147: The Mamas and the Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (1966)

“I can’t tell you how many people have told me over the years that the reason they were in California was because they heard the song ‘California Dreamin’.”

—Michelle Phillips

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Before they were flattened into part of the public’s collective generic memory of the 1960s, and before an astonishing level of in-fighting and tragedy turned the group’s story into one of the best VH1: Behind the Music episodes, The Mamas and the Papas released one of the best debut albums of the 1960s. It produced three massive hits you’ve heard hundreds of times apiece if you listen to oldies radio, but it also produced a handful of worthwhile deeper cuts, with interesting songwriting (most of the time) and top-notch singing throughout. John leads a discussion with Amanda, Phil, and Ben about the collection of musicians who created one of his favorite 1960s albums and one of the most jaw-dropping soap-operas of the decade.

Miscellany

• The band’s Behind the Music episode is available on YouTube, and we have linked it because it is absolutely worth watching. This episode touched on the bulk of what is mentioned in that episode, but there are other interesting details as well.

• It is also worth watching the band’s induction into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame. If nothing else, it’s charming to see Denny Doherty congratulate the Canadians in the audience for being Canadian.

• Mike DeFabio did some digging into the topic of why “Go Where You Wanna Go” didn’t chart, and he pointed out that it was a promotional single and not a single per se: if it had generated any significant buzz in radio play it might have been issued as a single, but instead the group pulled it and replaced it with “California Dreamin’,” which did get radio play.

• Amanda noticed that it’s funny that Denny Doherty’s band was originally The Colonials, because during the American Revolution, many British Loyalists moved from the American Colonies up to Nova Scotia, which is where Denny came from.

• Perhaps the funniest bit of media associated with the band comes from a performance the band did on The Ed Sullivan Show, in the episode where they announced their upcoming hiatus. The band was instructed to do a dub / lip-sync performance, but Michelle Phillips thought this was ridiculous, so she literally ate a banana during the whole performance. We have included a link below. 

Other links 

• VH1: Behind the Music - The Mamas and the Papas (YouTube)

• The Mamas and the Papas Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame induction (YouTube)

• The Mamas, The Papas, and The Banana (YouTube)

• Sesame Street - “The In and Out Crowd” (YouTube)

• Discord & Rhyme’s If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears playlist (Spotify)

• Discord & Rhyme’s merch store (TeePublic)

• Discord & Rhyme’s Patreon

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

• John McFerrin (host)

• Amanda Rodgers (moderator)

• Ben Marlin

• Phil Maddox 

If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears tracklist 

1. Monday, Monday

2. Straight Shooter

3. Got a Feelin’

4. I Call Your Name

5. Do You Wanna Dance

6. Go Where You Wanna Go

7. California Dreamin’

8. Spanish Harlem

9. Somebody Groovy

10. Hey Girl

11. You Baby

12. The ‘In’ Crowd 

Other clips used 

The Mamas and the Papas:

• California Dreamin’ (live)

• Twelve Thirty

• Creeque Alley (single)

• I Saw Her Again

• Dream a Little Dream of Me

• Dancing in the Street 

Others:

• The Grateful Dead - Me and My Uncle

• The Boomtown Rats - I Don’t Like Mondays

• The Deep Six - C’mon Baby Now (Blow Your Mind)

• The Monkees - Pleasant Valley Sunday

• John Lennon - #9 Dream

• Barry McGuire - California Dreamin’

• The Beach Boys - California Dreamin’

• The Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl

• Simon and Garfunkel - A Hazy Shade of Winter

• The Turtles - You Baby

• Dobie Gray - The ‘In’ Crowd

• The Beach Boys - Kokomo

• Scott McKenzie - San Francisco

• October Country - My Girlfriend is a Witch

• The Heavy Heavy - Sleeping on Grassy Ground

• Eddie Hazel - California Dreamin’

Band/album personnel 

• Denny Doherty - vocals

• Cass Elliot - vocals

• John Phillips - vocals

• Michelle Phillips - vocals

• P.F. Sloan - guitars, additional vocals

• Larry Knechtel - keyboards

• Hal Blaine - drums, percussion

• Joe Osborn - bass guitar

• Bud Shank - flute solo on “California Dreamin”

• Peter Pilafian - electric violin

Credits 

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

• Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

• Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

• The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

• Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

• Herbie Hancock - Hornets

• Kraftwerk - Autobahn

• Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

• The Mamas and the Papas - Straight Shooter (this episode only) 

You can buy or stream If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears and other albums by The Mamas and the Papas at your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Instagram @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich Bunnell, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.