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Way back when... there was a group by the name of "The Mamas & The Papas" and today's Noontime Music Interlude includes this group performing live, "Monday Monday"!
Background:
The Mamas and the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group who recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group was composed of John Phillips, Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot, and Michelle Phillips née Gilliam. Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips, the songwriter, musician, and leader of the group who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early 1960s.
The Mamas and the Papas released a total of five studio albums and 17 singles over a four-year period, six of which made the Billboard top 10, and have sold close to 40 million records worldwide. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 for its contributions to the music industry. The band reunited briefly to record the album People Like Us in 1971, but had ceased touring and performing by that time.
The Mamas and the Papas was formed by husband and wife John and Michelle Phillips, formerly of the New Journeymen, and Denny Doherty, formerly of the Mugwumps. Both of these earlier acts were folk groups active from 1964 to 1965. The last member to join was Cass Elliot, Doherty's bandmate in the Mugwumps, who had to overcome John Phillips' concern that her voice was too low for his arrangements, that her physical appearance would be an obstacle to the band's success and that her temperament was incompatible with his. The group considered calling itself the Magic Cyrcle before switching to the Mamas and the Papas, inspired by the Hells Angels, whose female associates were called "mamas".
The quartet spent the period from early spring to midsummer 1965 in the Virgin Islands "to rehearse and just put everything together", as John Phillips later recalled. Phillips acknowledged that he was reluctant to abandon folk music. Others, including Doherty and guitarist Eric Hord, have said he hung on to it "like death". Roger McGuinn's view is that "[i]t was hard for John to break out of folk music, because I think he was real good at it, conservative, and successful, too." Phillips also acknowledged that it was Doherty and Elliot who awakened him to the potential of contemporary pop, as epitomized by the Beatles. Previously, the New Journeymen had played acoustic folk with banjo, and the Mugwumps played something closer to folk rock, with bass and drums. Their rehearsals in the Virgin Islands were "the first time that we tried playing electric".
The band then traveled from New York to Los Angeles for an audition with Lou Adler, co-owner of Dunhill Records. The audition was arranged by Barry McGuire, who had befriended Cass Elliot and John Phillips independently during the previous two years, and who had recently signed with Dunhill. The audition led to "a deal in which they would record two albums a year for the next five years", with a royalty of 5 percent on 90 percent of retail sales. Dunhill Records also tied the band to management and publishing deals, commonly known as a "triple hat" relationship.[19][20] Cass Elliot's membership was not formalized until the paperwork was signed, with Adler, Michelle Phillips, and Doherty overruling John Phillips.
The Mamas and The Papas Sharing:
Background:
The Mamas and the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group who recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group was composed of John Phillips, Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot, and Michelle Phillips née Gilliam. Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips, the songwriter, musician, and leader of the group who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early 1960s.
The Mamas and the Papas released a total of five studio albums and 17 singles over a four-year period, six of which made the Billboard top 10, and have sold close to 40 million records worldwide. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 for its contributions to the music industry. The band reunited briefly to record the album People Like Us in 1971, but had ceased touring and performing by that time.
The Mamas and the Papas was formed by husband and wife John and Michelle Phillips, formerly of the New Journeymen, and Denny Doherty, formerly of the Mugwumps. Both of these earlier acts were folk groups active from 1964 to 1965. The last member to join was Cass Elliot, Doherty's bandmate in the Mugwumps, who had to overcome John Phillips' concern that her voice was too low for his arrangements, that her physical appearance would be an obstacle to the band's success and that her temperament was incompatible with his. The group considered calling itself the Magic Cyrcle before switching to the Mamas and the Papas, inspired by the Hells Angels, whose female associates were called "mamas".
The quartet spent the period from early spring to midsummer 1965 in the Virgin Islands "to rehearse and just put everything together", as John Phillips later recalled. Phillips acknowledged that he was reluctant to abandon folk music. Others, including Doherty and guitarist Eric Hord, have said he hung on to it "like death". Roger McGuinn's view is that "[i]t was hard for John to break out of folk music, because I think he was real good at it, conservative, and successful, too." Phillips also acknowledged that it was Doherty and Elliot who awakened him to the potential of contemporary pop, as epitomized by the Beatles. Previously, the New Journeymen had played acoustic folk with banjo, and the Mugwumps played something closer to folk rock, with bass and drums. Their rehearsals in the Virgin Islands were "the first time that we tried playing electric".
The band then traveled from New York to Los Angeles for an audition with Lou Adler, co-owner of Dunhill Records. The audition was arranged by Barry McGuire, who had befriended Cass Elliot and John Phillips independently during the previous two years, and who had recently signed with Dunhill. The audition led to "a deal in which they would record two albums a year for the next five years", with a royalty of 5 percent on 90 percent of retail sales. Dunhill Records also tied the band to management and publishing deals, commonly known as a "triple hat" relationship.[19][20] Cass Elliot's membership was not formalized until the paperwork was signed, with Adler, Michelle Phillips, and Doherty overruling John Phillips.
The Mamas and The Papas Sharing:
Music
Live Music
Classic Rock
Posted >1 y ago
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