Denny Doherty, founding member of The Mamas & the Papas, was born 82 years ago today.
A Canadian singer and songwriter, Doherty was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He started his musical career in Halifax in 1956 with a band called the Hepsters. With friends Richard Sheehan, Eddie Thibodeau and Mike O'Connell, the Hepsters played at clubs in the Halifax area. The band was together for about two years.
In 1960, at the age of 19, Doherty, along with Pat LaCroix and Richard Byrne, co-founded a folk group, The Colonials, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. When they got a record deal with Columbia Records, they changed their name to The Halifax Three. The band recorded two LPs and had a minor hit, "The Man Who Wouldn't Sing Along With Mitch." They ultimately broke up in 1963.
Later that year, Doherty established a friendship with Cass Elliot when she was with a band called, "The Big Three." While on tour with "The Halifax III," Doherty met John Phillips and his new wife, model Michelle Gilliam.
A few months later, The Halifax III dissolved, and Doherty and their accompanist, Zal Yanovsky, were left broke in Hollywood. Elliot heard of their troubles and convinced her manager to hire them. Thus, Doherty and Yanovsky joined the Big Three (increasing the number of band members to four). Soon after adding even more band members, they changed their name to "The Mugwumps."
The Mugwumps soon broke up also due to insolvency. The Mamas & Papas song "Creeque Alley" briefly outlines this history. Yanovsky went on to join The Lovin' Spoonful with John Sebastian.
About this time, John Phillips' new band, "The New Journeymen," needed a replacement for tenor Marshall Brickman, who had left the folk trio to pursue a writing career. The group needed a quick replacement for their remaining tour dates.
Doherty, then unemployed, filled the opening. After the New Journeymen called it quits as a band in early 1965, Elliot was invited into the formation of a new band, which became "The Magic Cyrcle." Six months later in September,1965, the group signed a recording contract with Dunhill Records.
Changing their name to The Mamas & the Papas, the band soon began to record their debut album, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears. In late 1965, Doherty and Michelle Phillips started an affair. They were able to keep it secret during the early days of the band's new-found success.
When the affair was discovered, John and Michelle moved to their own residence (they had been sharing a house with Doherty), and the band continued recording together.
Eventually the band signed a statement in June, 1966 with their record label's full support, firing Michelle from the band. She was quickly replaced by Jill Gibson, girlfriend of the band's producer, Lou Adler. Gibson's stint as a "Mama" lasted two and a half months.
Due to fan demand, Michelle was allowed to rejoin the band in August, 1966, while Gibson was given a lump sum for her efforts. The band completed their second album (titled simply, "The Mamas and the Papas") by re-recording, replacing or overlaying new vocal parts by Michelle Phillips over Jill Gibson's studio vocals.
After a continuing string of hit singles, many television appearances (including a notable and critically well-received TV special featuring the music of Rodgers and Hart), a successful third studio album ("The Mamas and the Papas Deliver" in March, 1967).
There was also the groundbreaking sociological impact of the Monterey International Pop Festival (which had been organized by John Phillips and Lou Adler) in June, 1967.
An ill-fated trip to England in October, 1967 fragmented the already damaged group dynamic. Cass Elliot quit, after a stinging insult from John Phillips, but returned to complete her parts for the group's overdue fourth album ("The Papas and the Mamas," which was finally released in May, 1968).
By then, Michelle had given birth to John's daughter, Chynna Phillips (in February, 1968) and a formal statement had been released, announcing the band's demise.
Elliot and Doherty remained friends. After the band's breakup, Elliot became a solo act. She eventually asked Doherty to marry her, but he declined.
Denny Doherty died on January 19, 2007 at his home in Mississauga, Ontario, from a second abdominal aortic aneurysm after going to get the first one repaired.