50 Fun Facts About The Mamas & the Papas

A false story printed in Cass Elliot's 1974 obituary claimed the singer had choked on which food?

A ham sandwich was written into the obituary by a journalist friend, who said in 2020 that Elliot's manager had asked her to print it. Elliot, who was 32, actually died of a heart attack.

The Mamas & the Papas took their name from slang used by which notorious motorcycle club?

Hells Angels called their female associates "mamas", and the quartet liked the word better than their other idea, the Magic Cyrcle.

The Mamas & the Papas' debut album was pulled from shops because its cover showed which bathroom fixture?

A toilet sat in the corner of the bathroom where the four posed in a tub, and it was judged indecent. Later pressings hid it behind a scroll advertising the album's hit.

Which guitarist was the opening act when the Mamas & the Papas played the Hollywood Bowl in August 1967?

Jimi Hendrix warmed up a crowd of 18,000 that night. John and Michelle Phillips later remembered the concert as the high point of the group's career.

Which instrument does jazzman Bud Shank play in the famous solo on the Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreamin'"?

Alto flute carries the break, in a solo that was reportedly improvised. The backing track was first cut for another singer, whose lead vocal can still be heard faintly as the record begins.

Which British songwriter insisted the false start in the Mamas & the Papas' "I Saw Her Again" had to be a mistake?

Paul McCartney told the group nobody was clever enough to have planned it, and he was right. A mixing slip had brought the vocal in too early, and the effect was kept.

Which single was the only US No. 1 for the Mamas & the Papas and also won the group a Grammy?

Monday, Monday took John Phillips only about 20 minutes to write, by his own account. It also climbed to No. 3 in Britain.

John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas co-wrote "Kokomo", a 1988 chart-topper from the film Cocktail, for which band?

The Beach Boys built the verse on a demo Phillips had made, and the single gave them their first number-one hit in 22 years.

Cass Elliot voiced a cartoon version of herself in a 1973 episode of which animated franchise?

Scooby-Doo was then starring in The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and Elliot voiced herself in the episode "The Haunted Candy Factory". She also had a featured role in the 1970 film Pufnstuf.

John Phillips helped plan which landmark 1967 rock festival, where the Mamas & the Papas were the closing act?

Monterey Pop was put together in just seven weeks by Phillips, the group's producer and two partners. It gave the Who and Ravi Shankar their first major American appearances.

John Phillips wrote "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" for which singer, a childhood friend?

Scott McKenzie had sung beside Phillips in the folk trio the Journeymen before scoring the 1967 hit. He later joined a touring revival of the Mamas & the Papas.

Chynna Phillips, child of John and Michelle Phillips, hit No. 1 with which debut single by her trio Wilson Phillips?

Hold On made stars of a trio whose other members, Carnie and Wendy Wilson, are daughters of Brian Wilson. The three sang it again in the finale of the 2011 film Bridesmaids.

Mackenzie Phillips, whose father was John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas, played Julie Cooper on which 1970s sitcom?

One Day at a Time cast her as the rebellious elder child of a divorced mother. She had already appeared in American Graffiti, filmed when she was 12.

Released as a single against John Phillips's wishes, which 1968 song launched Cass Elliot's solo career?

Dream a Little Dream of Me was a standard first recorded in 1931, and the label credited it to Mama Cass with the Mamas & the Papas. It charted higher in Britain than in America.

Michelle Phillips and Cass Elliot appear as minor characters in a 2019 film about 1969 Hollywood by which director?

Quentin Tarantino wrote the two singers into Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The group's song "Straight Shooter" was also used in the trailer.

John Phillips was hired to create the soundtrack for The Man Who Fell to Earth, a film starring which rock star?

David Bowie starred for director Nicolas Roeg, and Phillips got the commission in 1975 while living in London. The Mamas & the Papas had made their last album four years earlier.

John and Michelle Phillips wrote "California Dreamin'" during a bitterly cold 1963 winter in which city?

