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One of America’s greatest singers, guitarists and songwriters, Grammy-winning legend John Fogerty will rock the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Saturday, drawing from his impressive repertoire of hits like “Proud Mary,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Green River,” “Fortunate Son” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain.”
As the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fogerty earned massive success, forging a distinctive sound based on classic 1950s Sun Records’ rock ‘n’ roll with influences from rhythm and blues, country and swamp boogie.
While growing up in San Francisco’s Bay Area, Fogerty became fascinated with music from America’s South, and the blues of musicians like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, and early rockers like Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins.
It was Diddley’s electrifying “Who Do You Love?” that opened Fogerty to rock’s “darkness and spookiness,” he reported in the United Kingdom magazine Uncut. “I liked anything to do with ‘gumbo’ and ‘putting a spell’ on somebody. Those things seemed way cool.”
While in high school, he began playing with his older brother Tom, bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford. Briefly known as the Golliwogs, in late 1967 they changed their band’s name to Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Creedence came from the Christian name of a friend. Clearwater was taken from a beer commercial, and Revival signified a return to ’50s rock ‘n’ roll values. “I didn’t like the idea of those acid-rock, 45-minute guitar solos,” Fogerty told Uncut. “I thought music should get to the point a little more quickly than that. I also had a country-blues ethic.”
Their 1968 debut album, “Creedence Clearwater Revival,” included a brilliant reworking of Dale Hawkins’ hit “Suzie Q.” A year later, Creedence had become one of the biggest bands in the world.
From 1968 to 1972, they dominated radio with a prolific run of superb singles. In 1969 alone, they released three acclaimed albums – “Bayou Country,” “Green River” and “Willy and the Poor Boys” – and also played at Woodstock and other major festivals.
The politically astute Fogerty’s songs echoed the angst and unrest of the times. “Effigy” was his response to President Richard Nixon emerging from the White House and sneering at anti-war demonstrators. “Fortunate Son” was a critique of the inequities of the draft system, while “Run Through the Jungle” warned about the proliferation of guns in America.
Fogerty was thrilled when famous artists began covering his songs. “When Solomon Burke did ‘Proud Mary,’ that floored me, because I had been following his career since I was maybe 11,” he told Rolling Stone magazine. “And after a year and a half came Ike and Tina’s version, and that was so startlingly new. I freaked. It became a different song.”
After Creedence broke up in 1972, Fogerty released “The Blue Ridge Rangers,” a country-bluegrass album on which he played all the instruments himself.
As a solo artist, his hits have included “Rockin’ All Over the World,” “The Old Man Down the Road,” “Rock and Roll Girls” and “Centerfield.”
While pursuing his solo career, because of legal wrangling with his record label, for about 25 years Fogerty refused to play any Creedence songs in concert.
When CCR was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993, Bruce Springsteen proclaimed at the induction ceremony: “Creedence wasn’t the hippest band in the world, but they were the best.”
Two years ago, Fogerty revisited some of his classics on the album “Wrote a Song for Everyone.” The critically acclaimed recording featured collaborations with a diverse array of musicians including the Foo Fighters, Bob Seger, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert and Jennifer Hudson.
“These are all artists I really love,” Fogerty told USA Today. “I really have loved this project. It’s maybe the best thing I’ve ever done as far as making a record.”
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For his “Traffic Jam” concert on June 11 in the Castle Theater, Dave Mason will retrace the earliest days of his career with the legendary British band Traffic, which he co-founded.
“I thought it would be fun to revisit stuff and do these songs again,” Mason explains. “Some of the Traffic songs we’re doing from that era are not my songs, most of them were written by Steve (Winwood) and Jim (Capaldi). It really didn’t matter to me; it was more what was going to be fun to play. I changed up a couple of the tunes, not necessarily sticking to how they were originally written. And I do a very cool blues version of ‘Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.’ I’m amazed how it goes over.”
