John Fogerty (1985)

This is the closing track to John Fogerty’s solo album Centerfield, originally titled Zanz Kant Danz in reference to Saul Zaentz, Fogerty’s former boss at Fantasy Records who famously tried to sue Fogerty for plagiarism of Creedence Clearwater Revival material, to which Zaentz held the rights. The song is about an unnamed street dancer and his sidekick, a pig trained to pick people’s pockets as they watch the dancer do his stuff. The pig, originally named Zanz as a dig at Saul Zaentz, “Can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money – watch him or he’ll rob you blind.” When Zaentz threatened Fogerty with yet another lawsuit, but Fogerty changed the pig’s name to Vanz.

The video for Vanz Kant Danz was the first ever filmed entirely in claymation through the process of stop-motion animation. It was produced at Will Vinton Studio. Unfortunately, unlike other groundbreaking music videos such as a-ha’s Take On Me and Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing, this one failed to garner much public notice.

Another song from the Centerfield album, Mr. Greed, is also thought to be a musical salvo by Fogerty in his long-running feud with Zaentz, which lasted until 2004 when Fantasy Records was bought out by Concord Records, who restored Fogerty’s rights to his CCR material.