Did You Know? John Fogerty Was Sued For Sounding Like Himself

In 1985, legendary swamp rocker John Fogerty found himself in a unique conundrum. He was sued for sounding like himself. The landmark lawsuit stated that Fogerty’s newest hit, “The Old Man Down The Road,” plagiarized his 1970 Creedence Clearwater Revival hit “Run Through The Jungle.” Fogerty wrote both songs, but didn’t own the rights to his CCR songs. The rights to his CCR songs were owned by Fantasy Records owner Saul Zaentz. Fogerty claims the rights to his songs were taken advantage of when he was a young aspiring artist.

Fogerty recently went on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where he discussed the lawsuit. “You’re a young artist, you don’t even realize what you’ve got. You’re less than a rookie.” After the success of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fogerty said, “Fantasy became a very wealthy record company. Saul eventually went into making movies. That money I made for him at the record company turned into One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. In those times, he had bought the rights to Lord Of The Rings, so his ticket got punched way up high and we never got a dime of any of that.”

Following Fogerty’s departure from Creedence Clearwater Revival, he released two solo albums in the 1970’s. He released his debut The Blue Ridge Rangers in 1973 and John Fogerty in 1975. Fogerty has claimed that he wrote all the parts for his iconic CCR hits and further proved this point by playing all the instruments on his solo releases. Following legal issues with the rights to his own music, Fogerty grew frustrated and took a long hiatus from music from 1975 to 1985.

John Fogerty’s Return and Lawsuit

In 1985, John Fogerty returned, releasing a successful comeback album, Centerfield. He had finally left Fantasy Records and moved on to Warner Bros. The album once again featured Fogerty playing all the instruments. Its lead single, “The Old Man Down The Road,” was released in October 1984. It became Fogerty’s only top-ten hit as a solo artist, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single hit No. 1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. It marked Fogerty’s return to swamp rock, a sound he was distinctly known for and helped innovate in the 1960s and 1970s.

Shortly after its release, Saul Zaentz claimed the song was a copy of the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit “Run Through The Jungle” from 1970. Fogerty was soon hit with a lawsuit for sounding too much like himself. Fogerty said, “Many people think that’s funny. ‘You got sued for sounding like yourself. That’s funny.’ Well, no. You’re getting a legal lawsuit that’s going to take away a lot of your money, and you’re going through three, four years of anguish. He was suing me for, at the time, an enormous amount of money. 144 million.”

Fogerty claims the lawsuit came because he wasn’t signed to Fantasy Records anymore, and they were jealous. “When you finally escape and get success somewhere else, the former people tend to be jealous. What had happened, though, I found out in the trial: the bass player from Creedence was another one of those people, I guess. Couldn’t stand that I had success in a later life. He went down to Fantasy and said, John is ripping off Creedence. You should sue him.”

The Case Went To Trial and Fogerty Was Victorious

In 1988, the case went to trial in San Francisco. During which, Fogerty took the stand with a guitar to demonstrate not only how distinctly different the songs were, but also how his signature swamp rock sound came about in the first place. After two short hours, the jury decided that the songs were not “substantially similar,” and Fogerty won the case. But in the long run, he actually lost money because of how much the case cost to fight. He then sought reimbursement for over $1 million in legal fees. In 1994, a Supreme Court case, Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc, ended with a 9-0 vote that it should be easier for defendants to recover legal fees in copyright cases.

In 2022, Fogerty began re-recording his CCR classic songs. He would then own the rights to the re-recordings at least. But in January 2023, after a 50-year battle, John Fogerty gained the publishing rights to his own music. This was made possible by purchasing a majority stake in his songs through Concord Records, subsequently allowing him the rights to his catalog. In 2004, Concord Records bought Fantasy Records’ catalog. It’s a happy ending for John Fogerty, and now a leading example for future artists to learn from when getting signed.