12/09/2025
In his autobiography he told the stories of having to get permission to play his own songs live in concert since he didn’t have the rights to them. And made little or no money off of them except for his public performances!
Someone stole his life’s work.
So he spent a lifetime taking it back.
John Fogerty was just a young adult when he wrote the songs that defined a generation.
“Fortunate Son.”
“Bad Moon Rising.”
“Have You Ever Seen the Rain.”
Hits that shaped American music forever.
But after years of brutal contracts and battles that would break most artists, he lost control of the very songs he created. For decades, someone else owned the recordings he poured his soul into.
Everyone told him to let it go.
“It’s the music business.”
“Move on.”
“You’ll never get them back.”
But John never stopped fighting.
Not for a moment.
Not for 50 years.
Here’s what he understood long before the industry caught up:
Losing control of your past doesn’t mean you can’t reclaim your legacy.
So at 79 years old — when most artists are slowing down — he made a decision almost no one thought possible:
Re-record everything.
Every song.
Every era.
A lifetime of work, rebuilt from scratch.
Not to relive the past.
To finally own it.
And fans don’t just love the music.
They love the man who wrote it.
On August 22, 2025, at 80 years old, he released Legacy (John’s Version), a full-circle moment half a century in the making.
It’s more than an album.
It’s a victory lap.
Proof that it’s never too late to reclaim what’s yours.
After all… it might’ve taken until John was 80 years old,
but that only makes it sweeter.
Because losing what you built doesn’t mean you can’t build it again.
Sometimes it means you’ll build it better, and on your own terms.
So here’s to every artist who persevered.
To every creator who refused to accept defeat.
To every musician who knew their work mattered enough to fight for.
John Fogerty didn’t just protect his legacy.
He rewrote it.
And proved that the story isn’t over until you say it is.
