815 The Mamas and the Papas “California Dreamin’” 1965

John Phillips: “‘This is the summer of ’65. All of us were living in their (Cass Elliot and Jimmy Hendricks) apartment. We had a couple of cats and all the girls would beg for money for cat food on Sunset Strip. The money actually went to the cat food. Denny (Doherty) and I were taking steaks out of supermarkets—wearing big coats. We were taking a lot drugs at the time. It seemed like the thing to do. We were expanding our minds. We had no idea it was Russian roulette, at the time.’”

“Many of their hijinks came to an end when Barry McGuire…introduced the members of The Mamas and The Papas to his producer, Lou Adler of Dunhill Records.” The group sang background for McGuire’s first album, Hang On, Sloopy. McGuire recorded their song, California Dreamin’, but Adler asked the group to record their own version featuring Denny Doherty. When the song became a hit in November, it “would define the ‘California’ sound and lifestyle for an entire generation of Americans” (Doug Hall, The Mamas & The Papas: California Dreamin’, 2000). 

The Mamas and the Papas “California Dreamin’”