{"id":40929,"date":"1988-09-13T11:30:00","date_gmt":"1988-09-13T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=40929"},"modified":"2026-02-25T21:39:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T05:39:30","slug":"matr-bruce-springsteen-and-john-fogerty-bad-moon-rising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/09\/13\/matr-bruce-springsteen-and-john-fogerty-bad-moon-rising\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Moon Rising"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It wasn&#8217;t their only single to fall victim to the Creedence curse, but given its lyrics, it&#8217;s amazing &#8220;Bad Moon Rising&#8221; made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 at all.<\/p>\n<p>John Fogerty paired his foreboding words with a rollicking melody, and the result is a track so bright you have to concentrate to recognize it&#8217;s pretty nihilistic.<\/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\/zUQiUFZ5RDw?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>When Creedence Clearwater Revival released it as the lead single from <em>Green River <\/em>(their second of a remarkable <em>three <\/em>Top Ten albums in 1969), &#8220;Bad Moon Rising&#8221; became one of five CCR singles to stop just one slot shy of the top of the chart.<\/p>\n<p>Its dire lyrics spoke for the times (and sadly still do), but its happy melody and famously mondegreen chorus made &#8220;Bad Moon Rising&#8221; an earworm and the band&#8217;s signature song. In the more than fifty years since its release, a wide array of artists have covered it, from Bo Diddley to Emmylou Harris to The Killers&#8211;and (of course) to Bruce Springsteen.<\/p>\n<p>Springsteen has been a Fogerty fan for as long as he&#8217;s been playing music, first covering him in concert the very same week &#8220;Bad Moon Rising&#8221; was released. No audio exists from that show, but every one of Bruce&#8217;s seven &#8220;Bad Moon Rising&#8221; performances circulates among collectors. His debut performance came at an under-the-radar Halloween show in 1987 with the E Street Band (operating undercover as The Terrorists of Love) at McLoone&#8217;s Rum Runner in Sea Bright, New Jersey.<\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-40929-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/1987-10-31-Bad-Moon-Rising.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/1987-10-31-Bad-Moon-Rising.mp3\">https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/1987-10-31-Bad-Moon-Rising.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>From a Jersey shore club to a French royal castle: six months later Bruce turned up in Paris, where he concluded his four-song set at the S.O.S. Racisme Concert with a solo acoustic performance of Fogerty&#8217;s classic.<\/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\/NKirK6dsAfo?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>That was Bruce&#8217;s last &#8220;Bad Moon Rising&#8221; performance for sixteen years. When it surfaced next, he was performing it with the original artist.<\/p>\n<p>Fogerty made nightly appearances with Springsteen on the short-lived (and ill-fated) Vote for Change Tour in 2004, rotating through a selection of his greatest hits backed by Bruce and the E Street Band. &#8220;Bad Moon Rising&#8221; featured at three of those shows, including this performance at the tail end of the tour.<\/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\/lQfkFauF-Us?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;start=266&#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>The highest-quality recording of a Springsteen &#8220;Bad Moon Rising&#8221; performance is the most obscure of the bunch: a private benefit for his kids&#8217; school in April 2005 at The Stone Pony.<\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-40929-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/2005-04-10-T06-Bad-Moon-Rising.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/2005-04-10-T06-Bad-Moon-Rising.mp3\">https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/2005-04-10-T06-Bad-Moon-Rising.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>Bruce&#8217;s final &#8220;Bad Moon Rising&#8221; performance to date was on the Wrecking Ball Tour, when he honored a fan&#8217;s request in Leeds, England.<\/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\/n9Jtfq08PBM?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>Even though it&#8217;s been a full decade since that last &#8220;Bad Moon Rising&#8221; performance, don&#8217;t bet against another appearance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Update:\u00a0<\/strong>Sure enough, Bruce and John performed it together at the American Music Honors in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Bruce has covered more of John Fogerty&#8217;s songs than almost any other artist. This is our seventh entry on Fogerty covers, and we&#8217;re not done yet.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bad Moon Rising<br \/>\nFirst performed:<\/strong> October 31, 1987 (Sea Bright, NJ)<br \/>\n<strong>Last performed:<\/strong> April 26, 2025 (West Long Branch, NJ)<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 January 18, 2023<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Springsteen has covered John Fogerty&#8217;s signature song seven times over the years. Check them all out here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40933,"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":[3570,693,694],"class_list":["post-40929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-me","category-great","category-meeting-across-the-river","tag-bad-moon-rising","tag-creedence-clearwater-revival","tag-john-fogerty"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/badmoon.jpg?fit=1013%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-aE9","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1416,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/05\/cover-me-run-through-the-jungle\/","url_meta":{"origin":40929,"position":0},"title":"Cover Me: Run Through the Jungle","author":"Ken","date":"April 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A quiet, taut take on the CCR anti-gun classic rocker. \"200 millions guns are loaded...\" If only.","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\/2018\/04\/jungle.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"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":40929,"position":1},"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":30011,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/07\/25\/matr-bruce-springsteen-and-john-fogerty-green-river\/","url_meta":{"origin":40929,"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":13795,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/08\/23\/matr-john-fogerty-and-bruce-springsteen-fortunate-son\/","url_meta":{"origin":40929,"position":3},"title":"Fortunate Son","author":"Ken","date":"August 23, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce teamed up with John Fogerty on \"Fortunate Son\" nightly during 2004's Vote for Change Tour, but that wasn't the first time Bruce covered John's anti-war anthem. Listen to rare early bar performances inside.","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\/2019\/11\/Fortunate-Son-Main.jpg?fit=1173%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Fortunate-Son-Main.jpg?fit=1173%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Fortunate-Son-Main.jpg?fit=1173%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Fortunate-Son-Main.jpg?fit=1173%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Fortunate-Son-Main.jpg?fit=1173%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"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":40929,"position":4},"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":[]},{"id":36370,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/21\/matr-john-eddie-bruce-springsteen-and-friends-hey-tonight\/","url_meta":{"origin":40929,"position":5},"title":"MatR: John Eddie, Bruce Springsteen, and Friends: Hey Tonight","author":"Ken","date":"July 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"One time only (in public at least): Bruce Springsteen covers John Fogerty's 1971 hit single with John Eddie, Greg Kihn, Elliott Murphy, and Marshall Crenshaw.","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\/2022\/08\/hey-tonight.jpg?fit=770%2C770&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/hey-tonight.jpg?fit=770%2C770&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/hey-tonight.jpg?fit=770%2C770&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/hey-tonight.jpg?fit=770%2C770&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40929","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=40929"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68045,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40929\/revisions\/68045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}