Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot, John Phillips, and
Michelle Phillips formed the group after two previous
folk groups (
The Mugwumps, The New Journeymen) had failed.
After The New Journeymen folded, Doherty, John and Michelle Phillips and others decamped to The
Virgin Islands in January 1965 with $9000; Cass Elliott followed on a month later. After several months the money had run out and they didn't even have enough for their air fare back home. Down to their last $20, John Phillips suggested that they raise money by gambling. Michelle Phillips played
craps, and despite having never played before she threw eighteen 7's in a row, making more than sufficient money to return home to New York. (The group's early history is chronicled in the song "
Creeque Alley".)
Elliot then left for California and soon after John, Michelle and Doherty followed her, hoping to make it on the burgeoning West Coast Folk scene. While there they stayed with folk singer
Barry McGuire. Elliot was at first reluctant to join the band but after auditioning for
Lou Adler, she signed up with the other three members. In order to stay solvent they provided background vocals for McGuire's debut album, including a version of "
California Dreamin'". John Philips considered the song too good to let McGuire have and recorded their own version. The foursome hit it big immediately with "California Dreamin'". McGuire has claimed that if you listen carefully you can hear his vocals in the background.
The name of the band was inspired by a daytime
television talk show. Before the group recorded their debut album
If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, the band was known for a short time as "The Magic Circle". Wanting an easier name to remember, they were sitting around their house (which all four band members initially shared in the
hippie-haven Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles, also famous for spawning
the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and eventually
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young) and brainstorming on a new name. Someone switched on the TV and a
talk show was on with a member of the
Hells Angels. The first thing they heard was: "Now hold on there, Hoss. Some people call our women cheap, but we just call them our Mamas." Elliot jumped up and exclaimed, "Yeah! I want to be a Mama!" Michelle chimed in that she wanted to be a "Mama" too. John and Doherty looked at each other and John said, "Papas? Okay, problem solved."
In interviews, former band members confided that their recording sessions (and lifestyles) were usually heavily substance-laden, with large reserves of
marijuana and popular 1960s drugs on hand. They even admitted that their young children, also usually present at recording sessions, openly witnessed their activities.
John Phillips had married Michelle Gilliam on
December 31, 1962, long before the formation of the band. In 1965, when they were still "The Magic Circle", Michelle and Doherty began an
affair. They were able to keep it secret from the other two band members for quite some time. During a trip to
Mexico, Doherty revealed his affair to Elliot, who was furious since she was secretly in love with Doherty. Soon afterwards, John Phillips caught Michelle and Doherty in the act and moved himself and Michelle out of the house.
John could not stand to live with Michelle afterwards and so moved back in with Doherty. At this point Michelle became involved with
Gene Clark of
The Byrds (friends and rivals of The Mamas & the Papas). After one concert where Michelle blew kisses to Clark in the front row, John said he could not stand to perform with Michelle any longer. Consulting both their attorney Abe Somer as well as their label
Dunhill Records, the band then drafted a formal statement kicking Michelle out of the group in June of 1966. The single "I Saw Her Again" was released shortly afterwards, but reflects the love that John Phillips had previously had for Michelle, with a melody by Doherty. There is a false start at the final chorus of the song, which
John Sebastian later mocked on the
Lovin' Spoonful song, "Darlin' Be Home Soon".
Paul McCartney was very taken by the way the group came in too soon. "That has to be a mistake: nobody's that clever," he told the group.
At this point they hired a new band member to replace Michelle,
Jill Gibson, girlfriend of their producer
Lou Adler. Gibson was already a singer/songwriter who had performed on several
Jan and Dean albums. In fact, she had been involved with
Jan Berry for seven years before becoming romantically linked to Adler. Although Gibson was not known as a strong singer, she learned to sing Michelle's parts within three weeks while the band was in
London, England. Jill Gibson's vocals are featured on the band's second album
The Mamas & the Papas, except for two tracks that include Michelle. Fans were divided over the replacement . Afterwards, largely due to John, the band reintroduced Michelle to the lineup in late August 1966. Gibson received an undisclosed lump sum for her part and later admitted feeling betrayed by John Phillips.
Michelle and John reconciled and bought a home together in
Bel Air, while the band tried to forge ahead. Things seemed fine for a while, at least on the surface. The group recorded their third album
Deliver, which was a success, and during this same time Doherty was drinking heavily, trying to forget Michelle. He still had a hard time seeing her back with John. As the closing act of the first
Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967, the band performed dismally. John and Michelle Phillips and Lou Adler organized the festival, and according to interviews with the members of the group, they were all so caught up in the festival they never got around to rehearsing. That, combined with Doherty's last minute arrival from Canada, resulted in the mediocre performance.
The band tried to work on another album, to which they were contractually bound. After making no progress, they decided to take a trip in October 1967 to
Europe to spark their creativity. While in
England at a party thrown by
Dunhill Records, their record label, Elliot was talking to
Mick Jagger. John approached them and made an insulting remark about her in front of the guests. Disgusted and humiliated, she stormed out of the party and quit the band. Their record company released a
Greatest Hits compilation as a stopgap measure. Cass was contractually bound for the band's next LP, and therefore appeared on
The Papas & the Mamas, the group's fourth album.
