Creedence Clearwater Revisited's Doug Clifford On Why He Likes The New England Patriots
When it comes to the greatest American rock & roll bands of all time, Creedence Clearwater Revival ought to come to mind. Having sold more than 30 million albums and singles in the United States alone -- even though the group was only active for four years -- the California-based quartet charted nearly two dozen singles in the States. In other words, Creedence had many more hits than you may realize.
Bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford -- the founding rhythm section of Creedence Clearwater Revival -- formed Creedence Clearwater Revisited in 1995, over 20 years after Revival stopped playing together. Cook and Clifford play an average of 75 shows per year, having toured all over North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Asia for the past 23 years. This writer had the pleasure of seeing Creedence Clearwater Revisited live at last year's St. Kitts Music Festival, and was blown away by the headlining set of the quintet -- as rounded out by vocalist Dan McGuinness, guitarist Kurt Griffey and multi-instrumentalist Steve Gunner -- which consisted of nothing but hits.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Doug "Cosmo" Clifford about his love of football, which is specifically directed towards the New England Patriots these days. More on Clifford and band can be found online at www.creedence-revisited.com.
I've read that you are a fan of the New England Patriots. How did that happen?
Doug Clifford: I just like a winning combination, I like everything about it. I like a guy that is a sixth round draft pick, nobody gave a chance to or even thought about until he was forced into action. Crusty old Bill Belichick, the guy is a genius and the fact that he stuck with the same quarterback for all these years, there's nothing else that compares to their relationship and the winning desires of Tom Brady.
I was a Raiders fan for years growing up, when they first came to town I was 16 years of age. Stu Cook's -- from our band -- father was their lawyer for years; Stu has a Super Bowl ring as a result of that. I was a huge fan and then Al Davis just kind of got a little wacky (laughs) and things changed. Kenny Stabler gave my wife and I season tickets a few years back, when they were winning. They were big Creedence fans and I got to go to a practice and meet Johnny Unitas, one of my heroes growing up. I got to go into the locker room with my little boys, and there was Art Shell and Gene Upshaw sitting naked on a bench. (laughs) Those were the days when the Raiders were the Raiders. They had John Matuszak and all of that, but it's changed quite a bit.
I like the [Patriots] formula, if you will. But it requires a lot of patience and a lot of hard work and study to be a guy that's gone to eight Super Bowls and won four of them.
Were you yourself ever a football player? Even for fun?
Doug Clifford: Yeah, I was a football player. I was a very good athlete, actually, in high school, but my parents gave me an ultimatum: drums or sports after school. They both worked, so I'd come home after school and practice and they had come from work and wanted to have their Manhattan [cocktail] and relax.
Here I am pounding away, so I made the right choice, I chose to play drums. I was recruited by the Coast Guard through a fictitious story. I was a super defensive back and the Coast Guard had a program of going and recruiting college athletes to save them from going into the army, for a two to four-year run of playing football for six months. It was a terrific deal, having only played one year of high school ball. I led the league in interceptions... (laughs) But I made the right choice, I'm still playing drums.
I had the pleasure of seeing you live in St. Kitts last year and you were in incredible shape. What sort of fitness regimen do you have besides playing the drums?
Doug Clifford: I live at an altitude of 6,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada, Lake Tahoe. I don't run anymore in high surfaces, it's too much pounding [on the knees]. But I go downhill two miles at that elevation daily, a couple of hundred crunches daily, light dumbbells and machine work, and then I practice [drums]. I'm 73 years old and I've been lifting weights and working out since I was 15.
So finally, Doug, any last words for the kids?
Doug Clifford: If you're gonna be an athlete, be a good one, do the best one you can. Try and remember something about sportsmanship, which seems to be lacking like a lot of things are these days. I think if you truly love sports, the way to keep it special is to play it right and use good sportsmanship as your compass. For young musicians, don't sign anything without a good lawyer. (laughs) I can tell you that.