GRAMMY® winner, composer, and musician John Fogerty will be presented with the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) “Music for Life” award at The 2023 NAMM Show on April 13 in Anaheim, California. The award is the music products, pro audio, and entertainment technology industry’s highest honor and is presented in recognition of Fogerty’s lifelong contributions to music and commitment to inspiring music makers everywhere.
“John Fogerty is a living example of inspiration and character, as a singer, guitarist, songwriter, and artistic visionary,” said NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond. “When I was 10, my dad brought home the Creedence Clearwater Revival album Green River and said, ‘Play like this.’ That moment started my own musical journey, and I imagine many walking The NAMM Show floor can say the same thing. Honoring him with the Music for Life Award will be a personal highlight for me and a huge privilege for all NAMM members.”
The award annually recognizes individuals or organizations that exemplify NAMM’s vision of music-making as a precious element of daily living for everyone. In receiving the award, Fogerty will join past recipients, including Quincy Jones, Garth Brooks, Melissa Etheridge, Jason Mraz, Graham Nash, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Yoko Ono, Henry Mancini, Bob Weir, Nancy Wilson, and, in 2022, Kenny Loggins, among others.
This year, Fogerty has another reason to celebrate, having officially realized a decades-long dream of acquiring a majority interest of the worldwide publishing rights of his historic song catalog from Concord, a deal that he hopes will help usher in new “revival” of his most treasured hits.
As the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), Fogerty forged a distinctive, groundbreaking sound all his own — equal parts blues, country, pop, rockabilly, R&B, swamp boogie, and Southern fried rock ’n’ roll, all united by his uniquely evocative lyrical perspective. Fogerty is a Grammy winner and has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In addition, he is the only musician to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame for his song “Centerfield,” a staple at baseball stadiums across the country. He has sold over 100 million albums throughout his career.
Among Fogerty’s many hit songs, both as a solo artist and as leader of CCR, highlights include “Centerfield,” “Proud Mary,” “Susie Q,” “Fortunate Son,” “Born on the Bayou,” “Bad Moon Rising,” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” among many others. In 2019, Fogerty celebrated 50 years in music with a worldwide “My 50 Year Trip” tour. That same year, he released “50 Year Trip: Live at Red Rocks,” an album featuring a collection of Creedence Clearwater Revival hits and fan favorites that included songs from the set list of his performance at the legendary Woodstock music festival in 1969.
In April 2020, while self-quarantining, the Fogerty Family, featuring John with his sons Shane and Tyler and daughter Kelsy, gathered in their home studio to play music together. A weekly video series began and became so popular that a digital EP, Fogerty’s Factory, was released via BMG on Fogerty’s birthday, May 28, 2020. An extended Fogerty’s Factory full album was released on November 20, 2020. In December of that year, Creedence Clearwater Revival's Chronicle Vol. 1 hit a milestone after charting more than 500 weeks on the Billboard 200 and becoming only the eighth album to ever do so. At the end of 2022, Chronicle Vol 1. was listed at No. 55 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums year end chart.
In January 2023, Fogerty acquired a majority interest in the worldwide publishing rights to his historic CCR song catalog from Concord, giving him control of his music for the first time in 50 years.
In early March 2023, Fogerty joined has joined Spotify’s “Billions Club” with Creedence Clearwater Revival’s enduring recording of his song, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” commemorating an outstanding achievement of over 1 billion streams on the platform, a feat that has been reached by less than 400 songs. His iconic song “Fortunate Son,” also recorded by CCR, is also on track to hit 1 billion streams later this year.
Additionally, when it comes to overall monthly listeners of bands founded in the ’60s, CCR currently ranks in Spotify’s Top 3, landing just behind The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac, and ahead of acts like The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin. Nearly 55 years after their debut, it is a remarkable testament to their timeless appeal.
Fogerty and his band will be hitting the road in 2023 for The Celebration Tour, and he will once again be joined by his sons Shane and Tyler, as well as their band, Hearty Har. The tour will make stops in Europe and across the United States.
For more information about Fogerty’s career, please visit www.JohnFogerty.com
