Rock Legend John Fogerty Honored With BMI Troubadour Award

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John Fogerty performs at his own BMI Troubadour Award Ceremony in Nashville, TN. (His son, Shane, is on the left and son, Tyler, is on the right.)

Credit: Erika Goldring for BMI

John Fogerty is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who, at 80 years old, is still touring – these days with his two sons who are members of his band.

As founder, frontman, and primary songwriter for Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), Fogerty wrote a long list of iconic hits like “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son,” “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Down on the Corner,” and many others. As a successful solo artist, he wrote and recorded “The Old Man Down the Road,” “Centerfold,” and more.

On Monday night in Nashville, BMI presented Fogerty with its 2025 Troubadour Award.

The award recognizees artists whose music has transcended both genres and generations and helped shape American music.

Past recipients include John Prine, Billy F. Gibbons, John Hiatt, John Oates, Robert Earl Keen, and Lucinda Williams.

There were video tributes and congratulations from Dolly Parton, John Oates, and Eric Church, then everyone sat back as fellow artists took to the stage to honor Fogerty with covers of some of his songs.

Performers included Billy F. Gibbons and La Marisoul (“Green River”), Lainey Wilson (“Proud Mary”), Jay Buchanon (“Fortunate Son”), Jesse Wells (“Have You Ever Seen the Rain”), and The War & Treaty (“I Put A Spell on You/”Born on the Bayou”).

In accepting the award, Fogerty told the crowd he couldn’t quite believe what was happening.

“I’m really overwhelmed that so many came here tonight, so many people I’m fans of. You’ve touched me with the things you’ve said and the way you’ve sung the songs. I hope I’ve proved worthy of all this attention.”

The California-native noted how much it meant to have the Nashville community embrace him and his music.

“I grew up my whole life admiring Nashville and the striving for excellence in songs, singing, and instrumentally. Chet Atkins was one of my first guitar heroes, and it just seemed like, for some reason, a guy from California, I always felt I was coming from the outside and looking at in. So, to be standing here tonight among a room full of people who are truly amazing, God bless you for that, it just fills me up.”

Fogerty touched on his decades long battle to get control of publishing rights to the many classics he wrote and recorded with CCR. For years, he didn’t perform those songs in his live shows. In 1985, he was sued for a song he wrote years after leaving CCR. The lawsuit targeted his solo hit “The Old Man Down the Road,” claiming he’d ripped off his own CCR song “Run Through the Jungle,”

“You’re looking at a guy that actually got sued for sounding like himself,” Fogerty said. “Being sued for sounding like yourself was actually a very serious thing and it took up several years of my life and a lot of money. I had to go all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Fogerty won that lawsuit, and in 2023, more than 50 years after his CCR songs were originally released, he purchased the publishing rights from Concord Records. He now owns his own music.

He just recorded new versions of those CCR favorites for his new album Legacy. The 20-track collection features many of his biggest hits.

As he wrapped up his remarks, Fogerty took time to thank his close-knit family, starting with his wife, Julie.

“She saved my life,” he said. “She saw the person inside of me, through all the mess that was on the outside. Everything good that’s happened to me since then is because of Julie. And the amazing thing is now I get to stand up on stage every night with our two sons. They’re in my band and they’re wonderful musicians.”

Then, he set down the microphone and much to the surprise of everyone in the room, he took to the stage with his sons for an impromtu mini-show. They had the crowd up and moving with high energy versions of “Around the Bend,” “The Old Man Down the Road,” and “Bad Moon Rising.”

In life and music, Fogerty has much to celebrate. His passion for his songs and performing live was clearly evident as he “jammed” with his boys.

More than six decades after he began his career, John Fogerty is still rockin.’ And that’s good news for music fans.

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