It is the introduction of “The Old Man Down the Road” by John Fogerty, and that in fact was my introduction to him.
Back then, when I started to learn about music in 1984, I had not yet heard of Creedence Clearwater Revival, although I had heard their songs before.
That would soon change, as I listened to Fogerty, learned all about Creedence Clearwater Revival, and ultimately saw Fogarty perform in a park in Calgary a few years ago.
A Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band is coming to Lethbridge later this year in May, and that reminded of when it all began for me and John Fogerty.
Young man finds music
“The Old Man Down the Road” has a very distinct opening. It almost sounds like two guitars talking to each other, or at least one talking and the other answering.
“The Old Man Down the Road” has a very distinct opening. It almost sounds like two guitars talking to each other, or at least one talking and the other answering.
When I started listening to music, it came from two radio stations in Lethbridge – 1090 CHEC, an AM station that played singles, and LA-107 FM, that was album-oriented rock, focusing on albums and playing more than one song from the same album.
The first time I heard “The Old Man Down the Road” was when it came out in December of 1984. It was on a music video show such as “Good Rockin’ Tonite” on Friday nights, or “Video Hits” after school. That’s why that image of the chord running through the jungle and swamp is still so vivid for me. After I got a ghetto blaster for Christmas of 1984, I heard the song on LA-107 FM. It was part of an album called “Centrefield” that also came out in 1984, which would produce several singles.
“The Old Man Down the Road” went all the way to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, becoming Fogerty’s only top 10 single as a solo artist. The song also topped the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart for three weeks.
He would chart two other singles from “Centrefield”.
“Rock and Roll Girls” was the follow-up single to “The Old Man Down the Road”. It was inspired by Fogerty’s observations of his teenage daughter and how teenagers have a world of their own they don’t tell their parents about. “Rock and Roll Girls” peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and number five on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
It’s surprising “Centrefield”, his next single, did not go higher than number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is a homage to America’s national pastime, and has appeared in a number of baseball-related movies and shows I have seen, such as “Bull Durham”. The song is an iconic ode to baseball.
The video for “Centrefield” contributes to that senses of style and history, with a bunch of vintage images from the great game. One Christmas, we went over to my cousin’s place and they were watching some music videos she had taped. “Sentimental Street” by Night Ranger was on when I walked in. One of my cousin’s wives, said she read that song was voted the worst video. In the same article, she said the best video was “Centrefield” by John Fogerty.
Wikipedia reveals the song plays continuously at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and that Fogerty played the song at the 2010 hall of fame induction ceremonies to celebrate the song’s 25th anniversary. It was the first time a musician or a song had been celebrated as part of the festivities.
Fogerty released a follow-up album in 1986 called “Eye of the Zombie”. It was not that well received and had a tepid response. I heard about the album one Friday night when “Good Rockin’ Tonite” was counting down the top albums. The first single "Eye of the Zombie" was also the title track. It didn’t receive that much air play because I seriously recalli hearing the song once in my life. It peaked at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and would be the last John Fogerty solo song to chart. He wouldn’t even put out another solo album until 1997.
Back then, John Fogerty was a solo artist to me.
I had no inkling of what he had accomplished before 1984.
That all changed with a commercial that still echoes in my mind when the subject comes up.
As seen on TV
One day, in the Spring of Grade 11 so 1986, I saw a commercial that had a bunch of music that sounded faintly familiar on its own, but the lead singer sounded strangely familiar.
One day, in the Spring of Grade 11 so 1986, I saw a commercial that had a bunch of music that sounded faintly familiar on its own, but the lead singer sounded strangely familiar.
The narrator said something like “This is the sound that earned them 16 gold records. Doug Clifford – Stu Cook – Tom Fogerty – and John Fogerty – Creedence Clearwater Revival.”
Once I heard that, the sound was unmistakable – it was John Fogerty singing.
Once I heard that, the sound was unmistakable – it was John Fogerty singing.
The album was actually a three-record set that played snippets of songs such as “Bad Moon Rising”; “Green River”; “Up Around the Bend”; “Suzy Q”; “Looking Out My Back Door”; “Who’ll Stop the Rain”; “Travelin’ Band”; “Down on the Corner”; and “Proud Mary”.
Song titles scrolled too, such as “Hey Tonight”; “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”; “Run Through the Jungle”; “Fortunate Son”; “Midnight Special”; “Lodi”; “Have You Ever Seen the Rain”; “Rolling on the River”; and others.
That was my introduction to Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was a “who’s who” of all their popular songs, and I have never looked back.
Odd thoughts
I have some odd memories of John Fogerty and company as I delved deeper into music in the 1980s.
I have some odd memories of John Fogerty and company as I delved deeper into music in the 1980s.
In Social Studies class, our teacher Mr. Vuch, showed us a movie that had some information on the Ku Klux Klan. “Bad Moon Rising” played throughout the movie.
When I heard Creedence Clearwater Revival playing “Have You Ever Seen the Rain”, it sounded strange to me. Not too much before that, I had heard Bonnie Tyler sing that song on her “Faster Than the Speed of Night” album from 1983.
When “Lodi” rolled across the screen, I thought of the town in Utah by that name. We passed it by on a trip to Disneyland during Easter break of 1983.
I have always had trouble making out the lyrics of some songs and singers. John Fogerty was one such artist. Even after hearing the song repeatedly and seeing the song title, sometimes instead of “Travelin’ Man” I call the song “Travelin’ Band’.”
Parting thoughts
John Fogerty keeps on performing to this day. My stepson and I went to see him in 2018 in Calgary at a fundraising concert called Oxford Stomp. To heighten the anticipation, weather delayed the concert more than an hour, but it was worth it.
John Fogerty keeps on performing to this day. My stepson and I went to see him in 2018 in Calgary at a fundraising concert called Oxford Stomp. To heighten the anticipation, weather delayed the concert more than an hour, but it was worth it.
John Fogerty was awesome. I wanted to use my phone to record some of his songs, because there were so many good ones from “Centrefield” and “Rock and Roll Girls” to his Creedence Clearwater Revival stuff.
I didn’t realize he also served in Vietnam, so he said a lot about supporting the troops. In fact, that was what the funds generated by Oxford Stomp went to – helping veterans and their families.
He even did a duet with Brad Paisley, with Paisley playing on the giant screen behind Fogerty.
The whole night showed that not only had John Fogerty been a prolific singer and song writer, but he could still play.
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