For those of us brought up in the fifties and sixties, that line from California Dreamin’ is forever etched in our minds. The year was 1965.
In that year, My Fair Lady won the Oscar for Best Picture. Bill cosby starred in television’s I Spy. The Dodgers beat Minnesota in the World Series. The cost of a postage stamp was 5 cents. Lyndon Johnson was president. The first U.S. combat troops arrived in Vietnam. I had my driver’s license learner’s permit. And the Mamas and Papas had a hit song called California Dreamin’.
Though California Dreamin’ was not their biggest hit (that distinction is held by Monday, Monday that came out the following year), it is for most of us their most recognizable song.
And arguably, the most recognized voice in that ultimate of sixties American pop ensembles was Denny Doherty. He is the member who soloed that line at the top of this page...along with songs like Monday, Monday...and I Saw Her Again. Mama Cass, of course, was the other member whose voice provided many of the solos in so many of their tunes. John Phillips and Michelle Phillips rounding out the foursome’s cast.
But it was Doherty who most rock historians credit with the group’s signature sound. His silky, dulcet-toned voice providing the base from which the Mama and Papas rich background harmonies would emerge.
I had the opportunity to see Denny Doherty perform live. It was at a fundraising event in 1998. The “Mamas and Papas” performed, Dougherty being the only original from the group that then included Scott MacKenzie (who sang San Francisco).
The Mamas and Papas existence as a group was tumultuous and short-lived. They officially disbanded in 1968. Some of the details can be found on this site.
Cass died of a heart attack in 1974 (not from choking on a chicken sandwich). John Phillips died in 2001. Denny Doherty passed away in Toronto on January 19, 2007 after a short illness.
...you know the preacher likes the cold...he knows I’m gonna stay. California Dreamin’...on such a winter’s day.
So many of them are gone now.
