The Mamas and the Papas
By Heidi Lee
(SugarBuzz Michigan)
SugarBuzz Magazine
When the Summer of Love in 1967 was in full swing, there’s no doubt that one of the most played and popular groups of the time that personified the mood and look of the era was The Mamas and The Papas. From their first big smash, “California Dreamin’” The Mamas and The Papas became an American symbol of the carefree, hippie, free lovin’ youth of the 60’s.
It all begin in the early sixties in when a East Coast based folk singer named John Phillips formed a group called The New Journeymen with his soon to be young wife, Michelle Gilliam. Meanwhile, a vocal powerhouse called Cass Elliot was singing around with her best friend, Denny Doherty in The Mugwumps with future Lovin’ Spoonfuls Zal Yanovsky and John Sebastian. However great these individuals in these folk acts were, none of them seemed to generate the interest it took to get a solid record deal. It wasn’t until the foursome of John, Michelle, Denny, and eventually Cass, got their own act together, did something finally begin to click.
In 1965 the quartet vacationed in St. Thomas, and despite the willingness of Phillips to put together the group with himself, Michelle and Doherty, he was a bit reluctant to let Elliot in. Some say it was due to her singing range at the time, other say it was due to her physical size. However, during the trip, somewhere between the marijuana, LSD, and harmonizing, Cass hit the right note with John and the group was solidified.
Picking up their name from a television talk show where bikers were referring to the women in their gangs as “Mamas”, Cass dubbed the group, The Mamas and the Papas. The foursome headed to California where, through a connection with an old friend, Berry McGuire (who had a hit with “Eve of Destruction”), the group was signed to Dunhill Records and set to work on recording John and Michelle’s songs with producer, Lou Adler.
In early 1966 their first album, “If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears” was released while the group was riding high with their hit songs “California Dreamin’” and “Monday Monday”. This would be the most recognizable and most profitable year for The Mamas and the Papas. While songs like ‘I Saw Her Again” and “Dedicated to the One I Love” would chart well, none equaled the success of their first two singles.
The group’s material, as time went by, became increasingly personal. “I Saw Her Again”, was a biographical account of the affair and love triangle that existed within The Mamas and the Papas. Denny and Michelle had a brief affair which not only angered and betrayed John, but deeply hurt Cass, who had been madly in love with Denny for years. While Michelle, the beautiful, thin, blonde “California Girl” could, in Cass’ eyes, have any man she wanted, Cass was horribly vexed that Michelle chose the man she adored most.
This rift would be The Mamas and the Papas unraveling, and in the middle of 1966, Papa John kicked Michelle out of the group. She was replaced, for a time, by Lou Adler’s girlfriend at the time, Jill Gibson. Michelle and Jill looked a bit alike, and for a time, the record company thought of just superimposing her body on the cover of their second album, “The Mamas and the Papas”. By then, even though the group’s dynamic had so drastically changed in such a short time, when Michelle and John finally reconciled, Michelle was allowed back into the group.
In 1967 Michelle, John, and Adler organized The Monterey Pop Festival in San Francisco. It was the height of that Summer of Love, and John wrote the famed song “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)” for Scott McKenzie just for the occasion. The event was a success, with hugely popular acts of the time like The Who and Jimi Hendrix performing to enormous crowds.
The Monterrey Pop Fest appeared to be The Mamas and the Papas swan song, and things continued to split apart after that. Sales and charting of singles continued to dwindle and by 1968, the group was ready to call it quits. Dunhill records, however, did require them to release one more album, and in 1971, The Mamas the Papas managed to eke out the album, “People Like Us”.
On their own, Michelle and John remained married until 1970. They had one daughter, Chynna, who would later go on to form Wilson Phillips with Brian Wilson’s daughters Wendy and Carnie. Michelle continued in music sporadically in the 70’s, and was even married to Dennis Hopper for eight days. She found herself more suited for acting, however, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her work in the film, “Dillinger”. John worked in music for the rest of his life, all the while fighting with severe drug and alcohol addictions. He even reformed versions of The Mamas and the Papas with Spanky McFarlane and daughter McKenzie replacing Cass and Michelle. In 1988, a song he co-wrote for The Beach Boys hit number one, “Kokomo”. In 2001, John passed away of heart failure.
Denny Doherty remained close with Cass Elliot after the break up of the group. At one point, Cass even proposed to Denny, but Denny refused at the time because not only of his difficulty accepting her physical appearance, but he was also heartbroken over the breakup of the group and possibly Michelle Phillips. Denny would go on tour with new versions of the Mamas and the Papas with John Phillips in the following years, and he even went on to produce his own Broadway show about the story of The Mamas and The Papas called “Dream a Little Dream”. In January of 2007, Denny died in his home in Canada from kidney failure.
Cass Elliot had perhaps one of the most promising and successful careers after The Mamas and the Papas. She appeared on many television shows in the 70’s and headlined two sold-out concerts at the London Palladium in 1974. It was after the second show that Cass passed away in her sleep of a heart attack. Much controversy surrounded her death with the supposed presence of a half-eaten ham sandwich by her bedside. Many believe that Cass choking on the sandwich caused her death, but has been found to be a cruel rumor. Not only was Cass of Jewish decent and would not eat pork, but it was truly the stress of all the extra body weight and crash dieting that took a terrible toll on the singer’s heart that caused her untimely death. Cass left behind one daughter, Owen, who continues to defend her mother’s life and legacy to this day.
In 1998, with three members of The Mamas and the Papas remaining, the group got together to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It took nearly thirty years, but the quartet that helped to shape the sixties folk/rock sound got the recognition they deserved. While the group never really reunited after that, and with only one member alive today, many people are still discovering the rich, lovely harmonies that are The Mamas and the Papas.
Creeque Alley
(John Phillips/Michelle Phillips)
John and Mitchy were gettin' kind of itchy
Just to leave the folk music behind
Zal and Denny workin' for a penny
Tryin' to get a fish on the line
In a coffee house Sebastian sat
And after every number they'd pass the hat
McGuinn and McGuire just a-gettin' higher
n L.A., you know where that's at
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
Zally said "Denny, you know there aren't many"
"Who can sing a song the way that you do, let's go south"
Denny said "Zolly, golly, don't you think that I wish"
"I could play guitar like you"
Zal, Denny and Sebastian sat (at the Night Owl)
And after every number they'd pass the hat
McGuinn and McGuire still a-gettin higher
In L.A., you know where that's at
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore
But she changed her mind one day
Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike
quot;Take me to New York right away"
When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumps
Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps
McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher
But that's what they were aimin' at
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
Mugwumps, high jumps, low slumps, big bumps
Don't you work as hard as you play
Make up, break up, everything is shake up
Guess it had to be that way
Sebastian and Zal formed the Spoonful
Michelle, John, and Denny gettin' very tuneful
McGuinn and McGuire just a-catchin' fire
In L.A., you know where that's at
And everybody's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
Di-di-di-dit dit dit di-di-di-dit, who-o-oa
Broke, busted, disgusted, agents can't be trusted
And Mitchy wants to go to the sea
Cass can't make it, she says we'll have to fake it
We knew she'd come eventually
Greasin' on American Express cards
It's low rent, but keeping out the heat's hard
Duffy's good vibrations and our imaginations
Can't go on indefinitely
And California dreamin' is becomin' a reality