Lenox — John Fogerty, founder of the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) and writer of some of the most iconic songs in pop music history, will appear in concert at Tanglewood on Thursday, June 20, with blues rocker George Thorogood opening the show to confirm that he is still undeniably “bad to the bone.” Hearty Har, a band led by Fogerty’s sons Shane and Tyler, opens for Thorogood. (And, no, their music isn’t anything like their father’s: They have their own, well-developed sound.)
Anyone alive and conscious during the 1960s will want to attend this show, whether or not they liked CCR in their youth, because Fogerty isn’t just one more Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. One of the godfathers of American rock ‘n’ roll, Fogerty is a fixture so indelible and venerated that Bruce Springsteen idolizes him and performs his songs with the E-Street Band.
At the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Concert in 2009, Springsteen proclaimed Fogerty one of the greatest singers and rock songwriters of all time. “I covered his music when I was 18 in the bars!” he shouted. “He’s the Hank Williams of our generation!” Most telling is Bruce’s statement, “We still cover this guy’s songs on our stage today!”
And no wonder. Look at just a few of the classics Springsteen’s band can choose from:
- “Proud Mary”
- “Bad Moon Rising”
- “Fortunate Son”
- “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”
- “Green River”
- “Down on the Corner”
- “Born on the Bayou”
- “Who’ll Stop the Rain”
- “Run Through the Jungle”
- “Up Around the Bend”
- “Centerfield”
That’s great. But does Fogerty still have his old mojo?
You bet! He is on a 38-city tour, Tanglewood being his 12th stop, and in recent videos from the road, he is in top form, the clip below being from Bristow, Va., on June 9:
A fan who attended the Bristow show (@nthom1956) wrote this:
Amazing! John Fogerty at age 79 playing these classic songs from my youth and still sounding as good as ever on vocals and guitar. Nice that his sons Shain and Tyler are part of the band. Guess the musical genes run in the family.
Rock stars of Fogerty’s generation often must be coerced into playing their old hits in concert. I hate to name names, but Bob Dylan and Neil Young come to mind. Yes, we must respect their reasons for avoiding their old material. But compare Bob and Neil to the Eagles’ Don Henley, who attributes his success to a high tolerance for repetition. And then compare them all to John Fogerty. Early this year, he told the crowd at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, “I just got my songs back, and I’m gonna play every one of them!” So concert audiences on this tour have Fogerty in exactly the state of mind they want him in: eager to perform his CCR hits.
Only a small number of Shed tickets remain for this performance, but when the Shed is near capacity, rock shows are often best enjoyed from the lawn. And, as savvy Tanglewood goers have learned, the view of the stage via the lawn’s HD video screens is better than almost anywhere in the Shed itself.
Hear John Fogerty at Tanglewood on Thursday, June 20, with openers George Thorogood and the Destroyers, plus Hearty Har. The show starts at 7 p.m. with gates opening at 5:30.
