John Fogerty - Back in "Centerfield"
After the dissolution of Clearance Clearwater Revival in the early 70s, John Fogerty “spent some time in the Mudville Nine, watching it from the bench”.??But, as he said in?this video?of him and The Grateful Dead playing the song?Centerfield?in 1989, “They sent me down and I learned to hit a curve real good. So, I wrote a song about what it might be like to get back.”?
First the clapping and then the familiar guitar riff…John Fogerty’s Centerfield quite simply blasts out of the speakers with a the universal “feel good “ belief that YES I’M GOOD ENOUGH, “put me in coach!”??His years as the front man for Clearance Clearwater Revival nearly a decade in the past, Centerfield is a great title track for an album that welcomed Fogerty back to the music business in 1985. Yes, he was good enough (by far) and yes, he belonged on the largest stage again.?
Combining Fogerty’s two passions rock and roll and baseball, he was a bit worried others might not find it “rock” enough.??But it’s universally loved and played at nearly every major and minor league ballpark in America, as well as at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Growing up in California, his team was the New York Yankees, because of San Francisco native Joe DiMaggio in centerfield.?
With baseball about to hit its second weekend of the season, it’s safe to quote Centerfield, “Beat the drum,?hold the phone, the sun came out today…there’s new grass on the field.” And as he says when introducing?Centerfield?in?this video, “Never give up hope, as long as there’s life there’s hope.”?