{"id":13795,"date":"1988-08-23T11:00:00","date_gmt":"1988-08-23T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=13795"},"modified":"2026-02-23T21:05:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T05:05:11","slug":"matr-john-fogerty-and-bruce-springsteen-fortunate-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/08\/23\/matr-john-fogerty-and-bruce-springsteen-fortunate-son\/","title":{"rendered":"Fortunate Son"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At the first night of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concerts, on a night that was basically all highlights, one of the best was the team-up between Bruce Springsteen and one of his great songwriting influences.<\/p>\n<p>By way of introduction, Bruce called John Fogerty &#8220;the Hank Williams of our generation,&#8221; but everyone would have known who he was regardless, just as soon as Fogerty launched into that riff.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iQqHzPzQsMg?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>If it seems like John and the E Street Band were a natural pairing on &#8220;Fortunate Son,&#8221; that might be because they had lots of practice: on Bruce&#8217;s short-lived Vote for Change Tour in 2004, a Fogerty-fronted &#8220;Fortunate Son&#8221; was a nightly set list centerpiece.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eCWvUTP9VXA?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>But that tour wasn&#8217;t the first time Bruce and the E Street Band played &#8220;Fortunate Son&#8221; together. They actually played it together twice before, but to much smaller crowds. Their debut performance came at The Stone Pony, a rare gig during the summer of 1987:<\/p>\n<div id=\"v-zpqRMmWn-1\" class=\"video-player\"><iframe title='VideoPress Video Player' aria-label='VideoPress Video Player' width='758' height='426' src='https:\/\/videopress.com\/embed\/zpqRMmWn?hd=1&amp;cover=1&amp;loop=0&amp;autoPlay=0&amp;permalink=1&amp;muted=0&amp;controls=1&amp;playsinline=0&amp;useAverageColor=0&amp;preloadContent=metadata' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen data-resize-to-parent=\"true\" allow='clipboard-write'><\/iframe><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" src='https:\/\/s0.wp.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/video\/assets\/js\/next\/videopress-iframe.js'><\/script><\/div>\n<p>Just a couple of months later, Bruce and the E Street Band reprised their performance at McLoone&#8217;s Rum Runner in Seat Bright on Halloween night:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CL-qWBgaIkw?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>(and in between, Bruce even played it with the Stone Pony house band, Cats on a Smooth Surface)<\/p>\n<div id=\"v-OdtlsJTq-1\" class=\"video-player\"><iframe title='VideoPress Video Player' aria-label='VideoPress Video Player' width='758' height='426' src='https:\/\/videopress.com\/embed\/OdtlsJTq?hd=1&amp;cover=1&amp;loop=0&amp;autoPlay=0&amp;permalink=1&amp;muted=0&amp;controls=1&amp;playsinline=0&amp;useAverageColor=0&amp;preloadContent=metadata' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen data-resize-to-parent=\"true\" allow='clipboard-write'><\/iframe><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" src='https:\/\/s0.wp.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/video\/assets\/js\/next\/videopress-iframe.js'><\/script><\/div>\n<p>The original Creedence Clearwater Revival recording was already a classic anti-war anthem, and its stature has only grown since. Peaking at #3 upon its original 1969 release, Rolling Stone eventually inducted it into their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list at #99.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ec0XKhAHR5I?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>With three Springsteen performances in the summer of 1987, one might have expected to see &#8220;Fortunate Son&#8221; make the set list in the politically charged opening of the second set during the Tunnel of Love Express Tour. But of course it didn&#8217;t happen, and instead we had to wait 17 years before Bruce and the E Street Band performed it again.<\/p>\n<p>But while almost every post-Reunion era Springsteen performance of &#8220;Fortunate Son&#8221; has featured Fogerty&#8217;s vocals, Bruce did treat us to one very special one-off team-up. At the free Concert for Valor in Washington DC on Veteran&#8217;s Day 2014, Bruce joined Dave Grohl and the Zac Brown Band for a ferociously pointed rendition.