Joy of My Life

Background

“Joy of My Life” is the tenth track on Blue Moon Swamp, the fifth solo album of John Fogerty. It came out in May 1997. The cut was written, produced and arranged by John Fogerty, engineered by John Lowson and mixed by Bob Clearmountain. The conversational song about his wife Julie is the first love song John Fogerty has written unless "Long As I Can See the Light" is counted.

The tune started to evolve in 1991 when Fogerty attended the Oshkosh aviation show in Wisconsin. When the organizers asked "How's Julie?" Fogerty always answered "Well' she's the joy of my life".  Then the organizers: "You're always saying 'She's the joy of my life'. You should write a song."  After getting serious with the dobro in 1992, Fogerty wrote the riff for the song at the Kern River draining an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield in California. The words started coming after returning back home, putting the kids down and lying in bed with his wife (John Fogerty, Fortunate Son, 2015).  

Personnel

Dobro, bouzouki (Irish), acoustic guitar, vocals: John Fogerty

Bass: Bob Glaub

Drums: Kenny Aronoff

Claves, tambourine: Luis Conté

Cuban percussionist Luis Conté has played in sessions and toured with Madonna, Phil Collins, Pat Metheny and James Taylor, just to list a few. Bass player Bob Glaub has played with an incredible range of rock musicians. Drummer Kenny Aronoff came to Blue Moon Swamp sessions in 1995. "Joy of My Life" is one of the five cuts on the album where he contributed with a drum track (John Fogerty, Fortunate Son, 2015).  

Live versions

John Fogerty played "Joy of My Life" for the public for the first time as a surprise number in a private concert at the school of the kids of the Fogertys before the album was out. Fogerty only accompanied himself with the dobro. His wife didn't know anything about the song before this night (Jennifer McJunkin, Interview with John Fogerty, House of Blues, May 1997).   

As for the regular concerts, the world premiere took place on the opening leg of the 1997 Blue Moon Swamp World Tour at the Fillmore in San Francisco on May 18th, 1997.  Fogerty sat down and accompanied himself with the dobro.  The number was delivered in each concert of the Blue Moon Swamp and Premonition Tours in 1997-1998. "Joy of My Life" also appears on the Premonition concert DVD which came to stores in 1998. 

The flannel shirt maestro only performed "Joy of My Life" twice on TV in summer 1997 while promoting the Blue Moon Swamp album: in the French TV show Nulle Part Ailleurs on June 20th and VH1 Storytellers which came out in the USA on June 29th. Both versions were acoustic. After many years from that, Fogerty also performed the song in his birthday bash at El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on May 28th, 2013. It was aired by AXS-TV in the USA. 

Fogerty also played an acoustic version of "Joy of My Life" during the interview for Album Network in Burbank, California, on May 12th, 1997. Another opportunity to hear the song live on the radio was provided on July 26th, 2009, when the Italian public radio RAI broadcast a part of Fogerty's concert live in Lucca, Tuscany, Italy.   

The song made a short return to the concert programming during the US legs of the Deja Vu All Over Again Tour in autumn 2004, 2009 and 2012. In fall 2013, a striking electric guitar solo by Devon Pangle was added to the arrangement of the concert version. Furthermore, from this point onwards, recordings of the John Fogerty concerts were officially made available for the public as files.   

Critical reception

"--- a sober and loving companion to Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight." Middle-aged love songs are generally the province of country music, but Fogerty strikes exactly the right balance between trite and tender." -Grant Alden, The Rolling Stone, June 12th, 1997. 

 'Joy of My Life,' --- is heavy-handed, almost repellent in its treacle. Years ago, Fogerty's rigid worldview wouldn't let him mouth banalities like "Long as I have you/ I'll treasure each and every day." Now we're supposed to think he's matured or something." -Bill Wyman, The San Francisco Weekly, July 16th, 1997. 

"--- suffers from an ordinary melody and sensitive but lacklustre lyrics." -Hal Horowitz, The Music Monitor, summer 1997.

"--- by far the sweetest, most romantic thing Fogerty has ever produced and is only enhanced by Fogerty’s wonderfully appealing Dobro licks.  I contend that had this song been released by any major, mainstream, male Country music artist at any point in the last 20 years, it would have been a mammoth hit." -Cole Powell, Southern Senses, September 14th, 2015. 

Fans' views

"Wonderful dobro, nice message without being too mushy."

"Love that Dobro guitar in that song. It has fine lyrics coming out of John´s heart."

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