John Fogerty, whose classic track “Fortunate Son” criticized Richard Nixon’s administration in the 1970s, compared the former president with current incumbent Donald Trump.
The 1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival song, released during the Vietnam War, explored the subject of rich people profiting from war while poorer people died in conflict, while the sons of those rich people avoided the draft and didn’t have to fight.
The track’s relevance has been re-evaluated in recent years, with Nixon’s controversial presidency compared to that of Trump’s. In a new interview with the Guardian, Fogerty said he could handle having MAGA believers as fans of his music.
READ MORE: Why John Fogerty Still Isn’t Satisfied With ‘Fortunate Son’
Describing Trump as “almost a direct descendant” of Nixon, “skipping the years since 1974,” the musician continued: “Of course, Mr Trump is doing everything on steroids compared to Nixon. I think Nixon did have some shame. I don’t get that sense these days.
“There’s certainly no secret about a song like ‘Fortunate Son’ or ‘Who’ll Stop the Rain.’ You know what my worldview must be.
Watch Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Video for ‘Fortunate Son’
“But I don’t hold fans responsible for the activities of Mr. Trump. I wish everyone was a little bit more towards the middle. The older you get, you’re just sorry that everything’s so knee-jerk.”
Fogerty is poised to release Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years, an album of modern-day reconstructions of classic tracks. The songwriter said it had been an opportunity to reconnect with the music he’d written when he was young.
Citing the example of 1969’s “Proud Mary,” Fogerty explained: “There was what they call an epiphany. The track sounded really stunning [but] the lead vocal paled by comparison.
What John Fogerty Learned From Re-recording His Own Songs
“And it finally dawned on me: ‘John, when you were doing this way back when, it was life or death for you.’ I came from a state of, if not poverty, then the lower economic rungs. It was very important and necessary to be great, as great as whatever was in me.
“And at that point I felt as if I was going through a portal, and really trying to be that person again. I continued to work on ‘Proud Mary’ that way and I ended up in a place I felt very good about.”
Watch Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Video for ‘Proud Mary’
Ranking Every Creedence Clearwater Revival Album
There was simply one brilliant piece of songwriting followed by another from frontman John Fogerty over the course of these seven discs.
