MUSIC NEWS- On July 25th, after the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, John Fogerty's legendary baseball bat-shaped guitar will be put on display and become part of the exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum. This will be the first time that the Museum will immortalize a musician as part of the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, which by the way, has for more than a decade kicked off their annual festivities with the playing of the baseball'ss unofficial anthem, Fogerty's classic tune, "CENTERFIELD
But the famed bat almost didn't make it to Cooperstown, NY. Fogerty recently commented, "That guitar means a lot to me. It's symbolizes two of my great loves, baseball and the guitar. When 'Centerfield' came out, it was after a long break and was such an important album to me on many levels. The lessons of baseball - the hits, the misses, the triumphs, and the losses - were something that I could really relate to in my life. So I got this idea to make a baseball bat guitar and of course, it had to be a Louisville Slugger. Well, there's nothing else like it in the world, and I think 'Slugger' will be happy at the Baseball Hall of Fame. "
The guitar, named "Slugger," was crafted by Philip Kubicki and had been in a storage facility in Tennessee this May when storms struck Nashville, and caused the Cumberland River to overflow, killing nearly thirty. Along with equipment owned by some of the music industry's best-known artists, Fogerty's bat-shaped guitar was underwater in the facility for nearly five days before anyone could enter the building. Currently being restored, Fogerty will be reunited with his prized guitar for the first time after the floods when he performs in Cooperstown.
Celebrating the return of the 25th anniversary of the 1985 album, Centerfield - 25th Anniversary Edition(out via Geffen/UMe, order above), was released on June 29 and features the original album, digitally remastered, and adds a pair of rare B-side bonus tracks--covers of the Rockin' Sydney '80s hit "My Toot Toot" and the '50s R&B/doo wop gem "I Confess."
Dedicated to a character in a favorite children's record of Fogerty's and to "dreams that survive," Centerfield is about childhood, family and growing up. And like baseball itself, a love of which is passed down from generation to generation, Centerfield has become an album shared across generations.
More @ JohnFogerty.com
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