Creedence Clearwater Revival had a notoriously acrimonious breakup, and over the years, frontman John Fogerty, bass player Stu Cook and drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford haven’t had a very amicable relationship. But now, Cook says that all three men are finally on the same page.
Cook tells ABC Audio that he and his former band mates have put their differences aside so they can all benefit from the group’s amazing musical legacy.
“We have a company,” he explains. “When we settled our last lawsuit over control of the trademark, we agreed that…we would work together to the benefit of all to try and monetize that in good taste. And, so that’s been the first thing that we’ve actually done together…since the band broke up, really.”
Essentially, Cook explains that the business deals allows him, Fogerty and Clifford to “focus on the good story of Creedence than, y’know, all the intrigue and, you know, the dirty water. We’re going with the ‘clear water.'”
And that, Cook says, may lead to a bunch of Creedence content in the future.
“It’s been one of my longtime dreams…to get at least a viable way to monetize our brand and help keep it out in front of people,” he notes. “So we have a merchandising deal now, but that’s just the beginning…I’m sure that, you know, there’s a film down the road somewhere. There’s probably a stage play. There’s multiple books. You know, there’s all kinds of opportunities.”
It seems the only challenge remaining, Cook says, is convincing other people that CCR has actually buried the hatchet for good.
“I really think that at this point, people are really not sure that we’ve actually mended fences enough to do business with,” he laughs. “But it’s true. It’s all true!”
