Former Creedence Clearwater Revival members Doug ‘Cosmo’ Clifford and Stu Cook have slammed singer John Fogerty’s statement about their lawsuit against him as “ridiculous.”
They’ve launched legal action claiming the use of the band name on his current tour, focusing on CCR’s trio of 1969 albums, has suggested they’re on the road with him – which Clifford recently said would never happen.
Fogerty responded to the case this week by saying: “No lawyers, lawsuits or angry ex-band members will stop me ever again from singing my songs. I am going to continue to tour, and play all my songs every single night I am our on the road.”
But the other surviving members say in their own statement: “We have never objected to John Fogerty performing any song he ever wrote, or performing any song recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival. That idea is ridiculous.”
Instead they claim, they “encouraged him to perform them whenever and wherever he wanted” at a time when the singer had “publicly called for a boycott of CCR music.”
They continue: “The facts are that Mr Fogerty, while proclaiming joyful rebirth in the press, repeatedly has his lawyers threaten us with lawsuits. Last week, the threats and demands left us with little doubt that a lawsuit would be filed against us for the second time. This situation required us to take unpleasant preemptive legal action.”
They insist that Fogerty’s current use of the band name infringes a previous agreement. “The trademark is not owned by him, but by the Creedence Clearwater Revival Partnership,” they state.
“We have a business relationship with him and, under prevailing circumstances, chose not to be bullied.”
