I watched 2 documentaries on The Mamas and the Papas… and they didn’t line up…
There is so much misinformation on this band that studying for this video took me over 100 hours and it is likely that there is still something in this video that I got wrong. Even the band members themselves didn’t tell the story properly all the time, and there is even a point in this story where Cass curses out John in front of the Rolling Stones for butting in to disagree with the way she is telling her own story.
That being said, today I’m telling a crazy story of sex, drugs and rock and roll. I spit the facts quickly while giving info and a bit of my opinion on each of the group’s albums. This is going to be very thorough so get ready, sit back, relax, click the like button, and enjoy the story of The Mamas and The Papas.
Singer, songwriter and guitarist, John Phillips was born August 30th, 1935 in South Carolina, though he grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. He attended military school as a child and in High School formed several bands and had a good ear for doo wop harmonies and would distribute parts to his friends. He got married to Susan Adams in 1957 and had attempted college for a short time, but eventually decided to take music seriously after creating a group called The Abstracts, which included his friend Scott McKenzie. They moved to New York and changed their name to The Smoothies. John wrote the songs and they had a fair amount of success, releasing 2 singles in 1960 on Decca Records and appearing on the TV show, American Bandstand. But times were changing and if John was going to be in music full time, he’d have to leave doo wop behind.
He and Scott McKenzie would meet banjo player, Dick Weissman and start up a folk trio called The Journeymen at the beginning of 1961. Things moved quickly for this band, they worked with Frank Werber, who managed The Kingston Trio and got them signed to Capitol Records. After recording their first album, John and his family would move to San Francisco where the band got a residency playing at a club called the Hungry I. This is where John would meet Michelle Gilliam in July of 1961.
Holly Michelle Gilliam was born June 4th, 1944 in Long Beach, California. Her mother passed away when she was just 5 years old and she was further strengthened by spending six years living in Mexico. At 13, she moved back to Los Angeles and in her high school years she played sports and studied instruments like piano, guitar, and cello. In 1961, she moved to San Francisco to live with her friend Tamar Hodel and work as a model. The two of them would see The Journeymen perform one night in July. Her friend started dating Scott and soon the married man, John, was worn down by the advances of the pretty young model and the two got married a year and a half later on December 31st of 1962.
Michelle Phillips had joined the group when moving back east and experienced her first snowy winter in New York. After expressing her desire for the warmth of California, the inspiration for “California Dreamin’” would come to John late at night, he woke Michelle up to help write down the lyrics and give her input. She was reluctant but he told her she’d never regret it and she certainly wouldn’t.
After recording a live album and second studio album, The Journeymen had begun to lose steam, they stayed afloat writing jingles for a time but officially broke up in 1964.
In order to fulfill contractual obligations, John started the band up again as The New Journeymen, and with just a little training, his wife Michelle was brought in as a vocalist so that they’d be bringing home twice as much money. Banjo player Marshall Brickman was with them for a short time but ultimately a strong voiced Tenor named Denny Doherty would round out the trio.
Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty was born on November 29, 1940 in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. As a teenager, he formed a rock band with his friends called The Hepsters that were together for a couple of years in the mid-late 50s. But as John Phillips had, Denny took inspiration from The Kingston Trio for the lineup of his next group, The Colonials, formed at a New Year’s Eve Party in 1960, with Richard Byrne and Patrick LaCroix. They did well for themselves in Canada during 1961 and in 1962 they signed with Epic Records in New York and changed their name to The Halifax Three. They recorded 2 albums in 1963, toured North America and performed on National TV. Their most successful single was a humorous song called “The Man Who Wouldn’t Sing Along With Mitch” which refers to Mitch Miller’s numerous “Sing-Along” Albums. With Zal Yanovsky joining as a guest musician, the group had toured alongside The Journeymen in 1963 and Denny became friends with John and Michelle.
(Eric Hord was temporarily in Zal’s place)
The Halifax Three had relocated to California and despite all their efforts, their albums just weren’t selling well enough and the group broke up in 1964.
