Today marks the 50th anniversary of Woodstock and I commemorated it in the presence of John Fogerty at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. Fifty years ago tomorrow night, Creedence Clearwater Revival performed at the world's most famous concert. However, most people don't remember CCR being there as they neither appeared in the movie or on the soundtrack. John Fogerty has a reason why: The Grateful Dead.
Prior to playing the Woodstock inspired "Who'll Stop The Rain?", Fogerty recounted that CCR was scheduled to perform at 9 p.m. on the first night of the festival. The Dead, however, had other ideas. The Dead hit the stage at midnight and immediately dropped LSD. As a result, it took an hour for them to realize what their instruments were for and how to plug them in. Long story short CCR didn't hit the stage until 2:30 a.m. While CCR was playing for its largest audience most of it was naked and asleep save for one person way in the back for whom the Travelin' Band played its heart out.
While Woodstock might not have been CCR's crowning moment it was a positive experience for Fogerty. He called it an inclusive experience where people didn't kick others out because they looked different. It was a thinly veiled swipe at President Trump and drew warm applause from the New York City crowd. Fogerty did a montage of songs featured at Woodstock paying tribute to Joe Cocker with his rendition of The Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends" and Sly & The Family Stone's "Dance to the Music" and "Everyday People". Fogerty Is due to perform at Bethel Woods, the original site of Woodstock on Sunday. He was to have participated in the ill-fated Woodstock 50, but would pull out before organizer Michael Lang pulled the plug.
There would be no pulling the plug tonight. In fact. Fogerty possesses a remarkable energy for a man of 74. Although the show began 30 minutes late, he more than made up for it by playing for an hour and 45 minutes solid. The show was a family affair with son Shane on lead guitar while his other son Tyler who came out and sang "Good Golly Miss Molly" Both sons have inherited their Dad's gift for music. Even Fogerty's 9-year old granddaughter got in on the act as one of four dancers who entertained the audience before the show and during several of his numbers. It was also a pleasant surprise to see legendary drummer Kenny Aronoff as part of the band and I'm not just saying that because he follows me on Twitter (along with about 100,000 other people).
For years, Fogerty's relationship with his ex-CCR bandmates was such that he refused to play CCR material. Bob Dylan is said to have urged Fogerty to play CCR songs or people would forget them. However, the audience at Radio City was a healthy mix of baby boomers, Gen Xers & Millennials. Classic rock stations around the country have played CCR often enough that they are part of the American landscape be it "Lookin' Out My Back Door", "Susie Q", "Up Around The Bend", "Down On The Corner", "Fortunate Son", "Bad Moon Rising" and "Proud Mary". And if you've attended a baseball game in the past 30 years or so then chances are you've heard "Centerfield" before the first pitch. Fifty years onward, John Fogerty & CCR are in no more danger of being forgotten anytime soon than Woodstock.
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