NEW YORK (AP) — As he turned 80 this week, John Fogerty was in a temper to honor his previous and to revise it.
We should always all be so alive and so remembered at his age. Fogerty, within the midst of a global tour, performed a rowdy 100-minute set Thursday evening to an adoring, near-capacity viewers at Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre. Crowd members spanned from these prone to keep in mind “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son” and different Creedence Clearwater Revival hits when first launched a half-century in the past to these trying younger sufficient to have heard about them by means of their grandparents.
A minimum of from a distance, Fogerty did not look or sound a lot totally different from his prime with Creedence, which was hardly ever off the charts between 1969 and 1971. He wore his trademark flannel shirt; had the identical shaggy haircut, though along with his bangs brushed again; sang with a classic roar that has mellowed solely barely; and even performed the identical guitar, a Rickenbacker, that he had acquired again within the late ’60s.
Fogerty introduced himself as a proud rock ‘n’ roller, and a very proud family man. His band includes two of his sons on guitar, Shane and Tyler, with daughter Kelsy briefly joining them on a third guitar. Off to the side was his wife, Julie, whom he praised as the love and the hero of his life, if only because she gave one of the greatest gifts an old rock star could ask for: She helped win back rights to his song catalogue. Fogerty had battled over his copyrights for decades, and at one point found himself being sued for plagiarizing one of his Creedence hits, which at the time he didn’t personal.
He has marked his victory with an upcoming album, “Legacy,” for which he recorded new variations of 20 songs. When you have been in the home Thursday evening, you could not assist listening to about it. A promotional movie about “Legacy” opened the present and Fogerty talked about it once more earlier than his encore set. Each the album, subtitled “The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years,” and his live performance inform a narrative of how he desires to look again.
As Fogerty famous at one level Thursday evening, Creedence Clearwater Revival soared to the very best heights earlier than imploding bitterly within the early ‘70s and never again recording or touring together. Only Creedence diehards would have known the identity of the other band members — drummer Doug Clifford, bassist Stu Cook, and guitarist Tom Fogerty, John’s brother, who died in 1990. Their names have been by no means talked about, their faces near-invisible among the many rush of photos that appeared Thursday on a display behind Fogerty and his band. The brand new tracks on “Legacy,” every labeled “John’s Version,” go away solely John Fogerty from the unique group.
The Beacon present was very a lot about the place is he now, and the way a lot he likes it. He dashed in regards to the stage, rocked out on his Rickenbacker with the enjoyment of a teen on air guitar and even poured himself champagne. Followers clapped and danced, whereas being showered with confetti and dazzled with lasers and fog. The extra knowledgeable sang together with “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” and the baseball anthem “Centerfield,” Fogerty’s most well-known post-Creedence track. Nearly all stood and cheered to serenade the evening’s visitor of honor, whose birthday was the day earlier than.
