In the 1960's, Tom Fogerty and his younger brother John Fogerty formed a band.
Originally featuring Tom as the frontman before John took over, the brothers were joined by
musicians Stu Cook and Doug Clifford as they tried out different band names, like "The Blue Velvets"
and "The Golliwogs." Finally, they settled on a new band name: Creedence Clearwater Revival.
The band became a worldwide sensation,
but a bitter feud between Tom and John tore the group apart. Tragically,
they never truly reconciled before Tom's untimely death at just 48 years old in 1990.
Tom's passing was a shock to fans, especially because the New York Times
reported that the official cause of death was respiratory failure due to tuberculosis,
a disease that most people associate with the 19th century. But the full truth was later revealed:
Tom's tuberculosis was a complication from the AIDS virus, which according to Ultimate
Classic Rock, Tom acquired from a tainted blood transfusion during a back surgery in the 1980s.
Early in that decade, the human immunodeficiency virus and acquired
immune deficiency syndrome — aka HIV and AIDS — had made its way to the United States.
According to HIV And The Blood Supply: An Analysis Of Crisis Decisionmaking,
blood transfusions became a main avenue of transmission, with thousands of blood
transfusion recipients inadvertently infected. Sadly, Tom Fogerty was among those blood
transfusion recipients during a time when there was little to no treatment for HIV or AIDS.
Still, despite Tom's illness, he and John struggled to put aside their bitter feud,
which had torn the band apart almost two decades earlier.
By the time the band changed their name for the last time to Creedence Clearwater Revival,
they had found major success from 1968 to 1970, a meteoric rise during those years
with four top-five singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and three top-10 albums on the Billboard 200.
Even as they achieved popular success, though, the dynamic in the band had shifted,
and it was John on lead vocals fronting the band. Egos clashed, and Tom left the band in
1971 at the height of its popularity. The band broke up entirely at the end of 1972.
In the subsequent decades after CCR disbanded, the siblings and other band members were embroiled in
lawsuits and disagreements. John Fogerty wrote in his autobiography Fortunate Son:
My Life, My Music, that he felt Tom had sided against him by joining the rest of
the band in selling out to John's archenemy, producer Saul Zaentz. He told Opie Radio,
"The other three guys have sold their voting rights in Credence
to my worst enemy, Saul Zaentz, the guy at the record company. They sold their votes!"
John said that he attempted to reconcile, visiting Tom just
before the end. But even in his final days, Tom still considered Zaentz to be his best friend,
driving a wedge between the brothers that persisted after death.
"I was sad that life had been taken from Tom. And that sadness was mixed up with all the other
emotions. I was pissed that Saul had mangled our relationship, because he certainly messed it up.
Tom was an unwitting pawn. But all that sure doesn’t mean anything wherever Tom is now."
John went on to say that though they didn't reconcile in life,
he has since moved past his anger and forgiven him for the perceived betrayal.
"I love my brother. I sure loved the old family days, the way we were as kids.
It's resolved, and somehow Tom knows it's all right, wherever he is."
If John Fogerty's sadness about his brother Tom's death was mixed with other emotions,
Tom had mixed emotions about John as well. In a 1986 interview with MTV,
Tom said he was really impressed by his brother's talent as a musician.
"I think that he had one of the most unique voices.[...] I used to have to reinforce him
and say, I think it's right up there with Ray Charles and Van Morrison, you know,
it's a voice that's distinct and everybody already really liked that voice. And I had no
idea that he would go on to write such great songs too, though. So I think he's great."
All that said, Tom told the interviewer he never even listened to his brother's 1985
critically acclaimed comeback album, Centerfield,
because it was too painful due to the album's similarities to their work together in CCR.
"It was hard for me to get past that. So ultimately,
I never bought the album, never heard it."
From John's point of view,
Tom was always jealous of his talent — and so were CCR bandmates Cook and Clifford.
In 2000 John told The Guardian,
"I have very confused feelings for my brother because there was a time
when things were happy. The best I can say in Tom's case is he was the older
brother and the younger brother had a lot more talent, therefore he was
jealous even to a greater degree than the other two in Creedence Clearwater Revival."
One of those two, Stu Cook, summed up the whole tragic situation, telling the Guardian,
"It's the saddest story in rock and one of the longest ongoing stupid feuds."
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