John Fogerty could have celebrated his 80th birthday with a quiet family meal at home or a private party with his closest friends. Instead, he gathered nearly 3,000 people in New York’s Beacon Theater, took the stage alongside his longtime band — which includes his sons Shane Fogerty and Tyler Fogerty — and played an explosive set of Creedence classics and solo hits that showcased a level of energy, vocal power, and swagger few of rock’s octogenarians outside of Mick Jagger can muster.
Before the show even started, Fogerty appeared on a large screen and addressed the crowd. “It’s been quite a journey to get to this big eight-oh,” he said. “Thank you for coming along on this journey with me. I appreciate each and every one of you, every little dip and turn in the road..It’s such an honor to have people know all your words. Thank you for singing these songs all these years. I just really love performing live with my sons in this band, especially as they grow into adulthood and become really good. That sense of joy about making music is really real.”
He proved that by walking out onto a riser stationed between two bright, billowing smoke machines, and kicking into “Proud Mary” as confetti rained down on the audience. He followed it with “Up Around the Bend,” “Green River,” “Born on the Bayou,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” and “Lookin’ Out My Back Door.” Like the vast majority of the Creedence Clearwater Revival catalog, these songs came out in a little sliver of time between 1968 and 1970 when Fogerty somehow wrote a significant chapter of the Great American Songbook entirely by himself.
This golden period was followed by many dark years where the bitter breakup of the band and a nasty spat with his former label head caused Fogerty to turn away from the Creedence legacy. When he finally launched a solo tour in 1986, he disappointed crowds all across America by refusing to perform even a single CCR song. He wouldn’t relent until 1997, a quarter of a century after the band split. By that point, the Creedence rhythm section of Doug Clifford and Stu Cook had recruited a new singer and were touring under the banner Creedence Clearwater Revisited.
But Clifford and Cook quietly dissolved their band in 2020. Two of their former compatriots, guitarist Kurt Griffey and vocalist Dan McGuinness, have attempted to keep the CCR flag flying by booking shows as Revisiting Creedence, but they are essentially a tribute band to a tribute band. That means Fogerty is now the only authentic member of the band keeping the music alive. He bills many of his shows today as “John Fogerty Celebrates His Songs From Creedence Clearwater Revival,” just so there’s no confusion about who created this music.
But the 80th birthday show at the Beacon wasn’t merely a Creedence retrospective. Midway through, he broke out his 1997 solo cut “Joy Of My Life.” It’s a tribute to his wife, Julie, who was parked on the side of the stage all night, beaming with joy. “Julie is the one,” he told the crowd. She is the rock in our family. I wouldn’t even be standing here if it wasn’t for Julie. We recently celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary. Somewhere along the way, I wrote this song for her.”
Later in the night, he also revisited his Eighties solo hits “Centerfield” and “The Old Man Down the Road.” Vintage baseball cards flashed on the screen during the former, and Fogerty’s daughter Kelsy came out for a brief guitar jam with her brothers on the latter. The man set wrapped up with a fiery “Fortunate Son” as fake dollar bills fell down from the rafters.
Before the encore, Fogerty sat down in a folding chair and told the crowd about his upcoming LP, Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years. (For much more on that, check out David Browne’s recent interview with Fogerty.) The crew then wheeled out a birthday cake, but Fogerty had no time to cut a slice for himself or anyone else. He instead wrapped up the show by ripping through “Travelin’ Band,” “Bad Moon Rising,” and a quick repose of “Proud Mary,” taking the night full circle.
The 80th birthday celebration continues Thursday night with an encore show at the Beacon before heading over to Europe in June and July for a run of festival dates, including Glastonbury. The last show on the books is stop at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, Massachusetts, on August 3rd for a special event commemorating the 400th anniversary of the town.
But there’s every reason to believe Fogerty will keep touring for the foreseeable future. A 90th birthday concert in 2035 may seem like a distant dream, but there’s little reason to think it won’t happen, considering how oddly vital he remains as he kicks off his eighties.