Creedence Clearwater Revisited
and Legal Issues???

For all of you Creedence Clearwater Revival fans out there dreaming for a reunion tour...well, it's not gonna happen. Let me tell you why. After Tom Fogerty left the band in the early 70s, the band promptly spilt up and disappeared from sight. John Fogerty went on to continue a somewhat prosperous solo-career, however Creedence Clearwater Revival was gone.

In 1995, two of the former CCR members, bassist Stu Cook and drummer "Cosmo" Clifford, decided to revive the Revival. They contacted John Fogerty to see if he would like to join them on a reunion tour. He pretty much said, "No Way!" So they were forced to go elsewhere to put together a band.

They couldn't go to Tom Fogerty, because he had passed away, so instead, they got John Tristao for lead vocals, Elliot Easton for lead guitar, and Gunner for keyboards. The new band was formed. They would be called Creedence Clearwater Revisited!

Well, John didn't like the fact that this new band was touring the country playing old Creedence songs, masquerading as the original product. So he sued Clifford, Cook, and Tom Fogerty's widow (she had 1/4 of CCR's rights and allowed the Clifford/Cook venture to take place) for copyright infringment, fraud, and artistic appropriation. This naturally upset Revisited because they had majority rights to the name (3 out of 4 members approved), plus they performed with the disclaimer that Creedence Clearwater Revisited contained only 2 original members of CCR and would be playing classic songs of CCR.

The trial has not taken place yet. However, Fogerty was successful in getting the band to change its name. He successfully filed for a petition of temporary injunction. The band now goes by the name "Cosmo's Factory", a reference familiar to Creedence Fans from the band's fifth album title.


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