The Mamas and the Papas
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.
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.
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)
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.
- 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: According to her 1968 interview in Rolling Stone magazine, Cass Elliot never liked being called "Mama Cass" (especially after she became a mother), but the nickname stuck because of her association with the group.
- Hating on Monday: "Monday Monday"
- Throw It In: "I Saw Her Again" was mixed incorrectly, 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.