John Fogerty Kept Randy Newman Calm at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction
Before John Fogerty joined Randy Newman onstage last night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the former Creedence Clearwater Revival leader had his work cut out for him trying to keep Newman calm.
“I kept trying to be sort of a cheerleader,” Fogerty said backstage at the induction ceremony. “You’re nervous, you’re being inducted in the hall of fame, and suddenly everything gets larger. It seems more important and somehow kind of scary.”
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Though Newman was nervous, Fogerty helped to eased the singer and songwriter’s jitters before their performance with Jackson Browne and Tom Petty. “We were rehearsing the other day, and believe it or not, he forgot one of the chords in his intro,” Fogerty said. “What that is is your brain is going somewhere else, it just sort of . . . deserts you.” Fogerty told Newman to slow things down and everything fell back into place.
Fogerty also talked about his new album of duets, Wrote a Song for Everyone, out May 28th that features Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters, Bob Seger, Kid Rock, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban and more. “I’m proud of this record. It’s certainly the best thing I’ve been associated with,” Fogerty said. “We all have rock & roll in our DNA.”
Interview by Matt Diehl; text by RJ Cubarrubia.