The concert will be presented in two parts. “I do the Traffic stuff and there’s a visual aspect with pictures of what things were then,” he says. “The rest of the show is Dave, my solo stuff from ‘Alone Together’ all the way up to ‘Futures Past.’ “
Renowned for such Traffic hits as “Feelin’ Alright” and “Hole in My Shoe,” plus his solo signature songs like “We Just Disagree” and “Only You Know and I Know,” last year Mason released “Future’s Past,” featuring updated versions of some Traffic favorites as well as tunes from his previous solo albums.
“I did a version of ‘You Can All Join In’ and a version of ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy,’ which we do (in concert),” he notes.
First joining Traffic in 1967, Mason helped forge the sound of one of the most innovative groups of the time, blending elements from rock, blues, folk, jazz and R&B. He had teamed with fellow multi-instrumentalists Winwood, Capaldi and Chris Wood at the age of 18.
More commercially minded than his band mates, Mason created classic songs like “Feelin’ Alright” that were instantly appealing and helped secure Traffic a popular base. Playing on their debut album and their second album, “Traffic,” Mason was part of a freewheeling community of London-based musicians, during a magically creative time.
During this period, he played on albums by Jimi Hendrix (“Electric Ladyland”), George Harrison (“All Things Must Pass”) and the Rolling Stones (“Beggars Banquet”).
What were his memories of playing with Hendrix?
“I thought I should start learning a new instrument,” he says laughing. “I played bass and sitar on some of his tracks. When I left Traffic the first time, Jimi and I were talking about me taking (bassist) Noel Redding’s place at one point.”
As an established rock star in his own right, Mason released a series of well-received solo albums such as “Headkeeper,” “It’s Like You Never Left” and “Let it Flow,” which kept him in the spotlight. Famous musicians who played on his albums included Harrison, Stevie Wonder, Leon Russell, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, David Crosby and even Michael Jackson.
His 1980 “Old Crest in a New Way” album included a rather surprising duet with Jackson on the song “Save Me.”
“He was recording ‘Thriller’ in the studio next door,” Mason recalls. “I needed somebody to sing a high part so I figured, I’ll go ask Michael. He was on a break and I asked if he would do this high part. He said, ‘When I was 12, I did a TV special with Diana Ross and the last song on the show was ‘Feelin’ Alright,’ so yes, absolutely.’ “
Mason eventually teamed with fellow British musicians Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Christine McVie, joining a remodeled Fleetwood Mac in 1993.
Then in 1998, Mason re-teamed with Traffic’s Capaldi for a tour that produced the album “Live: The 40,000 Headmen Tour.”
An immensely talented guitarist, singer and composer, in 2008, he released “26 Letters 12 notes,” with an Allmusic review praising him “as a far more interesting (guitar) player than Eric Clapton at this stage of the game.”
When it came to picking a cover for his most recent album, Mason turned to an old friend, Nash. It’s an image “painted” by the fellow British musician from a photo of Mason taken on Kauai.
“He does some art process with photographs,” Mason explains. “It was taken at his house on Kauai in the ’80s.”
* Dave Mason will perform at 7:30 p.m. June 11 at Castle Theater at the MACC. Tickets are $35, $45, $55, $65 (plus applicable fees) and are available at the box office, by calling 242-7469 or by visiting www.mauiarts.org.
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Paula Fuga will play a free show from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Hula Grill in Kaanapali, with Jay Molina opening.
* For more information, call 667-6636.
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New Orleans’ voodoo funk/blues musician Papa Mali and his All Star Band will perform Friday at Maui Sacred Earth, located at 4505 Hana Highway in Haiku. The group includes Barry Sless, Mookie Siegel, Wally Ingram and Bonnie Raitt bassist Hutch Hutchinson. Papa Mali’s latest album, “Music is Love,” was released in March.
* Tickets are $40 at the door. For more information, visit www.mauisacredearth.com.