I Saw It on T.V.

Background

"I Saw It on T.V." is an album track on Centerfield, the third solo LP of John Fogerty who was incognito for eight and a half years before the comeback in mid 80's.  Like all the songs on the LP, this miniature history lesson was recorded at The Plant Studios in Sausalito, California, and engineered by Jeffrey Norman and Mark Slagle. The album went #1 in the USA.

The members of Creedence Clearwater won the years long court battle over their life savings in spring 1983. John Fogerty went fishing to the San Pablo Reservoir in El Sobrante, East Bay area next spring. While fishing he started to think about the things he's seen on T.V. as a young boy: the Eisenhower inauguration, the Yankees, the Mickey Mouse Club, Elvis Presley on Ed Sullivan Show etc. The words and melody started to come. After the trip, he thought he might be able to write again. The result was a song encapsulating 30 years of American history as witnessed by baby boomers through a televison screen. Fogerty regarded it as his first finished piece since 1973.  (John Fogerty, Fortunate Son, 2015).    

Recording session

After watching the baseball All-Star game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on the second week of July 1984, Fogerty booked the Plant Studios in Sausalito and recorded "I Can't Help Myself", "The Old Man Down the Road", "Rock And Roll Girls", "Searchlight", "Zanz Kant Danz" and "I Saw It On T.V." by the end of August 1984 (the rest of the tracks for Centerfield were recorded in September same year).  Fogerty played all the instruments by himself. Because he worked from detailed demos (which he recorded at his studio in Albany before heading for The Plant Studios) and notes, recording was straightforward and painless for the most part (Scott Isler, interview with John Fogerty, Time, January 28th, 1985; Scott Isler, interview with John Fogerty, Musician (US), March 1985).

Musical remarks

The song concludes with the riff of the intro of "Who'll Stop the Rain". The chords are the same (G and Em) but the reprise stops to the C major chord (Esa Laukkanen).

Collector's notes

A promotional single "I Saw It on T.V." b/w "I Saw It on T.V." (Warner WEA 173 PRO) came out in the USA in 1985. It had no picture sleeve (Peter Koers, Green River: An Illustrated Discography, 1999). 

Trivia

"I know it's true, 'Cause I saw it on T.V." was the first line Fogerty wrote for the song. It also broke his writer's block (Scott Isler, interview with John Fogerty, Musician, US, March 1985). 

"A man named Ike" is President Dwight G. Eisenhower.

"A young man from Boston" is President John F. Kennedy.

"Four guys from England" are The Beatles.

"But all too soon we hit the moon and covered up the sky" refers to the first moonflight in 1969. 

"Every night at six they showed the pictures" refers to the newscasts on the war in Vietnam.

"The light he says at the end of the tunnel" refers to the Watergate scandal. 

Live versions

Despite it's legacy (the song was voted as the seventh best song of the solo career of John Fogerty in the survey in the Internet in 1999 and 2005), "I Saw It on T.V." has been a rare number in concerts. After the 25th Anniversary version of Centerfield was released in summer 2010, Fogerty played "I Saw It on T.V." in three shows later in the autumn:

• Borgata Spa and Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA, on September 11th

• Auditorium Theatre in Rochester, New York, USA, on September 14th

• Casino Rama in Orillia, Ontario, Canada, on September 15th

Critical reception

"The album's most affecting tune, however, may be "I Saw It on T.V," a look at the way television has programmed so many shared emotions into the post-'50's generation. In the song, Fogerty traces the liberating effect of Presley's arrival, the idealism of the Kennedy years, the loss of innocence after his assassination, the celebration of the Beatles, the tragedy of Vietnam and the corruption of Watergate." -Robert Hilburn, The Los Angeles Times, December 4th, 1984.  

"---a charming, distanced view of the Sixties with a rolling Creedence-style melody---." -The Guardian, UK. February 14th, 1985.  

"When Fogerty evokes the passage of time on "I Saw It on T.V.", he summons images from Davy Crockett to Watergate - but nothing since. Even though that progression is meant to convey shame at the betrayal of American ideals, his words seem as nostalgic - and studied - as his choice of musical genres." -Jim Miller, Newsweek, February 18th, 1985.   

"The alienation reaches its culmination in "I Saw It on T.V." where Fogerty defines his personal and generational history by measuring their impact on him as TV events, the ultimate image of detachment." -Wayne King, The Record, April 1985.  

"In my opinion, the faint guitar strumming in the beginning is just like "Who'll Stop the Rain", and much of the rest of the song is also very similar. Fogerty's drumming closely resembles Doug Clifford's, the rhythm is almost identical, and the last notes couldn't be more exact! The lyrics are poignant, but the real "WStR" is still superior." -Matt Loewen 

"I like the nostalgic lyrics reflecting on times gone by from an innocent point of view. A little too similar to "Who'll Stop The Rain" in spots." -Glenn J. Wiener

"The middle third of the album hits a bit of a creative lull. “I Saw It On T.V.” has the flow and temperament of a CCR song with steady, strummed acoustic guitar and nice transitional guitars between vocal lines, which are much more refined than Fogerty’s usual soulful screed." -Classic Rock Review, July 28th, 2015. 

Fans' views

"Lean, clean and bluesy. Managed to take a subtle swipe at both Watergate and the Vietnam Conflict in the same line and not appear preachy. The reprise of "Who'll Stop the Rain" (UFAH) at the end is a classic device, reminiscent of the Beatle Guys reprising "She Love You" in "All You Need is Love."

"A time capsule of the 50's to 60's. John's low key response to Don McLean's "American Pie" perhaps. One of my favorites that really had something to say about American culture. I could ramble on about this song but one needs to listen to it to understand. Another that should be included in set lists."

"Still as true today as when he wrote this song; many Americans tend to believe ANYTHING if they see it on TV."

"Memories, oh those memories... Almost my life... How did he know!?"

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