John Fogerty to Receive Johnny Mercer Award at 2026 Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala
John Fogerty is set to receive the Johnny Mercer Award, the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s top honor, at the annual SHOF Induction and Awards Gala, set for June 11 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York.
The Mercer Award is reserved for a songwriter or songwriting team who has already been inducted into the SHOF and whose body of work is of such high quality and impact that it upholds the high standards set by Johnny Mercer, the lyricist on such standards as “Moon River” and “The Days of Wine and Roses.” Fogerty was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005
Fogerty was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of Creedence Clearwater Revival. He’s the 12th person to be inducted into the Rock Hall as a performer and also receive the Mercer Award from the SHOF. He follows Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Dolly Parton, Phil Collins (inducted into the Rock Hall as a member of Genesis), Elton John, Van Morrison, Lionel Richie and Neil Diamond.
As the songwriter, singer, lead guitarist, arranger, and producer for Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fogerty’s catalog includes such classics as “Proud Mary” and “Born on the Bayou.” Three of his songs – “Fortunate Son,” “Bad Moon Rising,” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” – have each surpassed one billion streams. Two years after CCR had a smash with “Proud Mary,” Ike & Tina Turner utterly redefined the song with a soulful, and ultimately frenetic, version that reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy.
Fogerty topped the Billboard 200 with two CCR albums (Green River in 1969 and Cosmo’s Factory in 1970) and with his 1985 solo album, Centerfield. That album’s title track is the only song to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. CCR amassed nine top 10 hits on the Hot 100, including five that reached No. 2. They had more No. 2 hits without ever landing a No. 1 than any other act in Hot 100 history. Fogerty also landed a top 10 hit as a solo artist, “The Old Man Down the Road.”
Fogerty won his only Grammy in 1998 — best rock album for Blue Moon Swamp. Fogerty has received eight career Grammy nominations, but never in a songwriting category. (The Grammys might like a do-over on that one.) In 2021, he released his first original song in eight years titled “Weeping in the Promised Land,” a poignant, gospel-tinged reflection on the social and political climate. (Sadly, the song is probably even more relevant today.)
BMI has presented Fogerty with three career honors – the Icon Award (2010), Board of Directors Award (2023) and the Troubadour Award (2025). NAMM awarded him with the “Music for Life” honor (2023). Fogerty also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1998).
In 2023, Fogerty was able to regain the publishing rights to his songs, a victory that took him more than 50 years to achieve. In 2025, Fogerty released Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years. The 20-track collection – produced by Fogerty and his son Shane, with executive production by his wife Julie – presents new versions of his most beloved songs.
By coincidence, one of this year’s SHOF inductees, Taylor Swift, also had a headline-making experience regaining control of her music (not the publishing rights, in her case, but the masters). Swift, 36, is set to become the second-youngest inductee in SHOF history. Stevie Wonder was just 32 when he was inducted in 1983.
Other SHOF inductees this year are Walter Afanasieff; Terry Britten and Graham Lyle; Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of KISS; Kenny Loggins; Alanis Morissette; and Christopher “Tricky” Stewart.
SHOF Chairman Nile Rodgers said in a statement, “The first time I heard Creedence Clearwater Revival, I was a mere highschooler. It was also the first time I heard John Fogerty’s voice, one of the most distinctive ever. To this day I’ve never heard anyone else sound like him. His unique songwriting ability is another quality. He’s one of those rare talents who is unmistakably himself. His style of composition is rock and roll mastery. It’s what I’ve always personally believed in, something I call ‘The art of complex simplicity.’ He’s done what I believe all great songwriters do. He makes us feel. He deserves this award as much as anyone who’s ever received it, or will receive it, in the future. I send my congratulations to John Fogerty.”
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