Rock Legend Credits Wife for Saving His Life After Decades-Long Industry Battle

Clear Facts

• Creedence Clearwater Revival founder John Fogerty, 80, says he would “probably be dead” without his wife Julie
• Fogerty battled alcohol abuse during a 50-year legal fight with his record company over ownership of his iconic songs
• The musician finally regained control of his music catalog in January 2023, ending a decades-long dispute that began when he left Fantasy Records in 1974

John Fogerty, the legendary founder of Creedence Clearwater Revival, opened up about how his wife Julie saved him from self-destruction during one of the darkest periods of his storied career. The 80-year-old rock icon shared his powerful story during a recent appearance on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.

“A lot of this, of course, is from the care of my wife, Julie,” Fogerty explained during the interview. “If I hadn’t met her, I probably would be dead. Simple as that. I didn’t see any way out. I was really abusing myself, alcohol mostly. I really felt bad inside.”

The Grammy Award-winning musician’s struggles stemmed from a brutal legal battle with his record company over the ownership of the songs he created. This injustice left Fogerty feeling lost and turning to alcohol as an escape from the pain of having his creative work stolen from him.

“When you’re really hurting inside for whatever reason, I mean, in my case, something really unjust had been done to me,” he said. “But however you get there, and then you start abusing yourself with drugs, alcohol, whatever… it becomes a habit. You just stay there, right? And so you’re not really enjoying the sunshine and the love that’s around you.”

Fogerty explained that someone in such despair is “not really operating on the same plane in the world” as everyone else and can “become kind of a pathetic person.”

This was his mental state when he met Julie while on tour in 1986. Despite the success of his third solo album, “Centerfield,” Fogerty admitted he felt “miserable” and “bitter” due to the ongoing injustice regarding his music.

“One day [I] just suddenly met Julie, not expecting to meet the love of my life, the person that I feel that I was destined to meet and the person that would, through her good graces, help me find myself and help me enjoy and find the joy of life again,” he said. “And it all changed.”

The couple married in April 1991 and built a strong family together, welcoming three children during their 35-year marriage: sons Shane, 34, and Tyler, 33, and daughter Kelsy, 24.

As the creative force behind CCR, Fogerty wrote some of American rock’s most enduring anthems, including “Proud Mary,” “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Down on the Corner,” and “Fortunate Son.” Yet despite creating these classics, he didn’t own the rights to his own work for nearly five decades.

The legal nightmare began when Fogerty left Fantasy Records in 1974 in a contentious separation. The record company fought him every step of the way, even going so far as to sue him for plagiarism.

“I got sued for sounding like myself,” Fogerty told Rogan, highlighting the absurdity of the situation.

“I’m the dad [of these songs]. I created them,” Fogerty told Billboard. “They never should have been taken away in the first place. And that hijacking left such a massive hole in me.”

Justice finally came in January 2023 when Fogerty settled the decades-long dispute and regained control of his music catalog.

“As of this January, I own my own songs again. This is something I thought would never be a possibility,” Fogerty said in a statement. “After 50 years, I am finally reunited with my songs. I also have a say in where and how my songs are used. Up until this year, that is something I have never been able to do.”

Julie helped celebrate the long-awaited victory in a statement released on Fogerty’s website, saying she is “so blissful knowing that this has finally come true for him.”

Fogerty’s story serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of family, faith, and perseverance in the face of injustice. Through Julie’s love and support, he not only survived a dark period of despair but emerged stronger, eventually reclaiming what was rightfully his all along.

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