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The Mamas and the Papas in 1967. From left to right: Cass Elliot, Michelle Phillips, Denny Doherty, and John Phillips.
The Mamas and the Papas was a - no, the - 1960s folk-pop band from Southern California. What made them stand out at first was that, in an age of girl groups and boy bands, they had a mixed-gender lineup: Cass Elliot, Michelle Phillips, John Phillips, and Denny Doherty, backed by session musicians. Then people heard their music, and they didn't need a gimmick to stand out.
They are the Trope Codifier for '60s folk-pop. Even in the early 2020s, people still remember "California Dreamin'" (1965), "Monday Monday" (1966, the song that won them a Grammy Award), and other songs by The Mamas and the Papas.
They played the Monterey Pop Festival, cementing them as one of the musical voices of the Summer of Love. John Phillips co-produced Monterey Pop, the movie of the festival, setting the example of filming music festivals that would be followed at Woodstock and Altamont.
Sadly, like Fleetwood Mac a decade later, the band imploded in the late '60s due to the excesses of substance usage and infighting among the members. After officially splitting in 1968, they did make one more album in the early '70s, but it was recorded solely to fulfill their contract and did not sell well. All four released solo recordings, with Cass being the most successful by far, moving into a solid adult contemporary groove and scoring hits like "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and "Make Your Own Kind of Music"; Michelle would be most successful as an actress, on shows like Knots Landing, but also lent backing vocals to Belinda Carlisle's #1 hit "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" in 1987. Sadly, Michelle and John would never reconcile. As of 2023, Michelle is the last surviving member of the group; Cass passed away in 1974 (from a heart attack, NOT choking on a ham sandwich), John in 2001, and Denny in 2007.
In the early 1980s, John Phillips and Denny Doherty spearheaded an attempt at a revival, with Phillips' daughter Mackenzie Phillips and Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane of the contemporary band "Spanky and Our Gang" joining them to form "The New Mamas and the Papas". This new incarnation of the group toured and released several live albums while undergoing multiple line-up changes, until it finally disbanded in 2000. Despite lasting much longer than its predecessor, the new band never achieved a fraction of its success or influence. Meanwhile, John and Michelle's daughter Chynna followed in her parents' footsteps to the top of the charts, being a member of the (briefly) wildly successful pop trio Wilson Phillips (Cass's daughter Owen was initially a part of the group as well until she was kicked out).
Compare to ABBA, another group of two men and two women with their own gifts for melody and harmony and their own tumultuous story to tell (including romantic entanglements).
The Mamas and the Papas only released five studio albums:
- If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (1966)
- The Mamas & the Papas (1966)
- The Mamas & The Papas Deliver (1967)
- The Papas & the Mamas (1968)
- People Like Us (1971)
They also scored six Top 10 singles, with "Monday, Monday" becoming their only #1.
For singles and compilation albums, see the list on The Other Wiki.
- Band of Relatives: John and Michelle Phillips were husband and wife. The initial incarnation of its successor had John and daughter Mackenzie.
- Covered Up: The Mamas and the Papas are examples of both sides of this trope.
- Their version of "Dedicated to the One I Love" is much better known than the earlier version released by The Shirelles. Similarly, their cover of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (in which Cass Elliot did her own whistling) charted much higher than the 1931 original by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. And almost nobody remembers Barry McGuire's recording of "California Dreamin'" (written by John and Michelle Phillips) despite the fact that it was released before The Mamas and the Papas's version of the song.
- The 1980s generation thinks of The Beach Boys' cover of "California Dreamin'" before the original version (even though it didn't chart as high as the Mamas and the Papas's recording and John and Michelle Phillips were in the music video), because their music video received heavy rotation on MTV. Honestly, "California Dreamin'" has been covered so often that even The Other Wiki admits their list is incomplete.
- The band's version of "I Call Your Name" is arguably better known than The Beatles', and received significant airplay despite not getting a single release.
- During the revived Mamas and Papas' initial tour in the early 1980s, Mackenzie Phillips performed the theme to One Day At a Time.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Cass Elliot hated being called "Mama Cass" (especially after she became a mother), but the nickname stuck because of her association with the group - despite her eventually dropping it by 1972 and billing herself as Cass Elliot. She even released an album in 1973 titled Don't Call Me Mama Anymore.
- Fake-Out Fade-Out: "Monday, Monday."
- Hating on Monday: "Monday Monday" again.
- Signature Song: "California Dreamin'," which peaked at #4, arguably fits this title best, although "Monday, Monday" and "Dedicated to the One I Love" charted higher.
- Stage Names: Cass Elliot was born Ellen Naomi Cohen. Michelle is actually Michelle's middle name (her given first name is Holly).
- Throw It In: "I Saw Her Again" was mixed incorrectly (or according to some sources, Denny started singing the title line after the bridge before he was supposed to, and then caught himself and stopped), leading to the famous and often-imitated intro "I saw her ... I saw her again". They ran with it.
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"That has to be a mistake: nobody's that clever"
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- Vocal Tag Team: All four of the original group had their turns to shine.
- Write What You Know/Write Who You Know: "Creeque Alley" is a concise history of the evolution of the folk-rock scene in the 1960s, namechecking not only the members of the Mamas and the Papas, but various other musicians and groups who became famous in their own right, like The Lovin' Spoonful. It also describes some of the Mamas and the Papas' travels and misadventures.