” for not owning the music that defined his career. Fogerty, the songwriter behind “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son,” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” lived most of his professional life without control over the songs that shaped an era of American rock and helped soundtrack a generation.
That changed only in 2023, when Fogerty finally regained ownership after a protracted legal battle with CCR’s former label, Fantasy Records. Speaking on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” he described the emotional shift that came with securing the rights to his work.
