Tom Fogerty, Doug Clifford, and Stu Cook started questioning John Fogerty’s leadership and “pushed for more of a voice in the band’s music and business decisions,” as reported by Ultimate Classic Rock. Tom Fogerty ended up quitting the band entirely in 1971, leaving the three remaining members as a trio. John Fogerty told Clifford and Cook they could contribute their own songs to the band’s next album, 1972’s Mardi Gras. It sold well but received overwhelmingly bad reviews from critics; Rolling Stone’s Jon Landau went so far as to call it “the worst album I have ever heard from a major rock band.” Apparently the negative reactions to the album took their toll, not to mention the “series of disputes” between John Fogerty and the band’s label, Fantasy Records, regarding contracts and music rights. The band broke up later that year.

Tom Fogerty made a few solo albums that didn’t do nearly as well as his work with Creedence Clearwater Revival. He died in 1990 from complications due to AIDS after contracting HIV via a blood transfusion. John Fogerty, Clifford, and Cook never repaired their relationship. Per Rolling Stone, at the band’s 1993 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Fogerty refused to play with his former bandmates, who he claims sided with Fantasy Records in the aforementioned disputes. He also unsuccessfully attempted to legally prevent them from touring and performing as Creedence Clearwater Revisited, which they continue to do to this day.