How Bob Dylan helped John Fogerty reclaim ‘Proud Mary’
Many people believe that the classic track ‘Proud Mary’ was created by Ike & Tina Turner. However, the material is a Creedence Clearwater Revival original, penned by frontman John Fogerty and first released in 1969. Notably, CCR had a tumultuous career, which led Fogerty to swear off his work with the band for an extended period, unhappy that other artists were taking his credit. However, thanks to Bob Dylan in the late 1980s, Fogerty eventually recognised the brilliance of ‘Proud Mary’ and changed his viewpoint.
The first time John Fogerty heard Ike & Tina Turner’s 1971 version of ‘Proud Mary’, he was in the car. He recalled to Spinner: “When it ended, if they had a camera and came back to me, it’d be like when Shrek and the donkey go to Far, Far Away and they push the button for that little arcade machine, and it tells the whole story of their town! And the Donkey’s like (Eddie Murphy impression), ‘Let’s do that again!’ That’s how I felt when that ended. I loved it, and I was so honoured”.
The frontman continued: “I was like, ‘Wow, Ike and Tina!’ I had actually been following their career for quite some time. Way back in the day, when Janis and Grace Slick started to get known by the kids who were my age, I’d be like, ‘Man, Tina Turner, c’mon!’ She finally got her due, but for a while there, she wasn’t noticed. It was a really good version, and it was different. I mean, that’s the key. Instead of the same thing, it was really exciting”.
Fast forward to February 19th, 1987, and Fogerty was very much ensconced in the period when he denigrated his CCR work. That day, he visited the Palomino Club in North Hollywood to watch legendary blues musician Taj Mahal perform live. As recalled in his memoir, Fogerty endeavoured to be anonymous at the show, but at one point, he realised that Bob Dylan was doing the same thing, tucked in the corner of the venue. Fogerty decided to go over to his peer and learned that George Harrison was also in the building.
People started to notice the famous trio, and someone informed Taj Mahal, who wasted no time inviting them all on stage. Dylan played a solitary number, with Harrison performing ‘Honey, Don’t’ before they all tore through ‘Twist and Shout’ as the showstopper. Shortly after, Dylan proclaimed that Fogerty had to regale everyone with ‘Proud Mary’.
As Fogerty had consigned his CCR material to the dustbin of history, thanks to his ill will towards his old bandmates and record label, he maintained that he didn’t want to play it. However, Dylan reminded him: “If you don’t do ‘Proud Mary,’ everybody’s gonna think it’s a Tina Turner song”. It was enough to elicit a genuine response from Fogerty. He played it and enjoyed himself. When he finished, he told the crowd: “Eat your heart out, Tina”.
Whilst it would take a while for Fogerty to fully return to CCR’s oeuvre after that, that moment might well have been the start of his journey back home.
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