The Mamas & The Papas (Official Thread)

[Flower]

Wiki Link
Mamas & Papas Youtube Channel


1966 If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears 1966 The Mamas & the Papas
1967 The Mamas and the Papas
1968 The Papas & The Mamas
1971 Monterey International Pop Festival
1971 People Like Us



I've always liked The Mamas & The Papas and I highly recommend this video which is an hour-long documentary which originally aired on PBS .. WOW .. I didn't realize that Cass Elliot was so talented .. I loved watching her dance ...

The following is being stolen from Wikipedia ~

The Mamas & the Papas (credited as The Mama's and the Papa's on the debut album cover) were an American vocal group of the 1960s. The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles. They have sold nearly 40 million records worldwide.

Their signature sound was based on four-part male/female vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips, the band's songwriter who managed to "leave the folk music behind" and blend his writing with the new "beat" sound in an unprecedented mode. On the other hand, The Mamas & the Papas were riven by internal frictions almost from the start which inevitably made them short-lived as a working band. This, as well as other heavily discussed issues like "Who sang and who was edited out from what final mix?" has contributed to the group's myth even forty years later.



Formation

After the split-up of their two previous folk groups—The Mugwumps and The New Journeymen—bandmates Denny Doherty and John Phillips formed a new group, which included John's wife Michelle. The last member to join was Cass Elliot, though chief songwriter Phillips never wanted Elliot in the group as he was convinced that there was no way they could succeed in the music industry because of her image.

The band shortly moved to the United States Virgin Islands, and after running out of money, Michelle Phillips gambled back enough money for them to return to New York.

After a short period of going under the name The Magic Circle, the group found they disliked the name. One night, the Hells Angels were on a talk show. One of them said "Now hold on there, Hoss. Some people call our women cheap, but we just call them our Mamas." Cass stood up and said, "I want to be a Mama!" Michelle said she wanted to be a Mama too. After a couple of minutes of this, John and Denny looked at each other and shrugged. "The Papas? Name problem solved." At that point they referred to themselves as The Mamas and the Papas, shortly after signing a five-album contract with Dunhill Records.

 

[Flower]

Re: The Mamas & The Papas ~ Appreciation Thread

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Early commercial success
The band's first single, "Go Where You Wanna Go", was released in 1965 and failed to chart. However, the second single, "California Dreamin'", was released in late 1965 and quickly peaked at number four in the US, while in the UK, it was less successful, peaking at number 23. The band's debut album, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, was released in early 1966 and became the band's first and only number one album on the Billboard 200. In the UK, the album peaked at number three and remains the group's highest charting album there. The third and final single from their debut was "Monday, Monday", which became the band's only number one hit in the US. The song brought the band international success when it peaked at number three in the UK.

After it was discovered that Michelle Phillips and Doherty were having an affair, tension in the band erupted. Consulting their attorney, Abe Somer, as well as their label Dunhill Records, the band drafted a formal statement kicking Michelle out of the group in June 1966 - in the midst of recording their second album, The Mamas & the Papas. At this point they hired a new singer to replace Michelle, Jill Gibson, girlfriend of their producer Lou Adler. Gibson was already a singer/songwriter who had performed on several Jan and Dean albums. Although Gibson was not known as a strong singer, she learned to sing Michelle's parts within three weeks while the band was in London, England. Who sang on the second album is a disputed fact, and further confused by using Jill Gibson to dub over an unknown amount of vocals in the second album. Gibson says she sang all but two songs. Rock Historian Greg Russo says studio records show Michelle had already recorded six songs for the second album with the group in April 1966, including the singles "I Saw Her Again" and "Words of Love." Gibson recorded with John, Cass and Denny in July and early August 1966. Michelle was asked to rejoin the group by the end of August and went right into the studio, and Gibson was let go and received an undisclosed payment for her part. Producer Lou Adler states in the book Go Where You Wanna Go that Gibson sang on "maybe six songs", but Michelle re-recorded them when she returned. In the same book, Michelle Phillips is quoted as saying that she doesn't know for sure who is singing on the second album, that she and Jill both recorded many of the same songs. Phillips says only Engineer Bones Howe and Producer Lou Adler know for sure who was on the final record.

 

[Flower]

Re: The Mamas & The Papas ~ Appreciation Thread

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The first single from the album, "I Saw Her Again" was about the affair. It peaked at number five in the US and number eleven in the UK. There is a false start at the final chorus of the song, which John Sebastian later mimicked on the Lovin' Spoonful song, "Darlin' Be Home Soon". Paul McCartney, however, was impressed by the way the group came in too soon on the recording. "That has to be a mistake. Nobody's that clever," he told the group.



