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John Fogerty tells Joe Rogan his wife saved his life from alcohol abuse

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John Fogerty credits his wife for saving his life after a difficult period in his career.

During a recent interview “The Joe Rogan Experiencepodcast, the 80-year-old Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) founder talked about a tumultuous time in his music career following a legal battle with his record label over the ownership of his songs, and thanked his wife for helping him “bring out his good side.”

“Of course, a lot of that comes from the care of my wife, Julie. If I hadn’t met her, I’d probably be dead. It’s that simple,” he said. “I couldn’t see a way out. I was really abusing myself, mostly alcohol. I felt really bad inside.”

He went on to explain that someone who feels like him “isn’t operating on the same plane as everyone else in the world” and that “you can kind of become a pathetic person.”

Fogerty credits his wife, Julie, for saving his life when he was in a bad situation. (Getty Images for Kevin Winter/ACMA2013/ACM)

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“If it really hurts for whatever reason, in my case, it means something really unfair was done to me,” he said. “But no matter how you get there and then you start abusing yourself with drugs, alcohol, etc… it becomes a habit. You just stay there, right? And so you can’t really enjoy the sunshine and the love around you.”

The Grammy-winning musician stated that he had this way of thinking when he met his wife, Julie, while on tour in 1986.

Fogerty said he should have been “overjoyed” by the success of his third solo album, “Centerfield,” but instead admitted he felt “miserable” and bitter due to repressed emotions, adding that he was in “constant binge drinking mode.”

He later released “Eye of the Zombie”, which was less successful but managed to rebound after meeting Julie.

John Fogerty and Julie Fogerty at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in February 1998

Fogerty met his wife in 1986 while on tour in what he calls “constant binge mode.” (Ron Galella Collection via Ron Galella, Ltd./Getty Images)

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“One day [I] “Suddenly I met Julie, I did not expect to meet the love of my life, she was the person I felt I was destined to meet and with her good grace she was the person who would help me find myself, enjoy life and find the joy of living again,” he said. “And everything changed.”

Fogerty and Julie were married in April 1991 and had three children together during their 35-year marriage: sons Shane, 34, Tyler, 33, and daughter Kelsy, 24.

Fogerty, the founder of CCR, wrote many of the band’s biggest hits, including “Proud Mary,” “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Down on the Corner” and “Fortunate Son,” but did not own the rights to them until he finally settled a decades-long dispute with the label in January 2023.

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“As of this January, I have my own songs again. It’s something I never thought would be possible,” Fogerty said in a statement. “After 50 years, I’m finally reunited with my songs. I also have a say in where and how my songs are used. Until this year, that was something I was never able to do. I look forward to touring and celebrating this year! I want to thank Concord for helping make this all happen. And I’m excited for the new ideas and renewed interest in my music…it’s like a revival.”

John Fogerty on stage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas in September 2025.

Fogerty regained the rights to his music in January 2023 after fighting for decades. (Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)

Fogerty first left Fantasy Records in 1974 in a contentious separation; The musician was fighting with the record company over his music from the beginning.

Fantasy Records went so far as to sue Fogerty for plagiarism, with Fogerty telling Rogan, “I got sued because I sound like myself.”

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“I am father [of these songs]. I created them,” said Fogerty billboardIn that case. “They should never have been taken away in the first place. And this kidnapping left a huge hole in me. The happiest way to look at it is, yeah, it’s not the whole thing. It’s not a 100 percent win for me, but it’s definitely better than it was. I’m still in shock, really.”