Rock legend knew this song would be an instant classic

John Fogerty is experiencing something rare in his career, playing a 50-year-old venue for the first time. But the Creedence Clearwater Revival legend is making his presence felt New Year’s Eve at at PH Live, continuing Friday and Saturday. Fogerty is booked to return March 18, 20-21.

Fogerty and his band, which today includes sons Shane and Tyler Fogerty and Vegas’ own sax great Rob Stone, has previously headlined The Venetian Theatre and Encore Theater at the Wynn. Expect time-tested CCR songs and tunes from Fogerty’s solo career, among them “Proud Mary,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Fortunate Son,” “Susie Q ” “Lodi” and “Green River.”

And Fogerty has packed the famed Louisville Slugger guitar for his solo classic “Centerfield.”

Highlights from my most recent chat with Fogerty, who turned 80 in May.

Johnny Kats: You’ve finally retained ownership of the songs you composed during the CCR days. What songs are the most sentimental for you to perform today?

John Fogerty: As far as the ones I’ve retained, “Proud Mary” is a big one.

Kats: Why “Proud Mary,” among all those hits?

Fogerty: I remember my mental state when I had finished that song. I though, “Oh my goodness, this song is a classic.” I was alone, I had gone through the process of writing a song, which I had done many, many times in in my life up to that point. But when I finished “Proud Mary,” I really recognized that it was a really great song. I mean, that was the first time I ever had that feeling. It was like, “Wow, John, it finally happened.”

Kats: You must have had that feeling since then, with all your hits.

Fogerty: Many times. I remember specifically, one of them was “Up Around The Bend.” I just nodded to myself, “Well, this is really good. This is a great song.” It’s just a strange, human emotion. It’s a whole subject we can spend talking around the fireside (laughs).

Kats: Have you had that experience with songs that weren’t commercial hits?

Fogerty: Fairly recently, the last song I’ve recorded where I really felt that way was a song called “Weeping In The Promised Land.” It did not set the world on fire, it did not become a huge hit or anything like that. I’ve come to the realization that, at least in my heart, it’s one of my best songs, but for whatever reasons it just did not generate the same notoriety as, let’s say, “Proud Mary.”

Kats: You’ve mentioned you’re proud of the writing on “Blue Moon Swamp,” the album from the late-’90s.

Fogerty: I wrote a couple of songs on that album that I thought were absolutely wonderful songs. One of them was called “A Hundred and Ten in the Shade,” which I thought was just a really beautiful song. Another one was called “Joy of My Life,” which was a very personal and almost intimate proclamation of my love for Julie, my wife, which I would perform in my shows. But Chris Stapleton discovered it and it became a big hit.

Kats: That reminds me of Stapleton recording with Carlos Santana a few years ago, the song “Joy.” Carlos performed that song at House of Blues. It was great.

Fogerty: That is a wonderful thing. You know, whatever happens in the universe when creative people line up is great.

Kats: I asked Carlos one time about performing with you in Las Vegas, by the way, if you could match the schedules. He answered by singing a line from, “I Put a Spell on You.” He seemed ready with the song.

Fogerty: Oh my God, I can see that. He would play that beautifully. Hopefully, yeah. But you’re sort of in your own zone when you’re doing a show. It’s sort of a bubble. I like to concentrate on the task at hand.

Kats: You’ve been playing on the Strip for a little more than a decade now. Any new wrinkles planned for this run of shows?

Fogerty: Well, we have a few surprises and tricks and musical moments that are different. I want them to be a surprise. But yeah, something to mix it up a little bit so that things seem fresh. We always want what’s good for the audience and for us.

Kats: Are we going to see John Fogerty like on an aerial rig over the crowd, anything like that?

Fogerty: I watched somebody in an automobile doing that, and I thought, “What if that fell on the audience?” Oh, my goodness. No (laughs). I don’t want to put anybody in danger.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.