16-10-2009, 09:58
from spinner
![[Image: fogerty.jpg]](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.spinner.com/media/2009/10/fogerty.jpg)
As the saying goes, behind every great man is a great woman. The same can be said of John Fogerty, whose wife Julie pushed him to record his latest album, 'The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again,' and cover the Everly Brothers' 'When Will I Be Loved' with Bruce Springsteen. "The album was 80 percent done, and she said to me 'I think you should do that song, and I think you should sing it with Bruce Springsteen,'" Fogerty tells Spinner. "My eyes got real big as my brain absorbed her vision -- it was such a great idea. We managed to get it done."
Fogerty's latest release, a collection of countrified covers, is the sequel to his first post-Creedence Clearwater Revival album, 1973's 'The Blue Ridge Rangers.' Fogerty says that while it took a long time to get around to the follow-up, it was a project he'd always planned on doing. "Over the 36 years since I did the first one, I've probably thought about 'Blue Ridge Rangers' at least once a month, if not more," he says. "For some reason, it just kind of stayed like that old Ford you're going to refurbish and restore someday. Somehow life takes over and you never do it, you know?"
And once again, it was Julie's influence that helped him get the wheels moving. "One day she just said 'You know, that 'Blue Ridge Rangers' album was really cool. Why don't you do another one of those?' For me that was the signal to drop everything and do this -- kind of like if your wife comes to you while you're mowing the lawn with all your fishing equipment and says 'Why don't you take a few days off and go fishing?'" he says, laughing.
When it came time to do a music video for 'When Will I Be Loved,' Julie also came up with the cowboy-themed concept, one that resonated with Fogerty's upbringing. "It was done out at the Melody Ranch, which was owned by Gene Autry, and I was very aware of it from when I was a child," Fogerty says of the California studio. "It was a very, very, very hot day, like 110 in the shade." In spite of the heat, Fogerty enjoyed his time at Melody. "There's a large part of me that's influenced by the Western genre. Because the Blue Ridge Rangers is so sort of leaning in that direction, it's a lot of fun to be able to put on a hat and pretend you're a cowboy star."
Sure, that is fun, but it's probably not as enjoyable as working with Springsteen. "I'm not sure I always thought it would happen," Fogerty says of the collaboration. "These things can be tricky because you're dealing with more than one person's life and career. We've both been thinking about doing something with each other just for decades really, and somehow it just seemed that the time was right. Julie and I flew back to New Jersey to Bruce's house and we recorded there. It turned out really nice, so I'm very happy about it."
As the saying goes, behind every great man is a great woman. The same can be said of John Fogerty, whose wife Julie pushed him to record his latest album, 'The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again,' and cover the Everly Brothers' 'When Will I Be Loved' with Bruce Springsteen. "The album was 80 percent done, and she said to me 'I think you should do that song, and I think you should sing it with Bruce Springsteen,'" Fogerty tells Spinner. "My eyes got real big as my brain absorbed her vision -- it was such a great idea. We managed to get it done."
Fogerty's latest release, a collection of countrified covers, is the sequel to his first post-Creedence Clearwater Revival album, 1973's 'The Blue Ridge Rangers.' Fogerty says that while it took a long time to get around to the follow-up, it was a project he'd always planned on doing. "Over the 36 years since I did the first one, I've probably thought about 'Blue Ridge Rangers' at least once a month, if not more," he says. "For some reason, it just kind of stayed like that old Ford you're going to refurbish and restore someday. Somehow life takes over and you never do it, you know?"
And once again, it was Julie's influence that helped him get the wheels moving. "One day she just said 'You know, that 'Blue Ridge Rangers' album was really cool. Why don't you do another one of those?' For me that was the signal to drop everything and do this -- kind of like if your wife comes to you while you're mowing the lawn with all your fishing equipment and says 'Why don't you take a few days off and go fishing?'" he says, laughing.
When it came time to do a music video for 'When Will I Be Loved,' Julie also came up with the cowboy-themed concept, one that resonated with Fogerty's upbringing. "It was done out at the Melody Ranch, which was owned by Gene Autry, and I was very aware of it from when I was a child," Fogerty says of the California studio. "It was a very, very, very hot day, like 110 in the shade." In spite of the heat, Fogerty enjoyed his time at Melody. "There's a large part of me that's influenced by the Western genre. Because the Blue Ridge Rangers is so sort of leaning in that direction, it's a lot of fun to be able to put on a hat and pretend you're a cowboy star."
Sure, that is fun, but it's probably not as enjoyable as working with Springsteen. "I'm not sure I always thought it would happen," Fogerty says of the collaboration. "These things can be tricky because you're dealing with more than one person's life and career. We've both been thinking about doing something with each other just for decades really, and somehow it just seemed that the time was right. Julie and I flew back to New Jersey to Bruce's house and we recorded there. It turned out really nice, so I'm very happy about it."