New York was home to the couple at the time, and Michelle was missing the sunshine of the West Coast. The single reached No. 4 in America and returned to the UK top ten in 1997.

The Mamas & the Papas' "Dedicated to the One I Love" had been a 1961 top-three hit for which girl group?

The Shirelles took it to No. 3 on reissue, though the song began with the "5" Royales in 1957. The 1967 remake handed Michelle Phillips her first lead vocal.

Which famed team of Los Angeles session musicians backed the Mamas & the Papas on "California Dreamin'"?

The Wrecking Crew included drummer Hal Blaine and bassist Joe Osborn, and its players were the most requested in the city. They went largely unnoticed until Blaine's 1990 memoir.

Michelle Phillips's 1970 Halloween wedding began a marriage of just eight days to which Hollywood actor-director?

Dennis Hopper married her soon after directing her in The Last Movie, her first film role. She went on to earn a Golden Globe nomination for the 1973 crime film Dillinger.

Which "Eve of Destruction" singer arranged the Mamas & the Papas' audition at Dunhill Records in 1965?

Barry McGuire had only just signed to the label himself, and the quartet's first studio job was singing backup on his album. He cut "California Dreamin'" before they did.

Zal Yanovsky, an early bandmate of Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, went on to co-found which hit 1960s band?

The Lovin' Spoonful was founded by Yanovsky and John Sebastian in 1964. Not long before, he and Doherty had been left broke in Hollywood when their folk group fell apart.

Michelle Phillips was fired from the Mamas & the Papas in 1966 over an affair with Gene Clark of which band?

The Byrds singer was her second affair, after one with Denny Doherty, and this time the others expelled her by letter. She was back in the group within two months.

Which singer, who had recorded with Jan and Dean, replaced Michelle Phillips in the Mamas & the Papas for part of 1966?

Jill Gibson toured and recorded with the group for about two months. The label even superimposed her photo over Michelle's on an album cover before the swap was reversed.

Which autobiographical 1967 hit by the Mamas & the Papas tells the story of how the group came together?

Creeque Alley never mentions its own title, which comes from a lane with a club the Phillipses knew before fame. It was the group's last top ten hit.

Before fame, the Mamas & the Papas spent the spring and summer of 1965 rehearsing in which Caribbean territory?

The Virgin Islands were where the four first tried playing electric instruments, John Phillips recalled, after years in acoustic folk groups.

Denny Doherty, the lone Canadian in the Mamas & the Papas, was born in which Atlantic port city?

Halifax shaped him twice: he started his first folk group there at 19, and later went back to act in Shakespeare at the Neptune Theatre.

Cass Elliot of the Mamas & the Papas was born Ellen Naomi Cohen in which East Coast city?

Baltimore was her birthplace, and she adopted the name Cass in high school. Denny Doherty thought she may have borrowed it from the actress Peggy Cass.

Cass Elliot died in 1974 in a London flat lent to her by which American singer-songwriter?

Harry Nilsson owned the Mayfair flat, and its history soon turned darker still. Keith Moon of the Who died in the same bedroom four years later, also aged 32.

Which producer liked the accidental false start in the Mamas & the Papas' "I Saw Her Again" and ordered it kept?

Lou Adler co-owned Dunhill Records and produced the group's run of hits. He later produced Carole King's Tapestry and was executive producer of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

"Me and My Uncle", a cowboy ballad written by John Phillips, became a concert staple of which band?

Grateful Dead played it live more often than any other song in their repertoire. Judy Collins recorded it first, in 1964.

John Phillips's album Pay Pack & Follow, released after his death, was recorded in the 1970s with members of which band?

The Rolling Stones sessions date from 1976 and 1977, but the tapes sat unreleased for more than two decades. The album finally appeared the month after Phillips died in 2001.

Michelle Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas played scheming Anne Matheson on which prime-time soap from 1987?

Knots Landing kept her on screen until the series ended in 1993, playing the mother of Nicollette Sheridan's character Paige.

