Dance Of Life

Our recent birthday tribute to John Fogerty reminded me of one of the weirder musical controversies in the history of rock. Creedence had a top ten hit with Fogerty's song "Run Through The Jungle" in 1970, recorded for Fantasy Records.



To get out of contractual obligations, Fogerty gave up his CCR copyrights to Fantasy Records owner (and film producer) Saul Zaentz.

Years later, Fogerty had a solo top ten hit with "The Old Man Down The Road."



Zaentz claimed the chorus was the same as in "Run Through The Jungle" and sued Fogerty for plagiarizing himself.  He lost the suit, but Fogerty was so annoyed he didn't sing any CCR songs for years afterwards.

He also recorded a song "Zanz Kant Danz." Zaentz considered the song defamatory (see why below) and sued.  As part of a settlement, the song was changed to "Vanz Kant Danz."