John Fogerty Honored by BMI Icon Award

Posted on May 19th 2010 7:15PM by Melinda Newman
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John Fogerty, who was awarded BMI's prestigious Icon Award on Tuesday night, admits he's a little awed by the ranks he's joined. Previous winners of the highest recognition presented by the performing rights organization include the Bee Gees, Paul Simon, James Brown and Willie Nelson. Having grown up as a follower of many of his now fellow Icons, Fogerty's having a little trouble now seeing them as peers. "When you're a fan of someone else's creativity, you always see them that way -- as a fan," he tells Spinner.

One past Icon stands out as especially dear to him: Brian Wilson. Fogerty was starting his career -- or trying to -- in the mid-'60s when the Wilson-led Beach Boys were already flush with success. "I was a huge fan of Brian's ability to write songs," Fogerty says. "So, at some point, long before I made it with my band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, we were knocking on the door at Fantasy Records. We'd made some kind of tape with a couple of songs on it ... we were trying to make these little garage-sounding records. Finally, one of the executives for the record company comes out; he's 40-something years old and I'm teen-something years old. He says, 'Well, you know, no one really knows what a hit record is.' And I shot right back and looked him in the eye and said, 'Brian Wilson knows what a hit record is.'"
BMI bestowed the honor on Fogerty at its annual BMI Pop Awards celebration, held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. Fogerty gave a short speech stressing the importance of his family, but mainly showed why he was clearly deserving of the award by ripping through a blistering 30-minute set of some of his biggest hits: 'Travelin' Band,' 'Green River,' 'Bad Moon Rising,' 'Centerfield,' and, of course, 'Proud Mary.' He was accompanied by his two young sons, Tyler and Shane, on guitar.

While May 18 was a special night for Fogerty, he told Spinner he's really looking forward to June 12 when Shane graduates high school in Los Angeles. That's why Fogerty only agreed to play Bonnaroo if they could schedule him late on the last night, June 13. "There's no way I'd miss that or be away at some musical thing," Fogerty says of Shane's graduation. However, shortly after Shane flips his tassel on his mortar board, the family will head en masses to Bonnaroo where Fogerty is looking forward to seeing both Zac Brown Band and Dave Matthews Band. Both of those acts are likely looking forward to seeing an Icon.