John Fogerty Quotes (34 Quotes)


    I usually destroy unreleased material. It has a way of coming back to haunt you.

    I must admit I was hesitant. What I found disarming is they were delightful people, very respectful of me and my music. They decided to start paying me artist royalties, which they weren't contractually obligated to do. They recognized that I created all this music, and it was a huge asset for them.

    On Eye of the Zombie, I had so-called studio musicians.

    I'm very happy to be back in touch with a part of myself. It's surreal. For 35 years, I never thought I'd be reunited with the music I wrote during the Creedence Clearwater Revival years. After meeting with Norman Lear, Hal Gaba, and Glen Barros (President of Concord), I'm happy to say that the new Fantasy is very enthusiastic about my body of work. All the people there have been delightful. They are honoring my songs that hold an important place in the history of American music. And, they are honoring me.

    I wrote that song for my wife, and it's what some guy who's sitting under a tree would be singing to the woman of his life, telling her how wonderful she is. To me, that's more lasting than something that sounds like it belongs on a movie soundtrack.


    I've studied a lot of great people over the years - Pete Seeger, James Brown - and tried to incorporate elements that I've admired, though I can't say I dance like James.

    I'm now comfortable playing a lot of the old songs, and I've gotten out a lot of the old equipment.

    No, but I've always felt that with true talent, and a commitment to hard work, it is possible to achieve an enduring respect and appreciation. In other words, I don't take my fans for granted.

    I don't know that all the demons have been beaten, but I'm very, very proud of those songs.

    You should play with real musicians; the best music comes from real people interacting with each other.

    Even though James Burton was my idol, I didn't think I could carry his shoes back then.

    I stuck with that size because I could bend the strings so well, and somewhere along the line I must have gotten it into my mind that I had small hands, so I was thinking I'd never be able to play a full-scale guitar, but I also felt like I was cheating or cutting corners.

    The only sliding I did was on the kind of instrument that you put on your lap; no Spanish electrics.

    Washburn's an old American name, but this one was assembled overseas.

    Now that I'm older, I like almost anything that's done well, even surf music and instrumentals; I really enjoyed the interviews with the Ventures in your magazine.

    I loved Western Swing and Hank Williams' music, and I now know that it's a 6th tuning that gives you all of those classic licks.

    About a year ago we heard the same rumor again, so Julie and I met with Norman and Hal, and other people at Concord, just to get acquainted. At our first meeting, they expressed great respect and appreciation. When they finally acquired Fantasy, we figured the time was right to see if we could work together.

    I'm much more energetic now; you might say live performance is my mission.

    On Eye of the Zombie, I just got some studio musicians who were competent, but some of them weren't right for what I was trying to do.

    That song has the full extent of my mandolin abilities; I'm not a good mandolin player at all.

    I've also become much more the musician I've always wanted to be.

    I went pretty much for one tone, and I knew at that time that I wanted to play a Rickenbacker.

    There's just not a lot of guys around playing like that these days; a lot of steel players are plugging into stomp boxes, trying to sound like Jeff Beck on a steel guitar.

    I thought what I was good at doing was playing real simple guitar licks, since I'd cut my teeth on what Duane Eddy was doing; licks that were simple but had staying power.

    I work hard at that, but the fact that there are a lot of good songs means there are also a lot of really bad songs I've written that you never hear.

    I always assumed I would meet him. I never got to touch base from my heart to his heart, and I'm sure that millions of us felt the same way.

    In the last two years or so, I've made a conscious decision to play American guitars I don't know of a more subtle way to say it.

    And I now think that Stratocasters and Telecasters are way cool.

    The Telecaster doesn't really sound that good for the kind of rock and roll that a lot of people played.

    But I think beautiful is simple and elegant, like a ballad with simple harmony.

    The ones I have got great necks; of course, all of the Fenders from that era are incredible.

    Even though I have often recorded alone, I still feel the best music is made by musicians playing off each other.

    I'm like a twenty-two-year-old kid in a new band trying to get noticed and break through, because the vast majority of people have never seen me play live.

    When I made Blue Moon Swamp, there was a lot of trial and error; I was trying to find people who would be simpatico with my style, and with what I had in mind for the album.


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