And the Beach Boys/Chuck Berry was a no-brainer, as Brian Wilson readily admitted.
Here's another dispute involving John Fogerty and CCR:
logie.net
Whoring the Trademark: "Creedence Clearwater Revisited"
From an intellectual property standpoint, John Fogerty is accursed. First, he somehow signed off on an extremely one-sided contract with Fantasy Records that effectively stripped him of profits and ownership of that Creedence Clearwater Revival's still-incredibly-valuable catalog, most of which he wrote and sang. The ultimate divorce from Fantasy was so ugly that Fogerty refused to play any CCR songs in concert, thus crippling his own attempts at a solo career. On his 1986 "comeback" record Centerfield Fogerty lashed out at Fantasy's owner, Saul Zaentz, with a song called "Zanz Kant Danz" the lyric continues ". . . but he'll steal your money." Zaentz responded by suing Fogerty for defamation. And, as a bonus, Zaentz sued Fogerty for having written a 1986 song entitled "The Old Man Down the Road," which, according to Zaentz, was a plagiarism of CCR's "Run Through the Jungle," owned by Zaentz. Thus, John Fogerty was sued for having plagiarized himself.
Fogerty won the plagiarism case and settled the defamation case. But the I.P. gremlins weren't done with him yet.
No sooner does Fogerty reconcile himself to these twists and turns and begin incorporating an occasional CCR tune into his concert repertoire. than the rhythm section of Creedence decides to hit the road. As Creedence . . . Clearwater . . . REVISITED.
In all fairness, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford were strong contributors to the sound of the CCRevival, but their talent was, throughout CCRevival's career, overshadowed by Fogerty's powerful voice and tremendous songcraft. The record where Fogerty insisted the entire band contribute songs was a commercial and critical failure. Nonetheless, Cook and Clifford are busy touring as "CCR" with a Fogerty sound-alike on lead vocals. Bad enough, but worse are the early publicity photos of "Revisited" which feature ex-Car Elliott Easton with a Fogerty-esque hairstyle and granny glasses. If you squint, it looks like Fogerty's in the band. And this is still the first photo visitors encounter at the "Revisited" website. The site also features this spectacular display of rationalization.
Creedence Clearwater Revival's distinctive rock captured the imagination of the pop world - the songs made great three minute radio gems - and the more politicized subculture, and the successfully bridged the gap between the underground and mainstream audiences. Writer Greil Marcus wrote that "rarely in rock and roll history has there been so close a relation between creative achievement and audience response."
Creedence Clearwater Revisited's RECOLLECTION adds a new chapter to that legacy with the vibrant American spirit and exhilarating energy inherent in the songs.
But whatever this record adds to the CCR legacy (if anything) it does so without the guy who wrote and sang the songs. See, the energy is "inherent," and Fogerty is, ultimately, detachable from the songs. (Though Fogerty-look-a-like pictures of latter-day band members remain useful, apparently).
Fogerty sued to prevent Clifford and Cook from continuing to whore the trademark, but the suit is ongoing. As the suit wends on, Clifford and Cook continue selling their Fogerty-free brand of CCR (John's brother Tom, also a founding member of the band died in 1989) to the gullible and the easily amused.
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