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Centerfield
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the song and album. For the baseball position, see Center fielder.
| Centerfield | ||
 |
||
| Studio album by John Fogerty | ||
| Released | January 15, 1985 | |
| Recorded | July-September 1984 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 35:20 | |
| Label | Warner Bros. | |
| Producer(s) | John Fogerty | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| John Fogerty chronology | ||
| Hoodoo (1976) |
Centerfield (1985) |
Eye of the Zombie (1986) |
Centerfield is an album by musician John Fogerty, released in 1985. It was his most popular post-Creedence album, containing the hit singles "The Old Man Down the Road", "Rock and Roll Girls" and the title track "Centerfield". Fogerty played all the instruments on this album himself, thanks to overdubbing.
- "The Old Man Down The Road" (Fogerty) – 3:34
- "Rock and Roll Girls" (Fogerty) – 3:28
- "Big Train (From Memphis)" (Fogerty) – 2:58
- "I Saw It on T.V." (Fogerty) – 4:20
- "Mr. Greed" (Fogerty) – 4:09
- "Searchlight" (Fogerty) – 4:31
- "Centerfield" (Fogerty) – 3:53
- "I Can't Help Myself" (Fogerty) – 3:15
- "Vanz Kant Danz" (Fogerty) – 5:32
"Zanz Kant Danz" was altered and re-titled "Vanz Kant Danz" a few months after the release of the album in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid a defamation lawsuit from Saul Zaentz, owner of Fantasy Records. The altered "Vanz Kant Danz" version of this song appears on all post-1985 pressings of the album.
A Zaentz lawsuit claimed that "The Old Man Down The Road" shared the same chorus as "Run Through The Jungle" (a song from Fogerty's days with Creedence Clearwater Revival: years before, Fogerty had relinquished copy and publishing rights of his Creedence songs to Zaentz and Fantasy, in exchange for release from his contractual obligations to same). The defendant Fogerty ultimately prevailed, when he showed that the two songs were whole, separate and distinct compositions. Bringing his guitar to the witness stand, he played excerpts from both songs, demonstrating that many songwriters (himself included) have distinctive styles that can make different compositions sound similar to less discerning ears.
After prevailing as defendant, Fogerty sued Zaentz for the cost of defending himself against the copyright infringement. In such (copyright) cases, prevailing defendants seeking recompense were bound to show that original suit was frivolous or made in bad faith.
Fogerty v. Zaentz became precedent when the Supreme Court (1993) overturned lower court rulings and awarded attorneys' fees to Fogerty, without Fogerty having to show that Zaentz's original suit was frivolous.
President George W. Bush calls the song "Centerfield" his favorite song. This could be seen as ironic since Forgerty is a staunch opponent of President Bush's policies, even releasing an anti-war record in 2004.
John Fogerty once said in an interview that the song "The Old Man Down the Road" is about Ronald Reagan, whose policies Fogerty disliked.
The RIAA has certified the album double-platinum (2 million album sales).