Denny and Zal Yanovsky stuck together and joined a band called The Mugwumps.
Ellen Naomi Cohen was born September 19th, 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland. She and her family had lived in Alexandria, Virginia for most of her childhood but they moved around quite a bit and she was back in Baltimore when she was 15. She started going by Cass and began singing and acting near the end of her High School years, and performed in a summer play. Once out of High School, she moved to New York and got a spot on a touring performance of “The Music Man” in 1962.
After her short stint in college, Cass and Tim Rose formed a folk trio called The Triumvirate. They changed their name to The Big 3 after John Brown was replaced by James Hendricks. Not to be confused with this one. In order to prevent him from being drafted into the Vietnam War, Cass married her bandmate James in 1963. It is said that the marriage was never consummated and it was annulled in 1968. The Big 3 recorded 2 albums and made a total of 26 appearances on TV before the band split up and Tim Rose went solo. If you’re really into Cass Elliot, you should check out some of this stuff, especially the songs “Nora’s Dove” and “Young Girl’s Lament.” The Big 3’s first album contained “The Banjo Song,” a fresh melody that reused the lyrics of “Oh, Susanna” but later Dutch Rock band, Shocking Blue would write new lyrics over this melody for their hit song, “Venus.”
On the night that Cass and Denny met each other, they instantly got along, cracking jokes and showing appreciation for the other’s vocal work. They joked that they were going to drink the other under the table, then decided to save time and drink under the table. Cass fell in love with Denny and unfortunately he never took her advances seriously.
Cass and James replaced Tim with the Canadians Zal Yanovsky and Denny Doherty to form a folk-rock band called The Mugwumps. This group only released one single before disbanding, though they had recorded an album worth of material in August of 1964 which was eventually released in 1967. John Sebastian had briefly been in The Mugwumps and he and Zal Yanovsky formed The Lovin’ Spoonful. James Hendricks moved to Los Angeles and formed a band called “The Lamp of Childhood.”
In 1965, Marshall Brickman left The New Journeymen and John Phillips contacted Denny Doherty to take his place. Soon there would be a night in New York when Michelle opened the door to Denny’s friend, Cass Elliot. It was her and John’s first time meeting the unforgettable woman and the four of them took LSD together and became very close. Denny introduced John to The Beatles and began the work of convincing him that folk would be left behind and they needed to take inspiration from the new sounds and incredible songwriting coming from The Beatles if they were to be relevant.
Denny, of course, also suggested that his incredibly talented friend Cass join the band but John Phillips was reluctant for a few reasons, he claimed that her voice and image just didn’t fit with the band and that they weren’t necessarily looking for another member, but if he were to include another female vocalist, he hoped for a voice that could reach higher pitches than Cass could. Though, of course Cass and others would argue that it was entirely based on her image.
The New Journeymen decided to take some time on a long vacation to work on their music in a more enjoyable setting and chose a random point
The three of them along with some family and friends arrived on St. Thomas in The Virgin Islands where they lived cheaply in tents on the beach. They met a guy named Duffy that owned a small motel with bars and a discotheque and John negotiated for some usage of the hotel and would perform there with Michelle and Denny. Wanting to follow Denny, Cass showed up a couple months after the others arrived with a vial of liquid LSD which she would drop on people’s tongues when introducing herself and to help her friends wake up each morning.
Cass would sing along during rehearsals whether John wanted her to or not and she got a job as Duffy’s waitress. But as she worked, her focus was singing the harmonies to accompany the performers. One day a pipe would fall and hit her on the head giving her a minor concussion. Legend has it that afterward she was able to find a larger vocal range.
During their time on the beach, Michelle and Denny had begun to grow closer, eventually leading to a kiss and a lot of obvious flirtation. Michelle would tell John about it and he was upset, but not nearly as devastated as Cass was. She felt her friend Michelle could have any man she wanted so why must she betray her by going for the man that she wants, especially while married. It is possible John and Cass weren’t totally aware until later in the story, but I’ve heard the story told both ways.