Denny Doherty of the Mamas & the Papas was the on-screen host of which Canadian children's series from 1993 to 2001?

Theodore Tugboat cast him as the Harbour Master and had him voice the characters too. It was filmed in a former school that he had attended as a child.

Before the Mamas & the Papas, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty sang together in which short-lived band?

The Mugwumps were active only during 1964, and where their odd name came from is unclear. John Phillips, meanwhile, was still playing acoustic folk with a banjo.

"Twelve Thirty", a top-twenty single for the Mamas & the Papas in 1967, was inspired by which Los Angeles neighbourhood?

Laurel Canyon is set against the grim city the writer had left behind, where a broken church clock was stuck at half past twelve.

According to a popular legend, Cass Elliot's vocal range grew by three notes after what struck her on the head?

A copper pipe dropped by workmen on a building site knocked her to the ground, and Elliot herself repeated the story in interviews.

John Phillips told Michelle Phillips she was out of the Mamas & the Papas in 1966 on which personal occasion?

Her birthday, June 4, brought the news, though she disputed that he had the authority. A formal letter from the other three members followed about three weeks later.

"Go Where You Wanna Go", a flop debut single for the Mamas & the Papas, was a 1967 hit for which group?

The 5th Dimension made it their breakthrough hit. The original had failed to chart and was apparently withdrawn, its B-side reused on the quartet's very next single.

Who sang in place of Cass Elliot when the Mamas & the Papas reunited at their 1998 Hall of Fame induction?

Her daughter Owen, born in 1967, joined the three surviving members on stage. Owen had been seven years old when her mother died.

On which television variety programme did the Mamas & the Papas confirm in September 1967 that they were taking a break?

The Ed Sullivan Show appearance followed a press conference called by John Phillips, after sessions for the fourth album had stalled in his new home studio.

Chynna Phillips, child of John and Michelle Phillips, married which of the four acting Baldwin brothers in 1995?

William Baldwin, often called Billy, met her in 1991. The marriage made Alec, Daniel and Stephen her brothers-in-law.

Cass Elliot's first solo show in 1968 closed after one night at which Las Vegas casino resort?

Caesars Palace had booked her for three weeks at $40,000 a week, with two shows a night. Friends had urged her manager to cancel, but she insisted on performing.

Cass Elliot was arrested on arriving in England in 1967, accused of taking two blankets and a key from what?

A hotel she had used on an earlier visit cared less about the bedding than about an unpaid bill. The case was dismissed in a London court the next day.

Which recording engineer accidentally created the false start in "I Saw Her Again" by punching in the vocals too early?

Bones Howe rewound the tape and put the vocals in the right place, but the stray entry could still be heard on playback. He later produced a run of Tom Waits albums.

Which 1971 reunion album did the Mamas & the Papas record mainly to avoid being sued by their record label?

People Like Us was mostly dubbed one voice at a time, because the four were rarely in the studio together. Michelle Phillips said it sounded like four people avoiding a lawsuit.

Which 1994 Wong Kar-wai film plays the Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreamin'" again and again in its second story?

Chungking Express has Faye Wong's character play the song numerous times. The actress also sings a Cantonese cover of the Cranberries' "Dreams" on the soundtrack.

"Glad to Be Unhappy", a 1967 single for the Mamas & the Papas, was a 1936 show tune by which duo?

Rodgers and Hart introduced it in the musical On Your Toes. The quartet first sang it for a television special celebrating the pair, and their single reached No. 26.

Which 1960s hitmaker sang Cass Elliot's parts when John Phillips revived the Mamas & the Papas in 1982?

Spanky McFarlane, of Spanky and Our Gang, stayed with the revival until 1993. Mackenzie Phillips took the parts once sung by Michelle.

Michelle Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas became fluent in Spanish during a childhood spent partly in which capital?

Mexico City was home for six years after her widowed father enrolled at a college there on the GI Bill. Spanish stayed her main written language throughout her childhood.