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.
“Well, it’s funny. I think the first thing you might be surprised to know is that my self-esteem really changed,” he said, in comments transcribed by Ultimate Guitar. “I put so much effort into creating those songs all those years ago. I mean, I really did that because I had to. It was life and death to me.”
Fogerty recalled the intense drive that fueled his songwriting during Creedence Clearwater Revival’s peak. “I worked really hard during that time. I mean, I was up most of the night writing and all that. I was driven. I was manic. I wanted to get way up high. I refused to be mediocre,” he said.
Despite that effort, he eventually lost ownership of the catalog. “I kind of got snookered out of the ownership. Won’t go into that long, sad story.” For decades, he said, the loss cast a shadow over compliments from fans. “I just felt kind of like a sucker; the guy that had given away the farm,” Fogerty admitted. When people praised “Proud Mary,” he often felt like “a fool” for not owning the song. Regaining the rights, he said, brought an immediate and powerful sense of validation.
“Getting them back was just like an instant esteem booster. And also because it was my wife Julie who made this happen.” Fogerty has credited his wife before for making what once seemed impossible a reality. In a conversation with Rick Beato, he said even industry insiders dismissed the possibility of reclaiming the catalog.
“The people at the record company… had said no. Other folks had said no. Even my own attorney had said, ‘It’s never going to happen,’” Fogerty recalled. But Julie refused to accept that. “Julie is able to be in the universe… see things that are absolutely immovable and eternally in place, and yet transfix them, move them into alignment and get the job done.”
Three years later, Fogerty finally won back the songs. Today, he chooses not to dwell on the decades he spent without them. “Being in such a great relationship with Julie and our family, life is already great,” he said.
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