Rock Icon, 80, Says He 'Never Got the Chance to Reconcile' With Brother Before His Death
falling out with his brother and fellow Creedence Clearwater Revival member Tom Fogerty is well known, but in a new interview with Classic Rock magazine, he shared that the two never fully reconciled before Tom's death in 1990.
'I never got the chance to reconcile or even figure out what Tom was thinking – if indeed his thoughts were cohesive or understandable at that time,' John said in the August issue. 'I'm pretty sure he was upset and confused – and I don't mean that in any demeaning way; I was upset and confused during those times, too – certainly not like an adult would process all that stuff.'
The folk-rock legend also reflected on his long-running feud with Fantasy Records head Saul Zaentz. CCR signed with Fantasy in the '60s, but John and Saul quickly began to butt heads. While John produced, wrote, and sang nearly everything the group released, Fantasy's publishing deal gave the company ownership of all CCR songs, including John's. That deal created a massive point of contention, as John felt exploited by both the label and Zaentz.
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Despite John's issues with Saul, Tom became close with the record exec over the years.
'At the same time, when Tom left, he also said, 'Saul Zaentz is my best friend,'' John added. 'That's such a goofy statement considering what Saul Zaentz was doing to me at the time. I would have loved to try to figure out what the heck Tom was thinking. I didn't get to speak to him directly. I was speaking through this guy, Bruce: 'Go tell Tom, look, let's all just take a vacation. Let's just knock off for a year or two. Don't make any grand declarations about it, let's just stop doing this until we can make some sense.' But Tom didn't wanna do that. He was adamant about having some definitive action, a decisive event, and so he did that.'
Tom died from AIDS-related tuberculosis in 1990. John mentioned their unresolved problems in a heartbreaking eulogy at his funeral saying, 'We wanted to grow up and be musicians… I guess we achieved half of that. We didn't necessarily grow up.'
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Rock Icon, 80, Says He 'Never Got the Chance to Reconcile' With Brother Before His Death first appeared on Parade on Jul 18, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
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