John: ‘It Sounded Like the Mamas and the Papas’
Los Angeles – The Beach Boys, on their first day of rehearsals six weeks ago, sent them a telegram: YOUR SECRET IS SAFE WITH US. And it was. Even now, with their record contract signed, few people know – for sure–that the Mamas and the Papas are back together.
The Word doesn’t travel so fast any more in Hollywood. The Mamas and the Papas – Michelle and Cass, John and Denny – had in fact been rehearsing, almost daily, with a bunch of new John Phillips high-protein harmony and counterpoint tunes, in the dining room in Cass’ house, deep in the leafy bowels of Laurel Canyon. But who’s to say, or tell? In May, 1971, the Strip consists of the Whisky, just shut down by a fire, and “the scene” is scattered out to Anaheim and Long Beach and Inglewood and Pasadena, where the big weekend synthetic hardened rock concerts are staged.
Still, a lot of old friends are still making music – John Sebastian, by himself; Crosby and Stills, sometimes with Nash and Young; the Byrds – that is, Roger McGuinn; and the Beach Boys – even with Brian Wilson’s earaches. Producer Lou Adler, “Uncle Lou” in older, friendlier days, is near the top again, at A&M with his Ode Records and Carole King and that new circle. Even Scott MacKenzie, who coattailed himself onto the Monterey International Pop Festival stage with his San Francisco hippie song, and Barry McGuire, along with Eric Hord, guitarist on the Mamas and Papas albums, are back, also with Ode.
And so the Mamas and the Papas have re-formed, in at least one sense of the word. They broke up two and a half years ago, in a heap of depression, after only 30 concerts, maybe, and four albums, the fourth one squeezed out of them by pressure of contract law.
“We had started it,” Cass said, “and in the course of doing that album, I think we all realized it wasn’t happening.” Added John: “We weren’t supposed to do that album emotionally at that point. We needed that eight months or a year off to get back together again and work. But contractually we had to finish that album by April. So once again, the problem of the businessman calling the artist’s shot. And it never works.” Since their break-up, they’ve seen their label, Dunhill, re-package their material like record-men possessed – Farewell to the First Golden Era; Golden Era Volume 2; 16 of their Greatest Hits. Plus a second version of If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, plus, most recently the atrocious The Mamas & the Papas/Monterey International Pop Festival live album. There was even an Anthology, including session talk and interviews, released nearly two years ago.
And yet they have re-signed with Dunhill Records. Contract pressures and twists.
“There’s no way to tell you all these things,” said John Phillips, the tall, tanned, wolfking-haired leader at the head of the rehearsal table, “without a graph. We’ve all signed so many contracts with Jay Lasker [president of Dunhill] that it’s probably a volume that stands a foot high. And we’re all in different circumstances at this point. Cass gets out in September. Michelle’s out of her contract right now, and she’s re-signing just for this album. Denny’s under like a three-year contract with Dunhill as a single artist now – which he just signed, and Mr. Lasker is so sick of me he wants me to leave as soon as this album’s over.”
“But it really doesn’t matter,” said Cass. “Shit. After everything that’s gone down, I don’t really give a shit. I’m glad to do this last album for them. I wish it were their last album.”
The Mamas and the Papas are not back together because it’s fun meeting with Lasker and Dunhill. The Monterey album, Phillips said, is out under their protest. “We didn’t sign releases for it. It’s just one of Jay Lasker’s things. He said ‘Sue me. I’m putting it out.’ ” But the Mamas and the Papas counterpointed in more than just musical ways, and listening to them now, playing with each other verbally and musically, it seems apparent that it was just a matter of time.
Cass: I don’t know how it happened.
Michelle: I started it.
Cass: When I was working with Dave Mason, Michelle came over after coming back from New Mexico [where she had been with Dennis Hopper as his wife for two weeks] and she said, “I have a great idea!” – frantically – “Let’s go on the road!” She’d go on the road for a dollar and a half, I think. And then I was working with Dave, and I didn’t do anything about it – or hear anything about it for a lot of months. And all of a sudden my manager called and said, “Come in for a meeting and talk about making an album with the Mamas and the Papas.” But even when Michelle brought it up, I really had to think seriously about it – whether I personally was interested in doing it – and I was. I was into the other thing, but I felt it was right; it was coming to a point where it was right for the four of us to get together again.
Michelle: I knew then that we were gonna do it. Everyone wanted to at that point. John didn’t, for other reasons that we can’t mention.
John: Everyone was saying no for three years, then one day everyone said yes. We felt we’d just sort of give it a try and we got together and started singing, and that is what made it work.
Cass: Also, John had material. I knew there’d have to be a musical reason, not just an emotional reason. If it’s not as great as the first Mamas and Papas album – if we don’t try to be that good again – then it’s wrong for us to get back together.
John: Everyone was saying, “Do the old songs again and just do an album quick and we’ll make some bread on it.”
Like who?
The people who put deals together.
Michelle mentioned touring. Does that idea excite you at all?
Cass: Aggh! Never! That would be the last thing to excite me.
Michelle: I’d love it.
Cass: I love to perform, but I hate the road. It’s a pain in the ass.
Michelle: I just don’t want to be away for a long time. I’d like to tour for ten days, and then come back–for three months.
Cass: But I’m sure we will go on the road because – Shit, this is really gonna sound dumb or jive, but I really think when you make records . . . and people buy your records . . . they have a right . . . to . . .
John: To play ’em.
Cass, picking it up: To play ’em and to see ’em . . .
Denny: And open ’em. You get an album cover and a record!
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The Mamas & the Papas are now all actual mothers and fathers – John and Michelle had China; John and actress Genevieve Waite, with whom he lives in Malibu Colony, just had Tamerlane; Cass had daughter Owen four years ago, and Denny, who spent the last couple of years alternating between “just hanging around” in Florida or “just sitting around” his home near downtown Los Angeles, has a daughter, Jessie, by his friend, Linda. Denny is pale and bearded these days, his hair as short as ever, his voice as smooth and his temper as tranquil as ever. Michelle Gilliam, through all her changes – working in Hopper’s Last Movie in Peru and marrying him in Taos; singing a bit with Leonard Cohen earlier this year; now taking care of China and seeing Jack Nicholson (she’ll be with him in Cannes for the opening of his film Drive, He Said) is still best described as lovely.
Thin but not frail; angelic but not soft. She goes to Justin Smith’s acting school three times a week, and she plays piano and guitar, and she’d like to do a solo album someday. But she is aware of limitations. “Basically, I’m the least musical of the group. I know I am. I have the least training, the least experience. I wasn’t really a singer until I started singing with John.” (In the New York folkie days, Michelle and John and Denny were the New Journeymen.)
John: ‘It Sounded Like the Mamas and the Papas’, Page 1 of 3