When the album was released afterwards, it peaked at number four in the US, continuing the band's success, but peaked at number 24 in the UK. "Words of Love" was released as the second single in the US and peaked at number five in the US. In the UK, it was released as a double A-side with "Dancing in the Street" and peaked at number 47. "Dancing in the Street" was released as the third and final single in the US and peaked at number 75.

Deliver

The band then recorded its third album, Deliver. During this time Doherty was drinking heavily, trying to get over Michelle Phillips. As the closing act of the first Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967, the band performed dismally. John and Michelle Phillips and Lou Adler organized the festival, and according to interviews with the members of the group, they were all so caught up in the festival they never got around to rehearsing. That, combined with Doherty's last minute arrival from Canada, resulted in the mediocre performance.

The first single from the album was "Look Through My Window", which peaked at number 24 in the US, but failed to chart in the UK. However, the second single, "Dedicated to the One I Love", gave the band a comeback, peaking at number two in both the US and the UK. That success helped the album peak at a strong number two in the US and number four in the UK. Third single "Creeque Alley" showcased the band's history before their success. It peaked at number five in the US and number nine in the UK. The fourth and final single, a cover of "My Girl", peaked at number fifteen in the US, but failed to chart in the UK.

Shortly afterward, a non-album single called "Glad to be Unhappy" was released and peaked at number 26 in the US, but failed to chart in the UK. Also that year, a song from the group's second album titled Dancing Bear was released as a single and peaked at number 51 in the US, but also failed to chart in the UK.

First break-up and fourth album

The band then made their final TV appearance together on the Ed Sullivan Show in August 1967, where they performed some of their most popular songs. During a conversation with Sullivan, they revealed that they would be taking a long vacation but would return. While recording their fourth album, The Mamas and the Papas decided to take a trip in October 1967 to Europe to spark their creativity. While in England at a party thrown by Dunhill Records, their record label, Cass Elliot was talking to Mick Jagger. John approached them and made an insulting remark about her in front of the guests. Disgusted and humiliated, she stormed out of the party and quit the group. However, Cass was contractually bound for the band's next LP, and therefore appeared on The Papas & the Mamas, their fourth album.

The first single "12:30 (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)" peaked at number 20 in the US, but failed to chart in the UK. The album was then released and was another commercial success in both the UK and US (although it was their first album not to go gold or peak in the top ten in America). After the second single, "Safe In My Garden" failed on the charts, only making it to number 53, their label released Elliot's solo song from the album, a cover of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and it ended up peaking at number twelve in the US. It also became their first single to chart in the UK after five failed singles, peaking at number eleven. It was their only single to ever chart higher in the UK than the US.

 

[Flower]

Re: The Mamas & The Papas ~ Appreciation Thread

 

[LG]

Re: The Mamas & The Papas ~ Appreciation Thread

I always liked the Mamas & Papas, their songs were on the radio a lot when I was a teenager.

At the moment I only have their greatest hits CD, but all my favorites songs are on it so I've got my essentials covered.

 

[Truckin]

Re: The Mamas & The Papas ~ Appreciation Thread

The M&P's were cool as singers but after watching the biography of Mackenzie Phillips I am having some really bad thoughts about John Phillips. He was a real jackass when it came to his daughter and his first wife. Cass was a great singer and I remember an album she did with Dave Mason that was pretty good. I've included a video from the Midnight Special of John Denver and Cass.

One of my favorite songs by them:
Twelve Thirty~ Mamas and Papas

Sit and Wonder Dave Mason and Cass Elliot

John Denver and Cass Elliot~ Leavin' On a Jet Plane

 

[Groovy Man]

Re: The Mamas & The Papas ~ Appreciation Thread

Love The Mamas & The Papas...started out as a ''Greatest Hits'' fan and then dug deeper into their catalogue. Great 60's folk pop with outstanding harmonies. It's totally groovy!



I need ''Somebody Groovy'', baby...yeah!!

 

[Flower]

Re: The Mamas & The Papas ~ Appreciation Thread

^^^^^

 

[Truckin]

Re: The Mamas & The Papas ~ Appreciation Thread

^^^^^

Didn't mean to hijack your thread with the Cass stuff but thought you all might like the videos.

 

[Flower]

Re: The Mamas & The Papas ~ Appreciation Thread

Didn't mean to hijack your thread with the Cass stuff but thought you all might like the videos.

Truckin!

I love your post, I was in a hurry to get out of the house this morning and didn't have enough time to properly respond. I'm still a bit short of time but I wanted to add that we saw Dave Mason a year or two ago and that he's still great.

Please continue to add 'stuff' ..

Btw ~ I really liked the videos ..