John’s credit card that they had been living off of was finally cut off and it was time to get off the islands. Cass fortunately had a return ticket, but her 3 friends took a boat to Puerto Rico then took a gamble by taking their last $50 to a casino and letting Michelle learn to shoot craps. It paid off and they rode first class back to New York. They didn’t stay long though and were actually paid to drive a limo across the country to California. When they got there they had a couple of extra days to use the car and of course met up with Cass. For a time, the four of them lived crowded together in a one bedroom apartment living as cheaply as possible and it was here that John would warm up to Cass a bit more.
Cass got in touch with her friend Barry McGuire who had recently made it to number 1 on the charts with his version of “Eve of Destruction.” Written by P.F. Sloan, produced by Lou Adler and released in July of 1965. Barry set up an audition for his friend with Lou Adler and with John on 12 string guitar, the four vocalists under the name, The Magic Circle performed several songs for the producer. It seems Cass officially joined the band when the four of them signed a contract with Dunhill Records and they were set up with a house, a car and accounts to buy hip clothing. While mentioning clothes, I want to squeeze in the fact that this band’s appearance was opposite to what people were used to seeing. While most bands were dressing like The Beatles or similarly uniform and almost always consisted of either all men or all women, The Magic Circle wore clothes that any youth in the ‘60s could relate to, had an equal mix of men and women and of course, the proud Mama Cass became an icon and inspiration to anyone who might not fit in with stereotypical beauty standards.
If you are enjoying this video, please take a few seconds to give it a “Like” and I will get back on track with telling the story! Thank you so much for watching!
Producer Lou Adler wanted his proven success Barry McGuire to sing the lead vocals while the others performed backing vocals. They actually recorded “California Dreamin’” this way, but the song didn’t have the same magic. The original “California Dreamin’” was released on Barry’s 1966 album, “This Precious Time” among several other tracks that featured backing vocals by The Magic Circle.
While watching TV, The Hells Angels biker gang mentioned that they called their women “mamas,” and Cass said something about how they were “Mamas and Papas,” and their previous name was abandoned. The first single by The Mamas and the Papas was “Go Where you Wanna Go” and 5,000 copies were tested in Hawaii. But they quickly switched gears and decided to go with “California Dreamin’” as the band’s first nationally released single in September of 1965. They mostly deleted Barry McGuire’s vocals and harmonica solo and recorded Denny’s lead vocal track and a flute solo. At the very beginning of the song, you can hear Barry on the left track singing the opening line and if you listen extremely closely you can catch snippets of the original harmonica track that is buried deep in the mix.
Dunhill advertised the single and it climbed up the charts, peaking at number 4 in the U.S. and doing extremely well in other countries as well. The Mamas and The Papas were a hit and the money would start rolling in for these 4 broke musicians. The band’s debut full length album, “If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears” was released in February of 1966 and would make it to number 1 on the Billboard charts.
Lou Adler was a major player in the creation of this excellent album that is focused on the incredible harmonies with instrumentation based off of styles that were growing in popularity, including sunshine pop, folk rock, and psychedelic pop. It begins with the grammy winning “Monday Monday,” A song that Denny and Michelle had initially been opposed to as they didn’t really understand it, but it would be the group’s only single to make it to number 1 and Denny and Mitchy, along with millions of other people, have grown to love it dearly over time.
As someone that typically doesn’t care for covers, I’d say that I listen to these Mamas and Papas albums for the songs that John Phillips wrote. But, at least on this album, the covers are all so unique and wonderful that each one is worth mentioning, especially “I Call Your Name” which you have to be pretty familiar with The Beatles to recognize that this is a cover. Cass whispers “I Love you, John” to John Lennon in the track and in the future Lennon was sure to tell her he loved her too. The truth is that this is an album that pleases from beginning to end and if you like the singles that came from this album, there is no reason you shouldn’t listen to this entire record for prime Mamas and Papas material. This album also includes the stand out tracks “Straight Shooter” and “Go Where You Wanna Go.”
