The Mamas and the Papas band member Michelle Phillips once called the band “ . . . two and a half years of total melodrama.” This statement is a perfect summary of the wild antics and conflict of the band for the duration of its existence. Consisting of Cass Elliot, John and Michelle Phillips, and Denny Doherty, the folk-pop foursome rocked the folk scene in the early sixties and continued to gain notoriety throughout the decade. Eventually, egos and grievances would get the better of them, but not before leaving their distinct mark on the world. The Mamas and the Papas were perhaps the most influential folk group of the sixties, and it’s unlikely members proved that societal normalities and expectations do not have to be adhered to.
The most widely recognizable of the group, Cass Elliot was a fashion and music icon of the sixties and seventies who was unfairly ridiculed and dismissed for her weight. She got her start with a folk band called The Big Three that was eventually renamed The Mugwumps. While the Mugwumps enjoyed growing success, they disbanded in 1965 and Elliot embarked on a solo career. After joining The Mamas and the Papas, she was widely considered the face, and at the very least the voice, of the band.
She maintained a very successful solo career after The Mamas and the Papas and was playing a run of sold out shows at the London Palladium when she was found deceased in her London hotel room at 32 years old. An autopsy was conducted and she was determined to have died of heart failure, although a rumor quickly surfaced that she died by choking on a ham sandwich. This false information plagued news of her death for years to come as it attempted to undermine her musical career and talent to instead focus on her obesity, which was a popular topic of any conversation about Elliot for most of her life. While her death sparked immense controversy, Cass Elliot has remained a staple of folk music for nearly 60 years.
John and Michelle Phillips, the founders of the band and once a folk-pop power couple, had a tumultuous relationship from the very beginning. While attending high school in Los Angeles, Michelle met 26-year-old John, who was married at the time. He quickly divorced his first wife and the two were married less than a year later. The couple had a daughter, Chynna, together in 1968, but their relationship was strained by numerous affairs on both sides, and they divorced in 1970, contributing to the internal chaos of the band. Michelle went on to develop a successful acting career, even earning a Golden Globe nomination, while John tried unsuccessfully to continue his music career. He was later arrested for drug trafficking and the sale of controlled narcotics.
Denny Doherty, the only Canadian member of the group, also had a successful acting career and is widely known for his work on Broadway. He was involved with his first folk trio by nineteen, which was first called The Colonials and then The Halifax Three. He later joined Cass Elliot in both The Big Three and The Mugwumps before splitting off to form The New Journeymen, which consisted of Doherty and John and Michelle Phillips. After The Mamas and the Papas broke up, Denny moved on and began focusing on his solo career. He recorded two solo albums entitled Whatcha’ Gonna Do and Waiting for a Song before moving to New York to Star in Broadway’s Man on the Moon. He then went on to host a talk show for CBC and perform in several shows for prestigious Canadian theaters.
The Mamas and the Papas endured a long road to success but were ultimately rewarded with worldwide fame and renown. As previously mentioned, several members of the group had sung together before, both in The Mugwumps and The New Journeymen. John, the self-proclaimed leader of The New Journeymen by that point, decided that the band needed a fourth member to deepen the harmonies he had envisioned, but when Doherty suggested his former bandmate, Cass Elliot, Phillips was quick to dismiss the idea as he believed her weight would be unappealing to audiences. After a trip to the Virgin Islands, Elliot reported that she was hit on the head with a metal pipe and it increased her vocal range to what John determined would be ideal for their harmonies. Although it is unknown if this story is true, Cass was then allowed to join the band, which had been renamed The Mamas and the Papas, and the foursome signed a record deal and moved to California.
The band’s first album, titled If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, was released in 1966 and gathered massive critical and audience acclaim. Their single, “California Dreamin’”, was a huge hit and reached number one on the Billboard charts. Their next album, Deliver, also received high praise and included some of their most popular songs to date, such as “Dedicated To the One I Love” and “Creeque Alley”. Their final two albums, The Mamas and the Papas and People Like Us, were less popular and marked the end of their creative collaboration.
Throughout their time as a band they remained in almost constant conflict. Shortly after the group formed, Michelle and Denny began an affair that would threaten to tear all of their success apart as it created several ongoing grudges and disputes with its members. Cass was reportedly in love with Doherty, and his romantic entanglements greatly upset her though he did not reciprocate her feelings. The affair also drove an obvious wedge between Michelle and John, although this was neither the first nor last circumstance of this sort to befall their relationship, and John had Michelle removed from the band for a time. Eventually, Michelle would once again take her place in the group, but her vocals are absent on some of the tracks for their second record. John and Cass also frequently fought over logistics and overall sound for the band. The beautiful and distinctive harmonies of The Mamas and the Papas clearly did not transcend into their group dynamic, but their passion and resentment was an undeniable force in their creative work.