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BXTMhDJD3vk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p><strong>Fortunate Son<br \/>\nFirst performed:<\/strong> August 9, 1987 (Asbury Park, NJ)<br \/>\n<strong>Last performed:<\/strong> April 26, 2025 (West Long Branch, NJ)<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 November 9, 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bruce teamed up with John Fogerty on &#8220;Fortunate Son&#8221; nightly during 2004&#8217;s Vote for Change Tour, but that wasn&#8217;t the first time Bruce covered John&#8217;s anti-war anthem. Listen to rare early bar performances inside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,3612,5],"tags":[693,1865,1866,694,1202],"class_list":["post-13795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-me","category-great","category-meeting-across-the-river","tag-creedence-clearwater-revival","tag-dave-grohl","tag-fortunate-son","tag-john-fogerty","tag-zac-brown"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Fortunate-Son-Main.jpg?fit=1395%2C1427&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-3Av","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27625,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/04\/09\/matr-bruce-springsteen-and-john-fogerty-centerfield\/","url_meta":{"origin":13795,"position":0},"title":"Centerfield","author":"Ken","date":"April 9, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce performed the only song enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame nightly with its original artist during the Vote for Change Tour.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/centerfield.jpg?fit=1200%2C1124&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/centerfield.jpg?fit=1200%2C1124&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/centerfield.jpg?fit=1200%2C1124&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/centerfield.jpg?fit=1200%2C1124&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/centerfield.jpg?fit=1200%2C1124&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19493,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/04\/19\/matr-john-fogerty-and-bruce-springsteen-deja-vu-all-over-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":13795,"position":1},"title":"Deja Vu (All Over Again)","author":"Ken","date":"April 19, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"When America found itself enmeshed in an unpopular foreign war (again), John Fogerty met the moment. On the Vote For Change Tour, the E Street Band backed Fogerty each night for his comeback track.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/dejavu.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/dejavu.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/dejavu.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/dejavu.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/dejavu.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30011,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/07\/25\/matr-bruce-springsteen-and-john-fogerty-green-river\/","url_meta":{"origin":13795,"position":2},"title":"Green River","author":"Ken","date":"July 25, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"It took four decades and seven private priors, but Bruce finally debuted \"Green River\" on the E Street stage with its songwriter, John Fogerty.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/greenriver.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/greenriver.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/greenriver.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/greenriver.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/greenriver.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40929,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/09\/13\/matr-bruce-springsteen-and-john-fogerty-bad-moon-rising\/","url_meta":{"origin":13795,"position":3},"title":"Bad Moon Rising","author":"Ken","date":"September 13, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Springsteen has covered John Fogerty's signature song seven times over the years. Check them all out here.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/badmoon.jpg?fit=1013%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/badmoon.jpg?fit=1013%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/badmoon.jpg?fit=1013%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/badmoon.jpg?fit=1013%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25938,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/04\/19\/matr-john-fogerty-and-bruce-springsteen-born-on-the-bayou\/","url_meta":{"origin":13795,"position":4},"title":"MatR: John Fogerty and Bruce Springsteen: Born on the Bayou","author":"Ken","date":"April 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"One time only: Bruce Springsteen and John Fogerty trade lead vocals on a smoking performance of \"Born on the Bayou\" at the 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/bornbayou.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/bornbayou.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/bornbayou.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/bornbayou.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23944,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/12\/28\/matr-john-fogerty-and-bruce-springsteen-when-will-i-be-loved\/","url_meta":{"origin":13795,"position":5},"title":"MatR: John Fogerty and Bruce Springsteen: When Will I Be Loved","author":"Ken","date":"December 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"When John Fogerty decided to record a sequel to his 1973 debut album, Bruce decided it was finally time to join his friend in the studio.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/whenwillibeloved.jpg?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13795"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67981,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13795\/revisions\/67981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}