Rock Photographer Guy Webster took the controversial cover photo of the band crowded in the bathtub together. The toilet in the corner was thought to be taboo at the time and the cover was withdrawn. Most regions released different versions of the cover that included some type of advertisement on top of the toilet, while some other versions were further cropped in order to hide the fact that they were in a bathroom all together.
During this time, it had become clear that Denny and Michelle’s relationship had been taken to the next level, but when it had to stop, Denny took to drinking. Cass was distancing herself and for a time, John lived in a house with Denny while Michelle and Cass each had their own places. I feel if these guys had been rich for several years, they likely would have put an end to the band at this stage but this heavy income of money from topping the billboard charts was new to them and not something they wanted to put behind them immediately. So John was able to keep the band in line, they trusted his genius and the band went on to record their second album with long hours in the studio. John was near constantly abusive to Cass, serving her insults about her weight and forcing her to sing take after take until she passed out because her pride wouldn’t let her back down.
Unfortunately, it was around this time that Michelle was having an affair with Gene Clark of The Byrds. He attended a Mamas and Papas concert and John got upset that Michelle was blatantly flirting with Gene from the stage and she was served with a letter signed by all three of the other members that she was out of the band. She was replaced by Lou Adler’s girlfriend, Jill Gibson who recorded tracks for the next album in June and July of 1966, posed in photos for the cover and performed live with the band. The label distributed promotional copies of an album called “Cashon Screamon All Fall Down” but Jill didn’t have the right chemistry with the band so Michelle rejoined in August and Jill Gibson was paid a lump sum for her time. The record label went back to their original album cover and the self-titled LP that is often referred to as “Cass, John, Michelle, Denny” was released in September of 1966.
It has long been a matter of confusion as to which songs Jill Gibson sings on and there are different stories about re-recordings. But it seems Jill recorded backing vocals together with the band and states that her voice can be heard on 10 out of the 12 songs. Jill stated that “Dancing in the Street” is one that she did not sing on and that it was likely recorded before Michelle was fired.
This album contains what is likely my favorite song by this group, “Dancing Bear,” it is nothing quite like anything I’ve heard and the instrumentation along with the lyrics really transports you into the surreal and medieval scenery that they sing of. This is one of the few songs that I can listen to, and interrupt the album I’m listening to in order to go back and listen to it again.
Again, I basically enjoy the entire album, most of the instrumentation is done by members of The Wrecking Crew and though the vocals are the highlight, I could easily listen to an instrumental version of this album. Some of my favorites are “Trip, Stumble and Fall,” the Mama Cass sung stand out single, “Words of Love” and “I Saw Her Again,” a song inspired by Denny and Michelle’s affair. Michelle and John would try out their marriage on and off and the two went back to living together in their mansion in Laurel Canyon where they would throw big parties.
Cass wanted to have a child and became pregnant but kept the identity of the father a secret
Cass’s daughter Owen wouldn’t arrive until April 26 of 1967 but the pregnancy, which had not been addressed to the public, inspired the name for the group’s third album which came out earlier in 1967 and peaked at number 2 on the charts.
“Deliver” once again utilizes the talented studio musicians from The Wrecking Crew, and is once again a joy throughout. It definitely feels similar to the previous two albums, while introducing us to some incredible new songs. Some standouts include, “Look Through My Window,” “Dedicated to the One I Love” and the humorous song about the band’s beginnings, “Creeque Alley.” Another one of my favorites is the Rodgers and Hart composition, “Sing for your Supper” with Cass on lead vocals singing about singing to make ends meet. Though I love the classic by “The Temptations” I may prefer the Mamas and Papas version on this record and I really like the instrumental track, “Frustration” and though in context it doesn’t feel out of place, I still kind of wonder why there are actually two instrumental tracks on this album by a vocal group. The other instrumental is a one minute music box ending with a voice calling for a waiter and the closing of a door being the last thing we hear.
