John Fogerty has paid onstage tribute to Tina Turner, who died on May 24. The former Creedence Clearwater Revival man dedicated his old band's Proud Mary – a hit for Ike & Tina Turner in 1971, two years after the original topped the Billboard chart – to Turner at the end of his set late last week at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.
“We just have lost the Queen Of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Tina Turner," Fogerty told the crowd. "I toured with Tina way back about the year 2000. Of course, Tina recorded my song, Proud Mary, way back around 1971 and it was a breakthrough song for her, also a signature song.
"Man, I saw her on TV every week with that red dress on and the Ikette girls dancing in the background. She was amazing, and I’d like to dedicate doing Proud Mary – this is my first good song I ever wrote – I’d like to dedicate this to Tina Turner."
Fogerty famously wrote the song immediately after receiving his discharge papers from the US army in 1968.
"I was so happy, I ran out into my little patch of lawn and turned cartwheels," recalled Fogerty in Bad Moon Rising: The Unofficial History of Creedence Clearwater Revival. "Then I went into my house, picked up my guitar and started strumming. 'Left a good job in the city' and then several good lines came out of me immediately.
"I had the chord changes, the minor chord where it says, 'Big wheel keep on turnin'/Proud Mary keep on burnin'' (or 'boinin',' using my funky pronunciation I got from Howling' Wolf). By the time I hit 'Rolling, rolling, rolling on the river,' I knew I had written my best song."
John Fogerty's next show is at the O2 Arena in London on May 29. Full dates below.
John Fogerty 2023 tour dates
May 29: London The O2, UK
May 31: Paris Boulogne-billancourt, France
Jun 03: Ålesund Sparebanken Møre Arena, Norway
Jun 05: Uppsala Botanical Garden, Sweden
Jun 06: Malmö Arena, Sweden
Jun 08: Antwerp Sportpaleis, Belgium
Jun 09: Grolloo Holland International Blues Festival, Netherlands
Jun 30: Dauphin Countryfest, MB
Jul 09: Highland Park Ravinia, IL
Jul 14: Morrison Red Rocks Amphitheatre, CO
Jul 25: Franklin FirstBank Amphitheater, TN
Jul 26: Atlanta Cadence Bank Amphitheatre, GA
Jul 28: St. Augustine Amphitheatre, FL
Jul 29: Clearwater The Soud, FL
Jul 30: Davie Hard Rock Live, FL
Aug 04: Tulsa Margaritaville, OK
Aug 05: Durant Choctaw Casino & Resort, OK
Aug 11: Cuyahoga Falls Outlaw Music Festival, OH
Aug 12: Burgettstown Outlaw Music Festival, PA
Aug 13: Cincinnati Outlaw Music Festival, OH
Aug 18: Atlantic City Circus Maximus Theater, NJ
Aug 19: Vienna Filene Center at Wolf Trap, VA
