With their shimmering melodies, jangly 12-string guitars and strains of flower
power psychedelia, The Mamas And The Papas helped define the 1960s West Coast
sound and created some of the most uplifting pop hits of the era. John Phillips
was a leading light of the folk scene with his group The Journeymen when a
teenage Michelle Gilliam walked into one of his gigs and stole his heart. Both
his marriage and his band broke up as the pair joined forces with Denny Doherty
and, later, Cass Elliot. The band moved to California in 1965 where their
melancholy folk ballads were injected wit...