In 2015, John Fogerty's autobiography Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music was published by Back Bay Books (2016 paperback edition) an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. Fogerty's literary magnum opus is a well-written and richly entertaining book; the reader can almost hear John Fogerty's voice as narrarator as he details his life growing up, joining the U.S. Army at the Vietnam War's midpoint, and his subsequent years as writer, lead singer and the brains behind Creedence Clearwater Revival. Fortunate Son quickly became a National Bestseller.
Like many veterans of the Vietnam War duirng the 1960s and early 1970s, Fogerty was disillusioned with America's role and involvement in Southeast Asia. This experience and influence manifested itself in his hit Creedence songs "Fortunate Son," "Run Through the Jungle" and "Who'll Stop the Rain." All excellent songs of the period that are filled with metaphor and imagery of the war in Vietnam and prevailing mood in America during the Vietnam War.
After the War, Fogerty wrote that many Vietnam veterans relied on his music to help them get through their time in-country. A former soldier met Fogerty at an event and told John: "'So we called ourselves the Buffalo Soldiers to kind of brace ourselves up. We had a little PA system and lights. Every night, just before we'd go out into the jungle, we would turn on all the lights in our encampment, put on 'Bad Moon Rising,' and blast it as loud as we could.'" (Fogerty, 2016. p. 120)
Doug Clifford, drummer for Creedence Clearwater Revival, was also a Vietnam veteran. As has happened to many rock bands, Creedence had an angry breakup in 1972, with Stu Cook and Doug Clifford to this day no longer speaking to Fogerty. John''s brother Tom passed away in 1990.
If you grew up in the 1960s, as I had, Fortunate Son will resonate with you and pull you back to those dark corners of your mind you'd left long ago. This autobiography is a good trip however, both in words and the music behind the man.
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