Brad Paisley, John Fogerty Honor Military With Special ‘Jimmy Kimmel’ Performance [Watch]
Brad Paisley and John Fogerty are kings in the world of music, but the real stars of the show during their performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Monday night (Nov. 6) were the military veterans and their families in the audience.
Paisley and Fogerty first joined forces in early 2017 on Paisley's experimental album Love and War. They combined their musical gifts and gratitude for servicemen and women at the Kimmel show presented by Crown Royal, with the awe-inspiring Battleship USS Iowa in San Pedro, Calif., serving as a gorgeous backdrop for the evening, which Paisley pointed out more than once.
The two superstars performed their numerous hits for the delighted crowd of servicemen and women and their loved ones, treating them to beloved tunes from both of their catalogs. Fogerty mixed his solo hits with those from his days in Creedence Clearwater Revival, including "Fortunate Son," "Have You Ever Seen the Rain," "Down on the Corner" and "Bad Moon Rising." They also collaborated on Paisley hits including "Alcohol" and "American Saturday Night" and a cover of Alabama's "Mountain Music."
Paisley and Fogerty included a joint performance of "Love and War," the title song of Paisley's most recent album. The song addresses how America treats its veterans returning from war. "And they say all is fair in love and war / But that ain't true, it's wrong," the lyrics state. "They send you off to die for us / Forget about you when you don’t."
Brad Paisley Is Standing up for American Veterans
In between songs, both Paisley and Fogerty continuously thanked the audience for their service, with the country star humbly revealing before a sing-along to "Mud on the Tires" that it's the song many military members have told him they listen to while out on patrol. The crowd of appreciative service members couldn't get enough of the two stars, whose admiration for one another was also on full display. They traded guitar solos while basking in each other's musical gifts, with Paisley referring to Fogerty as a prime example of patriotism.
"What's going to be fun is right now, somewhere in the world, there are about five or 600 bands covering this song and we're the only right now, with him," Paisley said, pointing to the man himself before launching into the legendary "Proud Mary," proving to the crowd yet again what a special occasion it was.
As if the music wasn't "thank you" enough, Crown Royal also hosted a bag stuffing station for their Packages From Home campaign to send to active military members overseas. Guests filled bags with snacks and respectful notes honoring them for their service, and even slipped in a photo from the personalized photo booth on hand to show their appreciation.
Paisley is set to co-host the CMA Awards with Carrie Underwood for the tenth straight year on Wednesday night (Nov. 8) in Nashville.
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