“A lot of this, of course, is from the care of my wife, Julie. If I hadn’t met her, I probably would be dead. Simple as that,” he said. “I didn’t see any way out. I was really abusing myself, alcohol mostly. I really felt bad inside.”<\/p>\n
He went on to explain that someone who feels as he did is “not really operating on the same plane in the world” as everyone else, and you can “become kind of a pathetic person.”<\/p>\n
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Fogerty credits his wife Julie for saving his life when he was in a downward spiral. (Kevin Winter\/ACMA2013\/Getty Images for ACM)<\/p>\n
JOHN TESH SAYS ‘FAITH-FILLED’ WIFE SAVED HIS LIFE AFTER DOCTORS GAVE HIM 18 MONTHS TO LIVE<\/a><\/p>\n “When you’re really hurting inside for whatever reason, I mean, in my case, something really unjust had been done to me,” he said. “But however you get there, and then you start abusing yourself with drugs, alcohol, whatever… it becomes a habit. You just stay there, right? And so you’re not really enjoying the sunshine and the love that’s around you.”<\/p>\n The Grammy Award-winning<\/a> musician noted that this was his mindset when he met his wife, Julie, while on tour in 1986.<\/p>\n Fogerty admitted that he should have been “overjoyed” by the success of his third solo album, “Centerfield,” but instead felt “miserable” and bitter” due to repressed feelings, adding he was “in perpetual binge mode.”<\/p>\n He then released “Eye of the Zombie,” which was less successful but managed to bounce back after meeting Julie.<\/p>\n Fogerty met his wife while on tour in 1986, during what he called a “perpetual binge mode.” (Ron Galella, Ltd.\/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)<\/p>\n JAY LENO HONORS \u2018FOR BETTER OR WORSE\u2019 MARRIAGE VOW AS WIFE BATTLES DEMENTIA<\/a><\/p>\n “One day [I] just suddenly met Julie, not expecting to meet the love of my life, the person that I feel that I was destined to meet and the person that would, through her good graces, help me find myself and help me enjoy and find the joy of life again,” he said. “And it all changed.”<\/p>\n Fogerty and Julie went on to tie the knot in April 1991 and welcomed three children together during their 35-year marriage: sons Shane, 34, and Tyler, 33, and daughter Kelsy, 24.<\/p>\n As the founder of CCR, Fogerty wrote many of the band’s biggest hits<\/a>, including “Proud Mary,” “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Down on the Corner,” and “Fortunate Son,” but didn’t own the rights to them until January 2023 when he finally settled a decades-long dispute with the record company.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/p>\n “As of this January, I own my own songs again. This is something I thought would never be a possibility,” Fogerty said in a statement. “After 50 years, I am finally reunited with my songs. I also have a say in where and how my songs are used. Up until this year, that is something I have never been able to do. I am looking forward to touring and celebrating this year! I want thank Concord for helping to make all of this happen. And, I am excited for new ideas and a renewed interest in my music \u2026 like a revival.”<\/p>\n Fogerty got the rights to his music back in January 2023, after decades of fighting for them. (Christopher Polk\/Billboard via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Fogerty originally left Fantasy Records in 1974 in a contentious separation, with the musician fighting the record company for his music from the beginning.<\/p>\n Fantasy Records even went as far as to sue Fogerty for plagiarism<\/a>, with Fogerty telling Rogan, “I got sued for sounding like myself.”<\/p>\n LIKE WHAT YOU\u2019RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n “I\u2019m the dad [of these songs]. I created them,” Fogerty told Billboard<\/a>, at the time. “They never should have been taken away in the first place. And that hijacking left such a massive hole in me. The happiest way to look at it is, yeah, it isn\u2019t everything. It\u2019s not a 100 percent win for me, but it\u2019s sure better than it was. I\u2019m really kind of still in shock.”<\/p>\n Julie was happy for Fogerty when he got the rights to his music. (Rick Diamond\/ACMA2010\/Getty Images for ACMA)<\/p>\n![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/julie-fogerty-john-fogerty.jpeg\")
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