A tribute to the legendary songwriting duo Rodgers and Hart was broadcast on ABC on March 2nd, 1967. The Mamas and The Papas had recorded a version of “Glad to be Unhappy,” a song from one of their musicals. They performed it on the show and released it as their only single that doesn’t appear on any of their albums.
John Phillips and Lou Adler became involved in putting together the first ever Monterey Pop Festival and used the song “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in your Hair)” in promotions for the event. The song was written by John Phillips but he gave it to his friend Scott McKenzie to propel him to worldwide success. Jimi Hedrix, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar, The Who and more played at the festival with The Mamas and The Papas topping the bill.
While most studios at the time still used four-track recording systems, John built a state-of-the-art eight-track studio in his attic so that he could work on his own terms. That apparently included such perfectionism that the band spent a month trying to get one song recorded.
The band decided to try to mend some of their wounds and find new inspiration together. They made plans to play some big gigs together in Europe and then vacation on an island like old times.
Unfortunately, Cass had multiple men take advantage of her during her life and one that would come and go to leach off of her often was a man named Pick Dawson. He was wanted for beginning involved with an international drug trade and had also gotten Cass addicted to heroin around this time. When the North Americans arrived in Europe, Cass was arrested and taken to London for questioning about her involvement with Pick Dawson. They were able to arrest her because the last time she was there, she had given Dawson money to pay their hotel bill but he did no such thing so they busted her for that as well as stealing a couple of blankets.
Cass was eventually released with no scars on her records but the band canceled their upcoming gigs and attended a party with some of the British rock stars. Cass was telling The Rolling Stones about her recent experience with the law and John Phillips walked over and said, “Mick, she’s got it all wrong.” Cass cursed him out and stormed out of the room.
The band returned to the states and were able to push through completing their 4th album, “The Papas and The Mamas,” which was released in May of 1968. There is a good amount of variety on the album and John sings lead vocals on “Meditation Mama,” and truly it is a decent album. But at least from my own experience, I felt like I was hearing most of these songs for the first time while researching this video though I know I’ve listened to this band’s discography several times over the years. Though, of course, I admit I usually lean towards the first three if I’m just going to listen to one album by this band. The songs here just aren’t nearly as memorable as the classic tracks by the band. Those early days had shown the world a new sound but this album just falls short of keeping up with the constantly more innovative and complex music that was coming out in the late ‘60s.
“For the Love of Ivy” sounds most like a classic track by this band and “Midnight Voyage” has an excellent chorus and is sung by Mama Cass. There are a couple of tracks that embrace a more progressive arrangement and moments that fall into psychedelic rock, like heard on songs like “Mansions” and “Gemini Childe.” The real gem found on this record is the group’s cover of “Dream a Little Dream of Me” with Cass on leads. And the most successful single was “Twelve Thirty” which had been released way back in August of 1967 only made it to number 20 on the U.S. charts.
It was obvious to many that this band had internally drifted and while this album and it’s singles weren’t performing nearly as well as the band’s previous successes, and against John’s will, the decision was made to release “Dream a Little Dream of Me” under the name “Mama Cass with the Mamas and the Papas” with “Midnight Voyage” as the B-Side. In other regions, the single was simply under the name Mama Cass and this proved the potential of her career as a solo artist.
In early 1969 the band finally officially broke up. They were dismissed from their contract though they still owed one album. In contrast to the months in the studio for “The Papas and the Mamas,” Cass Elliot’s debut album was recorded in no more than 10 working days and was released October 19th, 1968 under the name Mama Cass, though later she would reject the name and go by Cass Elliot. In January of 1970, John Phillips released his debut album, “John, The Wolf King of L.A.” and he and Lou Adler produced a 1970 comedy film called “Brewster McCloud.” Denny Doherty released a solo album at the end of 1970 called “Watcha Gonna Do” and Michelle took time off to raise her and John’s daughter, Chynna who was born February 12th, 1968. Her and John got a divorce in 1969.
