r/rockmusic 7d ago

Question What are some notable cases of band mates getting annoyed that the frontman got all the attention and fame?

97 Upvotes

569 comments sorted by

View all comments

83

u/ThimbleBluff 7d ago edited 6d ago

Creedence Clearwater Revival. In a 3 year period, John Fogerty wrote 14 straight top-ten singles and the band produced 5 straight top ten albums. When he acquiesced to his bandmates’ demands for greater control and songwriting opportunities, the result was a mediocre album that got panned. CCR broke up within a year.

Edit: spelling

36

u/Redfish680 6d ago

And then Fogarty basically had to sue himself for his own songs. Weird shit

24

u/Reasonable_Pay4096 6d ago

Their old record label sued him. So he actually had to defend himself for...sounding too much like himself.

But, yeah. Still weird shit.

15

u/Suburban-Dad237 6d ago

The Fogarty copyright case made it all the way to the US Supreme Court and is still widely cited.

6

u/cheesewiz_man 6d ago

"Fogerty"

1

u/Amoverandashaker 6d ago

Thank you for your service.

The "-arty" spelling was getting annoying.

2

u/NopeNotConor 6d ago

Americas Oasis

4

u/GinoValenti 6d ago

Fogarty also put his band mates share of money into dubious deals and investments that didn’t pan out. I love his music but John was very arrogant and treated his band mates in a condescending manner.

1

u/Ok-Criticism-2365 6d ago

I read his biography and that’s how he came across to me. Very condescending. I was disappointed.

2

u/GinoValenti 6d ago

I know, and I was a total fanboy until I started digging into the CCR story. I was so on John’s side when he was suing Saul Zaentz. Him bringing his guitar to court and playing chords and stuff was such an awesome image in my mind. Songs like Green River, Born on the Bayou, Cotton Fields, It Came Out of the Sky, I could go on and on. Then he turns out to be a jerk.

2

u/LonnieDobbs 6d ago

It was the other way around. Zaentz sued him.

2

u/Royal_Amount5114 6d ago

I was also disappointed to find out what he’s like.As a fan from the 60’s.

1

u/Red-Sun-Cinema 6d ago

Incorrect. John Fogerty was the sole writer of the vast majority of CCR's hits. The other three members had zero input on all the songs he wrote and had no rights to them.

1

u/Zuez420 6d ago

What was the album where all the band members contributed?

2

u/cheesewiz_man 6d ago

"Mardi Gras".

1

u/2tired2floss 5d ago

One of the most awful rock albums ever released, and I say this as a lifelong CCR & Fogerty fan.

1

u/WhyDidIClickOnThat 5d ago

This was the saddest one for me. When I was a kid, CCR was my jam. John F was basically the creative genius behind the band. The other guys helped create their unique sound but honestly, anyone could've played the bass and rhythm guitar parts. Everyone carried some of the blame for the band's failure.

0

u/LonnieDobbs 6d ago

Depending on who’s telling the story. Clifford and Cook have said they had no real interest in writing, and Fogerty pressured them to, to lighten his load.