Thomas Richard Fogerty

 Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990)

He began singing rock and roll in high school. He and his younger brother, John, had separate groups. Tom's band, Spider Webb and the Insects (which featured Jeremy Levine of the Seeds), signed a recording contract with Del-Fi Records but broke up in 1959 before releasing any records. The Blue Velvets—a group led by John—began backing Tom. Eventually Tom joined the band, and the group recorded three singles (with Tom on lead vocals) for Orchestra Records in 1961 and 1962. By the mid 1960s, the group had been renamed The Golliwogs. In 1968, the band was again renamed—this time to Creedence Clearwater Revival—and John had become full-time lead singer and primary songwriter. During the few years of the life of CCR, Tom sang backing vocals and wrote songs, but only one of his songs from when CCR was named the Golliwogs ("Walking on the Water") was re-recorded and chosen to be put on CCR's debut album. This lack of vocal and songwriting opportunity, along with festering, long-standing animosity with his brother, led him to leave the band in early 1971, after finishing the recording of Pendulum. After leaving the band, Fogerty began performing and recording as a solo artist. He had minor hits like "Goodbye Media Man", "Cast The First Stone", "Joyful Resurrection", and "B.A.R.T". He remained with Fantasy Records and his 1971 solo debut album, Tom Fogerty, reached No. 78 on the Billboard 200 chart. Throughout the rest of the 1970's and 1980's, Tom Fogerty continued to record. He claimed all royalties from the CCR period and sued Fantasy Records. Later, Tom re-signed with Fantasy. At the October 1980 reception for Tom's marriage to Tricia Clapper, all four members of CCR reunited and performed for the first time in a decade.

Fogerty later underwent back surgery, and was given a blood transfusion which was not screened for HIV. This caused him to become infected with the disease and subsequently resulted in his contraction of AIDS alongside his ensuing complications with tuberculosis, all of which eventually led to his death on September 6, 1990. He was 48 years old.