Ken and Evelyn Appleton will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary next year and legendary American rocker John Fogerty and his music has been a big part of their lives.

“We’ve been dancing to his music at house parties almost from the day we got married,” said Evelyn. “We were married in 1969 and that’s right back when he was at the centre of all the great music going on back then.

“We just love his music.”

Photo Credit: PentictonNowKen and Evelyn Appleton made the trip from Kelowna early Friday morning to ensure they would be among the first in line to purchase tickets for the John Fogerty concert set for July 14 at the SOEC in Penticton. The couple, who will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary next year, said Fogerty's music has provided a soundtrack to their lives as a married couple.

The Appleton’s were very disappointed when they couldn’t attend Fogerty’s sold-out 2015 concert at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton (SOEC), so there was no chance they were going to miss out on getting tickets for his show this summer.

A crowd of about 50 people were lined up inside the lobby and outside the front doors on another unseasonably cold and windy spring day when tickets to the general public went on sale Friday morning at 10 a.m. at the SOEC box office.

The Appleton’s made the drive from Kelowna early Friday morning to ensure they would get the best tickets possible for the Fogerty concert that will take place at the SOEC on Saturday, July 14.

Photo Credit: PentictonNowA crowd of about 50 people were in line inside the lobby and outside the front doors of the SOEC when tickets for the John Fogerty concert set for July 14 went on sale Friday morning at the SOEC box office.

“I love John Fogerty,” said Ken. “I loved him when he was with CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival) and I love his solo stuff. We saw him about eight or nine years ago and he put on a fantastic show. We were really disappointed when we couldn’t attend his show in Penticton last time, but we made sure we weren’t going to miss him this time.”

Fogerty, 75, is certainly getting up there in age, but he remains in fantastic physical shape and he and his always stellar band put on a superb live show, he said.

“When we saw him in Kelowna, he ran back and forth across that stage for more than two hours without stopping for one second,” he said. “He’s a fantastic performer and we can’t wait to see him again.”

Photo Credit: Facebook John Fogerty.

Appleton said he and his wife love rock and roll music and they place Fogerty right near the top of singers, songwriters and performers in history.

“We’ve been to a lot of house parties over the years and we always end up finding ourselves dancing to John Fogerty’s music,” he said.

Aase Kunkel has never seen Fogerty in concert before and she can’t wait until that changes.

“My daughter really likes him and I’ve heard nothing but good things, so I’m really excited,” she said. “I will be going with my grandson and his girlfriend, my daughter and son-in-law, so it should be a really good time.”

Kunkel’s friend Cathy Turgeon attended Fogerty’s 2015 concert in Penticton and was very impressed.

“I had never seen him before and he was very, very good,” she said. “He’s one of those guys where I didn’t know all the words, but I recognized most of the songs he played.

“I like him enough that I asked for his CDs for Christmas that year. I haven’t seen a lot of concerts, but his show was definitely one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

Fogerty’s work ranks as some of the most influential in American music history.

As the writer, singer and producer of numerous classic hits including Born on the Bayou, Green River, Proud Mary, and Bad Moon Rising, Fogerty has been honored as one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists, 100 Greatest Songwriters, and 100 Greatest Singers by Rolling Stone magazine.

He is an inductee in  the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Baseball Hall of Fame, he is also a New York Times best-selling author for his memoir, Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music.

Tickets can still be purchased at the Valley First Box Office over the phone 1-877-763-2849 or online at www.valleyfirsttix.com.