Rock Legend, 80, Says He ‘Always Cringed’ Hearing One of His Biggest Hits

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Rock Legend, 80, Says He ‘Always Cringed’ Hearing One of His Biggest Hits originally appeared on Parade.

Creedence Clearwater Revival’s hit anti-war song, “Fortunate Son,” might have made it into the Top 20 on Billboard, but in 2014, John Fogerty admitted he was never happy with the tune. Eleven years later, and he says he still feels the same way.

“The basic tracks for ‘Down on the Corner’ and ‘Fortunate Son’ were both recorded, and one afternoon I went over to Wally Heider’s studio to finish the songs. For ‘Down on the Corner,’ I did the maracas and the middle solo part, then sang all the background vocals, then sang the lead,” Fogerty said during an interview with The Los Angeles Times published on July 3. “So I’d been singing at the top of my lungs for probably an hour and a half, then I had to go back and finish ‘Fortunate Son.’ I was screaming my heart out, doing the best I could, but later I felt that some of the notes were a little flat — that I hadn’t quite hit the mark. I always sort of cringed about that.”

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However, the legendary rock star added that it was possible that the ragged edge to his voice might have been what cemented the song in pop culture history.

Fogerty continued, “I know that in the case of the Beatles, John [Lennon] would just sit in the studio screaming and screaming until his voice got raw enough, then he’d record some takes. Perhaps the fact that it was a little out of tune made it — what’s the word? — more pop-worthy. I don’t know.”

“Fortunate Son” was recently heard at a military parade held by President Trump, despite Fogerty publicly asking him not to use the song during his 2020 campaign. The rocker said he only caught “a few seconds of it” while flipping through TV channels.

“I thought it was strange — thought it would be something that someone would be wary of,” Fogerty admitted, referring to the fact that the song is about a privileged person avoiding serving in the military. “I thought to myself: Do you think somebody did it on purpose? Are they doing it as some weird kind of performance art? I might be giving too much credit to the thought that went into it.”

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Rock Legend, 80, Says He ‘Always Cringed’ Hearing One of His Biggest Hits first appeared on Parade on Jul 9, 2025

This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 9, 2025, where it first appeared.