The Mamas & the Papas
John Phillips
Vocals, Guitar
Michelle Phillips
Vocals
Denny Doherty
Vocals
Cass Elliot
Vocals
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre: Sunshine Pop, Folk Pop
Years Active: 1965 - 1968; 1971
Meaning of the Name: Inspired by the Hell's Angels use of "mama" for woman.
Way of Working: Led by John Phillips
Associated: The New Journeymen, Scott McKenzie, The Mugwumps
Essential Releases
If You Can Believe
Your Eyes and
Ears (1966)
Debut album that introduced the world to the group's vocal harmonies.
The Mamas &
The Papas (1966)
While the record doesn't reach the same heights as their debut, it succeeds in capturing the fraught relationships within the band.
While The Mamas & the Papas were a short-lived group who used ethereal vocal harmonies to establish the Laurel Canyon scene, their story is one of internal friction. Inevitably, their infidelity, comedowns, and dark nights of the soul punctured the hippie myths of free love, unlimited highs, and endless summer with a relentless dose of the real world.
By the release of their 1965 debut album, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, the "California Sound" represented a surf-and-sand counter-culture prominent on America's West Coast. The idea of California became a Shangri-La, an almost mythical place free from the doldrums of ordinary life. To escape the cold, all you had to do was drive west until you saw the sun setting over a glistening ocean.
The idea came from 'California Dreamin'', a song written by the band's John Phillips for his wife Michelle, a California girl pining for home during a frost-bitten winter in New York. At 19 years old, she had never seen snow. Furthermore, the iconic 'San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)', although sung by Scott McKenzie, was also written and produced by Phillips.
Although criticised by the San Francisco Summer of Love bands for wanting to be "hitmakers", the Mamas & the Papas were genuine hippies who lived a communal lifestyle and championed free love. This aspirational vision of a perfect life, however, clashed with the realities of human nature when John's wife and bandmate had an affair with their fellow bandmate, Denny Doherty. To make matters even more complicated, the group's fourth member, Cass Elliot, was also besotted with Doherty.
"It was an untenable situation...Cass wanted me, I wanted Michelle, John wanted Michelle, Michelle wanted me." (Doherty talking to The New York Times in 2000)Only three years after forming, the group disbanded in 1968, their peaceful and serene music undercut by their tumultuous personal lives. Despite this short tenure, their sophisticated four-part harmonies and innovative studio techniques, such as "stacking", would influence indie-folk groups like Fleetwood Mac for decades to come.
"Stacking" involved recording the same vocal part multiple times and layering them on top of one another, making four voices sound like five, as if there was a ghost in the room who couldn't resist taking part.
Skills
*This is a work in progress. Values are subjective.Emotional Impact
85
Mental Impact
55
Originality
70
Artistry
60
Authenticity
60
Live
40
Production
85
Musicianship
65
Singing
90
Songwriting
80
Danceability
50
Fun
70
Consistency
55
Range
50
Cool
55
Charisma
75
Commercial & Critical Success
Awards >>>
- Grammy Award WINNER! x1:
- Grammy Award Nominee x3:
Certifications >>>
- If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears: Platinum in the US
- The Mamas & the Papas: Gold in the US
- Deliver: Gold in the US
Charts >>>
- If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears: Number 1 in the US; Number 3 in the UK
- The Mamas & the Papas: Number 4 in the US; Number 10 in Canada
- Deliver: Number 2 in the US; Number 3 in Canada; Number 4 in the UK