In order to get out of their contract and put this all behind them, The Mamas and the Papas released their final album in November of 1971, “People Like Us.” Michelle helped write the track “I Wanna Be a Star” in which she sings about wanting to become an actress, but other than that, this album was entirely written by John Phillips and is their only album with no cover songs.
I feel like most people assume that because this album was for contractual obligations that it has no merit but I, personally found it more entertaining and effective than the previous album. Also, the bassist on this album, Tony Newton is just nuts, and I can take in this entire album while focusing almost solely on the soulful bass. I feel like the band had started to leave behind the fast paced sunshine pop songs on their previous album with a lack of an idea on where the band was actually going rather than the gutter but this album has more of a soul and soft rock feel to a lot of it and it seems more purposeful and focused. It’s no California Dreamin’ but it is enjoyable for what it is.
Another reason fans likely didn’t like this album is that Cass Elliot was sick during the sessions and is not very prominent. Other than a couple of solo lines on the song dedicated to Janis Joplin, “Pearl,” Cass does not sing any lead vocals on this album. The most notable tracks on this LP are probably “Snowqueen of Texas” and “Blueberries For Breakfast.” The only single from this album, “Step Out,” which I think it one of the weaker songs on this album, made it to number 81 on the charts and the album itself only made it to number 84.
If you guys request it, I can do videos in detail on the careers of these guys afterwards, but of course, Michelle did eventually get into acting and they would all release at least one solo album. The most successful of them, Cass Elliot would unfortunately die of heart failure at Harry Nilsson’s London flat on July 29th of 1974. Michelle and John’s daughter, Chynna Phillips has a YouTube channel you can check out called “California Preachin’” and in a recent video, Cass’s daughter Owen clarified that it was Cass’s management that had created the story about her choking on a ham sandwich so that her death wouldn’t be associated with drugs that most of the management’s clients were doing.
John Phillips is not exactly the American hero and his autobiography is fascinating, but in the early ‘80s while undergoing rehab, he put together The New Mamas and The Papas with Denny Doherty, his daughter McKenzie and Elaine McFarlane, or “Spanky” from Spanky and Our Gang. This band toured the world but John and his daughter continued to drink and use other drugs, leading to some disastrous shows. In 1987, Denny would leave the band and Scott McKenzie would take his place. The ‘90s saw all kinds of line up shifts, Laurie Beebe Lewis who had performed with The Buckinghams would sometimes fill in for McKenzie Phillips and eventually joined the band officially after McKenzie left in 1991. John left the band for a few years and Denny came back in to make up for it, then Spanky left, Laurie left, other girls were brought in, and Barry McGuire joined them at the end of the ‘90s.
In 2010, a collection under the name John Phillips was released called “Many Mamas, Many Papas” with demos of original material recorded during the ‘80s as well as live performances from the early ‘80s. I haven’t been able to find a copy of this album but likely the most notable track is the original version of “Kokomo,” a song that the Beach Boys had taken to No. 1 on the billboard charts just 2 weeks before I was born in November 1988.
The original group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, and 2 years later, Fox purchased the rights to turn this story into a feature film though we haven’t seen one yet. John Phillips died of heart failure at the age of 65 on March 18th, 2001. After complications from a surgery, Denny Doherty unfortunately left us on January 19th of 2006 at the age of 66. Michelle is still healthy and warm in California and you can follow her daughter Chynna here on YouTube to learn more about the family including the mystery of Owen’s father.
If you’re looking for where to get into this band, of course the first album or some of the singles off of it are the way to go and if you’re wanting to branch out from that first album, just keep going to the next album, this band is a tremendous joy to visit. I’ll have links in the description below to some songs as well to some great books that help tell this story. Some of the stories I didn’t mention include Cass proposing to Denny, her experimental attempts at losing weight, John suing the record label, his involvement with The Manson family and how another of Michelle’s affairs almost got John killed, and what McKenzie Phillips had to say about her father in her memoirs.
Sean's Music Hunt 
Leave a comment