John Phillips was born in Parris Island, South Carolina on this day in 1935. he would have been 90. He died at 65 from the long term effects of drug and alcohol addiction
Something of a tortured (over indulged?) soul, the accounts of his private life leave me hugely conflicted about him and whether in fact he is a monster or not; from the ‘relationship’ with his daughter (sic) Mackenzie (who most, I will allow, other family members do not believe in the ten years plus abusive relationship but many others did including her sister Chynna and Denny Doherty’s daughter) to the account of his heroin addiction (where is it published, in what book, the account of his ending up shooting up every fifteen minutes?!) I am not so sure we should celebrate the accident of his birth but hey an ‘interesting’ pop Svengali figure for sure! An Eric Gill of his times . . . . . .possibly?
Pedophile incestuous junkie? Maybe a bit harsh but is it?
Chynna Phillips on Sister McKenzie's Incest
Mackenzie Philips on her autobiography ‘High on Arrival’
a classic pop song of the sixties era and no mistake but it always reminds me of an account of John Philips' drug addiction that I believe I read in Danny Sugarman’s Wonderland Avenue (sic?) or somesuch which referred to the heroin use of Philips where he was injecting something like every 17 minutes!
His sexual proclivities are not for the nervous either (sic Sick!) . . . . . . . . the others, Mama Cass we lost around the time of Jimi, Jim Morrison and Janis; Michelle, aah the beautiful Michelle went on to film and character acting fame associating with Dennis Hopper et al and of course Denny who I had first come across with Zal Yanovsky as part of the Mugwumps who introduced me to such songs as You Can’t Read a Book (By Looking at The Cover) etc
Worth a research into their various biographies and no mistake! But maybe not for those of a delicate constitution!?
Belies the Sugary sweet California dream!?
The Dream Was Over! Maybe even then . . . . . . . (cheerful cove ain’t I?)
Monday, May 07, 2018
On this day in music history: May 7, 1966 - “Monday, Monday” by The Mamas And The Papas hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 3 weeks. Written by John Phillips, is the biggest hit for the Los Angeles, CA based folk/rock group. In the period before they land a record deal and become successful, Mamas and Papas’ leader John Phillips makes two predictions about the group. That they will score a number one single, and win a Grammy Award within two years. Fast forward to a year later, the group are signed to producer Lou Adler’s Dunhill Records, and begin recording their first album. The song “Monday, Monday” is the last track recorded for the groups debut album “If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears”. Initially Cass, Michelle, Denny, and producer Lou Adler initially are not in favor of the song, and John has to persuade them to record it. Phillips’ intuition about the song is confirmed when radio stations begin playing it as an album cut while their previous single “California Dreamin’” is still riding the charts. Shipped as a single by Dunhill Records in late March of 1966, it is an immediate smash, selling over 150,000 copies on its first day of release. Entering the Hot 100 at #79 on April 9, 1966, it rockets to the top of the chart four weeks later. “Monday” wins The Mamas And The Papas a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group in 1967, fulfilling both promises John Phillips had made to his band mates. “Monday, Monday” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
thanks to the most excellent Jeff Harris' blog 'Behind The Grooves For this lovely warm sunny day here in the UK a celebration of the day. Mind you, I have been trying to find the written account of John Phillips' heroin addiction which frankly is one of the most terrifying and extraordinary accounts of addiction I have ever come across [and I have worked with quite few!] But however I cannot find it . . . . . . it details the gross consumption afforded by vast wealth and at one point Phillips maintains he was injecting every 15-20 minutes or so.
Note this song I DIDN'T buy when it came out but when I first heard it I GOT it! I had been a fan of The Lovin' Spoonful as a default reaction against my big brother [I think] to his choice of the Beatles first couple of albums and I wanted to buy songs of my own generation (sic!) and chose the Spoonful as exotic and 'foreign' as they're, they had appeared on the tv pop shows I think by then and whilst my brother chose intelligent comics to read every week, I bought Fab208 which featured the Spoonful amongst others and by the time 'Hums' came out I was lost! I was also precocious enough to be aware of The Mugwumps with Zal and Denny and Mama Cass and Jim Hendricks having heard their 'You Can't Judge a Book By The Cover' and bought the album over here [although I cannot find it at the moment, I have it on digital download too] Now as soon as I heard 'Creeque (pronounced Creaky) Alley' I knew pretty much all of the artists mentioned from Zal and Denny to Sebastian (the best harp player IMHO) and McGuire and McGuinn. It told a story and not least that lasted until the shock when later I read the accounts of the perhaps larger than life heroin addiction of John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas . . . . . . . . he claimed in his autobiography that he shot up on average every twenty minutes for over a decade. It made me seek out the lyrics to share with you and I found this wonderful web site which explains it all better than I could (which I was about to try and do). Extraordinarily enough how often do you find a website devoted to interpreting one song!?
CREEQUE ALLEY
John and Michi were gettin' kind of itchy Just to leave the folk music behind Zal and Denny workin' for a penny Tryin' to get a fish on the line In a coffee house Sebastian sat And after every number they'd pass the hat McGuinn and McGuire just a-gettin' higher In L.A., you know where that's at And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
Zally said "Denny, you know there aren't many Who can sing a song the way that you do, let's go south" Denny said "Zally, golly, don't you think that I wish I could play guitar like you" Zal, Denny and Sebastian sat (At the Night Owl) And after every number they'd pass the hat McGuinn and McGuire still a-gettin higher In L.A., you know where that's at And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore But she changed her mind one day Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike "Take me to New York right away" When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumps Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher But that's what they were aimin' at And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
Mugwumps, high jumps, low slumps, big bumps Don't you work as hard as you play Make up, break up, everything is shake up Guess it had to be that way Sebastian and Zal formed the Spoonful Michelle, John, and Denny gettin' very tuneful McGuinn and McGuire just a-catchin' fire In L.A., you know where that's at And everybody's gettin' fat except Mama Cass Di-di-di-dit dit dit di-di-di-dit, whoa
Broke, busted, disgusted, agents can't be trusted And Mitchy wants to go to the sea Cass can't make it, she says we'll have to fake it We knew she'd come eventually Greasin' on American Express cards It's low rent, but keeping out the heat's hard Duffy's good vibrations and our imaginations Can't go on indefinitely And California dreamin' is becomin' a reality
