FOGERTY'S FACTORY

JOHN FOGERTY LOOKS BACK ON LIFE, LOVE, FAMILY AND THE CHALLENGES THAT CAME WITH CREEDENCE.

- LEE ZIMMERMAN

Most people would likely agree that it would be all but impossible to list the most indelible and iconic musicians of the past 50 years without mentioning John Fogerty. As both the prime mover of his legendary band Creedence Clearwater Revival and a resilient force throughout his own solo career, Fogerty’s contributed songs to the popular lexicon that each continue to resonate not only as standards, but actual anthems as well. “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son,” “Down on the Corner,” “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Centerfield” — each stands out as an astute example of the best that Americana music has to offer.

Several months ago, Fogerty and his children — Shane, Tyler and Kelsy — banded together to replay several of those songs under the aegis of Fogerty’s Factory. They recorded an eponymous album that takes its cue from the classic Creedence album, Cosmo’s Factory, given that the cover replicates that earlier album down to every exacting detail. Spawned from a series of videos posted by Fogerty’s wife, Julie, in an attempt to share some entertainment during the throes of the pandemic, it’s a refreshing reminder of the musical gifts Fogerty has bequeathed to modern music over the course of more than half a century. It also includes two notable covers, Steve Goodman’s “City of New Orleans,” famously covered by Arlo Guthrie and Willie Nelson, and “Lean on Me,” a song that seems particularly timely in light of these tumultuous times.