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Rearview Mirror: Stu Cook and Creedence Clearwater Revival

In 1993, two decades after imploding, Creedence Clearwater Revival was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with luminaries such as Cream and The Doors. It was supposed to be a stellar moment for surviving members John Fogerty (leader), Stu Cook (bass) and Doug Clifford (drums) —guitarist Tom Fogerty, John’s brother, passed away in 1990.

But the evening quickly turned bittersweet for the rhythm section. After being strung along for weeks, Cook and Clifford were informed hours before the ceremony by the production crew that they would not be playing Creedence songs live that night—Fogerty would have that honor, with a celebrity house band backing him.

“I told him, ‘This is Creedence’s moment,’” Cook recalls of his confrontation with Fogerty. “‘You’re an important guy, but this is the band’s induction.’ He couldn’t look me in the eye. He gave some nonsense about how we left him twisting in the wind in his fight with the record company [Fantasy Records and] that we’re not his friends. So we said, ‘OK, whatever pal.’”

Cook stayed for the first part of the induction, but when Fogerty began playing “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” he and Clifford stood up and walked out. Says Cook: “That night, in effect, we were told we’re really not part of anything—that we didn’t deserve the same, or any, acknowledgement for the work we did in CCR.”

The seeds were sown for his project with Clifford called Creedence Clearwater Revisited that night, too, says Cook. Since 1995, the group has performed all-Creedence, all night to audiences around the world.

Despite mixed feelings about the past, Cook, 66, is pretty much at peace with life now—he’s even able to poke fun at some less-than-stellar memories. What follows are excerpts from a longer conversation with the bassist.

One milestone of a band’s career in the ‘60s was performing on The Ed Sullivan Show. What do you remember about your first appearance in March 1969?

The Ed Sullivan Show was our first real proof we were becoming successful. When we went to do the taping, an afternoon rehearsal came first. Ed came over after, greeted us, asked each band member a question and then cut to commercial. After Ed left, the stage manager told us, “By the way, when we’re actually doing the show live, Sullivan probably won’t follow the script.” Apparently, Ed would go out to dinner and have a couple of cocktails after dress rehearsal, then come back and do the live show. Sure enough, we did our performance live—“Proud Mary,” I think—then Ed came over. He was going to introduce us in the order his cue cards were written, but somehow we ended up in the wrong order. It was total ad lib from there. My best memory was when he introduced Tom as John and Doug as me. It was one of those “oh, well” moments.

Comments

There are 11 comments associated with this post

Guy Michaud May 7, 2011, 08:49:36

John Fogerty is the CCR sound. Some imitations are good, but honestly, the sound shouldn’t be remade louder or funky. Fogerty’s touch has always been originality while keeping it simple. Good luck to Stu and Doug, but they shouldn’t be calling themselves CCR without him.

Jay Thorpe May 10, 2011, 10:19:17

@ Peter A fun evening’s entertainment is always good value. How many great new songs has Fogerty come out with since the demise of CCR? Zero. None of this should be taken “seriously”, it’s only rock ‘n roll. Peace…

brad lavigne August 5, 2011, 07:38:03

I think that ccr revisited is as good as ccr.I happend to luck out when I bought a storage unit in vermont and it was filled with all kinds of memorbilia that apparently was from his ex wife jackie wilson cook.I even have a bass neck off of one of his basses. Also cumputer print outs and cancelled checks written out for thousands of dollars fr4om fantasy records, there were all kind of things. I really lucked out on that deal. this was quite a while ago. Still have a lot of it,its like. apparently she and he were really into southwestern stuff cause ther were all kinds of navahoe rugs ,well I thought I would share that. I feel I own a piece of rock and roll histery.

Wayne May 14, 2012, 21:38:26

Really Stu? The Little fight he was having? Fuck you! You and doug bitched and bitched to no end. Now finally John is willing to put it all to rest..and you two fucked that up too. Take revisited the (cheap trick) that it is and stuff it up your mother fucking ass!

Shafeeqrahman December 6, 2012, 12:37:25

I’m actually going tgurohh this process at the moment. My father is terminally ill with cancer and we’ve been trying to put together the music for the last few weeks. the CCR song was on his list believe it or not. He asked me to play Willie Nelson’s My Heroes have always been Cowboys as well. And We’re All in this thing together by Old Crow Medicine Show has proven to be one the best songs I’ve found when dealing with death.Good article man, I’m sorry about your loss, and know that music is what keeps the light on in most of our lives.- Mike

Joseph Doney May 2, 2011, 16:25:39

Stu and Doug are and always will be CCR for all of us that loved this band. John knocked himself in this show of stubborn stupidity and proved that the words in his songs were only for profit and not “words to live by”.

Rick Hawley May 2, 2011, 22:25:45

I have been to over 70 Revisited shows since ’95. Even got to see Stu & Doug perform CCR songs a year before at a Chet Helms Benefit in S.F. Also I attended the Hall of Fame induction in ’93. John & the HOF folks turned what could have been a magical evening into a bittersweet memory. Talked to the guys before the show which was a highlight for me. Thanks Doug & Stu for continuing to bring me & 1000’s of fans the joy of hearing these songs played live by the greatest Rock & Roll Rhythm section ever. See you soon!!

TIM IRVING May 3, 2011, 07:54:48

From someone who grew up in the Bay Area and experienced Stu, Cos, and the Fogerty Bros. in all their manifestations from the Blue Velvets, The Golliwogs, and Creedence Clearwater Revivial, I can say that CCRevisited is musically and vocally more advanced than the originals. True to the music catalog with more energy and a better sound, I have seen them dozens of times around the country and overseas. You will never be disappointed.

Jim Tusing May 3, 2011, 15:10:40

I’ve seen John Fogerty and I’ve seen Doug and Stu. CCRevisted has that Creedence sound, has the magic. John has his own talent, but he’s not Creedence.

Peter Pecoraro May 4, 2011, 00:54:21

Seeing these guys might be fun for an evening’s entertainment, but beyond that it is hard to take it seriously. Creedence without John Fogerty is a bit like nitro without the glycerin. How many great new songs have Cook and Clifford come out since 1972? The answer would be exactly zero. ‘Nuf said.