The Mamas And The Papas Then And Now

In The Mamas And Papas, the ony living individual is Michelle Philips. Except for her, Cass Elliot and John Phillips passed of heart failure and Denny Doherty passed from Kidney failure.

Michelle Gilliam Phillips born Holly Michelle Gilliam is a singer and actress. She became popular as a vocalist in the mid-1960s.

She was born on June 4, 1944, in Long Beach, California, U.S. Her genres are Folk Rock, Psychedelic Pop, and Sunshine Pop.

Her journey started with writing songs together with her spouse John Phillips. Some of the hit songs co-written by her are California Dreamin' and If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears.

She was expelled from the group on June 4, 1966, but then again hired on August 23. It's all because her replacement Jill Gibson did not have the same stage charisma.

The singer also acted in fiction movies but unfortunately, it did not release. She pursued an acting career after the band broke up.

Her first and only solo album Victim of Romance was released in 1977. She continued with solo singles. Her releases were from A&M Records.

The Mamas And The Papas Members include 1. John Phillips 2. Cass Elliot and two others. It was formed by husband and wife John and Michelle Phillips.

1. John Phillips

John's full birth name was John Edmund Andrew Phillips. He was also known as Papa or John Johnny Phillips or Phillips or JP.

He was born in Parris Island, South Carolina. He was a singer, musician, and songwriter. The only instrument that he played was a guitar.

Before The Mamas and the Papas, he was involved in his debut band, The Journeyman. This trio successfully kept 3 albums and compilations.

He was the primary songwriter and musical arranger in the band. He also co-produced the movie Monterey Pop.

2. Cass Elliot

Ellen Naomi Cohen was born on September 19, 1941, in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. She was a singer, actress, and producer. Her spouse was James Hendricks.

Her name Cass was adopted from actress Peggy Cass and Elliot was added in memory of her close friend. She was popular for her optimism and charisma in the group.

She was also known for her powerful and unique voice. You can listen to California Dreamin', "Monday Monday" to enjoy her music.

She was engaged in two groups before joining The Mamas and the Papas. They are The Big 3 and The Mugwumps.

She had altogether 9 albums, 8 solos, 3 soundtracks, and 16 singles.

3. Denny Doherty

Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty, publicly known as Denny Doherty was a musician, singer, songwriter, and actor from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was born on November 29, 1940.

His genres are Folk and Pop. His Journey in this band started when he filled the vacant position of Tenor Marshall Brickman in Phillip's new band The New Journeymen.

The new Journeymen group changed its name to Magic Cycle then to the Mamas and the Papas. They signed a contract with Dunhill Records which was the debut album for the group.

The fourth member was Michelle Phillips which has been already explained in the previous section.

The Mamas And Papas broke up because their expectation from each other did not meet. The band could not give stimulation as expected by group members.

The mix of two male and two female voices was remarkable. However, such a group came to an end due to creative exhaustion.

The members felt that they had created so much together that there was not anything left. They chose separate paths and pursued solo singing or acting professions.

Their label, Dunhill Records released them from contract and all group members started releasing solo albums or singles each. Elliot released his solo debut Dream a Little Dream in 1968, Phillips released John Phillips in 1970, Denny Doherty released Watcha Gonna Do? in 1971, and Michelle Phillips released Victim of Romance in 1977.

New Mamas And Papas include additional members Spanky McFarlane and Mackenzie Phillips. The group was started by John Phillips and he invited Denny Doherty too.

Mackenzie took the place of Michelle and Spanky took the place of Cass Elliot. Their first performance in 1982 impressed the audience and was praised for genuine celebration on the stage.

The group played lots of nights and toured in multiple regions. But, John and her daughter were addicted to substances. It affected the group's performance.

Doherty exited the band in 1987. There were multiple changes in the new group because of on-and-off members. The list of members of the New Mamas and the Papas are:

• John Phillips
• Denny Doherty
• Mackenzie Phillips
• Spanky McFarlane
• Laurie Beebe Lewis
• Scott McKenzie
• Lisa Brescia
• Deb Lyons
• Barry McGuire
• Chrissy Faith
• David Baker
• Janelle Sadler
• Mark Williamson

All the members were contributing as a vocalist. John Phillips and Scott McKenzie had additional roles as a guitarist.

The group continued performing with different lineups, tours, and live performances. John Phillips released Many Mamas, Many Papas album in 2010 through Varèse Sarabande Records.

Mamas And Papas Age includes both past and current band members. John, Denny, Cass, and Michelle are the past Mamas and Papas members. Other members in the following list are from new Mamas and Papas.

However, John is found is both the old and new bands as he is the one who started new group with her daughter and others. Their age ranges from 32 age to 87 age according to the following list.