(Credits: Far Out / Press)
Thu 18 December 2025 17:39, UK
With and without Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty has carved out an immense back catalogue which stands the test of time. Naturally, Fogerty prefers some over others in his collection, but none are more dear to him than one song, which he labelled as “one of my very favourite songs in the whole wide world”.
Fogerty has a gift with his songwriting to create beauty out of darkness and reveal hope in a place where it looks to be lost. An example of this is ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain?’, which was penned by Fogerty as he realised Creedence Clearwater Revival had begun to reach its inevitable end.
At the time of writing the song, they’d finally become commercially successful, and everything was seemingly perfect on the surface. However, tensions had reached boiling point with Tom Fogerty departing the band following the release of Pendulum, the album which included ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain?’.
While they made one more album after Tom’s exit from the group and attempted to soldier on, the writing was on the wall. Creedence Clearwater Revival officially disbanded in 1972, and although they later reunited for special shows, the band never released another note of music.
During an interview with Howard Stern on his Sirius XM programme, Fogerty said of the song: “I perceived all of the tension, and it just looked like it was breaking up. It really did.” This is the true calling of an artist, not to see the world and write it down as a plain thought, but to observe the occurrences around them and transform them into a universal image, communicating a specific into something everyone can understand.
Tom Fogerty, Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and John Fogerty stand proud as CCR. (Credits: Far Out / Fantasy Records)
He continued: “The metaphor of seeing rain come down on a clear sunshiney day, it seemed to be what we were. Here we were, we were achieving all of our dreams, and everything is great. Instead of being happy, we were miserable.”
However, despite the heartbreaking reality of the song, Fogerty holds it close to his heart, and the reason for that is his daughter Kelsey. Now, when he performs the track, he thinks of her rather than being transported back to the traumatic time when he was at odds with his brother.
Before a performance in Arizona in 2012, Fogerty introduced the track by saying: “This next song is one of my very favourite songs in the whole wide world, even though I wrote it. It started out as a sad song many years ago, about 40 years ago. It was about a sad occasion in my life. But I refuse to be sad now.”
He continued: “Anyway, these days, it’s a very happy song because it reminds me of my beautiful little baby girl, Kelsey, and that is the truth. Kelsy rules my world, and she knows it. Anyway, Kelsey is a rainbow in my life, and this song has a rainbow in it. Every time I sing it, I think about Kelsey and rainbows.”
While ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain?’ could have become a song that Fogerty grew to hate because of how Creedence Clearwater Revival collapsed, it’s taken on a new meaning, and he can’t help but smile whenever it’s performed.
Why did Credence Clearwater Revival break up?
By the time 1972 rolled around, the group was already on its course to becoming a figment of the past. Tom Fogerty had quit the group, and Stu Cook and Doug Clifford found themselves in open warfare with John Fogerty. Perfectionism can easily become authoritarianism in the wrong atmosphere. Naturally, when a group splits, you can get many different stories as to why.
Fogerty maintains that Cook and Clifford wanted equal songwriting and vocal space on the next record, which was never going to happen. The band’s rhythm section refutes this and says they just wanted to have more of an influence on proceedings. What happened was Mardi Gras, and it was an unmitigated disaster.
The unequal share of songs probably perfectly describes the unbalanced record. Fogerty’s contributions feel intentionally phoned-in, while the duo also contribute little to be excited about, making the LP perhaps the finest example of artistic self-sabotage ever. Legal proceedings and ugly disputes followed, and the band have remained frosty to one another ever since.
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