The Mamas & the Papas was a folk-rock vocal-group which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York City, the group consisted of Americans John Phillips, Cass Elliot, and Michelle Phillips, and Canadian Denny Doherty. Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips, the songwriter, musician, and leader of the group, who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early 1960s.
Ellen Naomi Cohen, known professionally as Cass Elliot, was an American singer. She was also known as "Mama Cass", but she reportedly disliked the name. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, Elliot released five solo albums. She received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary (R&R) Performance for "Monday, Monday" (1967). In 1998, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas & the Papas.
Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty was a Canadian musician. He was a founding member of the 1960s musical group the Mamas & the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
It Ain't Easy is the fourth album by American rock band Three Dog Night, released in 1970.
Cynthia Weil was an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Weil and Mann were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. In 1987, she was inducted with her husband into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 2011, they jointly received the Johnny Mercer Award, the highest honor bestowed by that Hall of Fame.
Lester Louis Adler is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of high-profile musical artists, including The Grass Roots, Jan & Dean, The Mamas & the Papas, and Carole King. King's album Tapestry, produced by Adler, won the 1972 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and has been called one of the greatest pop albums of all time.
Russell Kunkel is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Cass Elliot, Dan Fogelberg, Glenn Frey, Art Garfunkel, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Carole King, Lyle Lovett, Reba McEntire, Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt, Bob Seger, Carly Simon, Stephen Stills, James Taylor, Joe Walsh, Steve Winwood, Neil Young, and Warren Zevon. He was the studio and touring drummer for Crosby & Nash in the 1970s, and has played on all four of their studio albums.
"Dream a Little Dream of Me" is a 1931 song with music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt and lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was first recorded in February 1931 by Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra, soon followed by Wayne King and His Orchestra with vocals by Ernie Birchill. A popular standard, it has seen well over 400 recorded versions.
"Make Your Own Kind of Music" is a song by American singer Mama Cass Elliot from her second studio album Make Your Own Kind of Music/It’s Getting Better (1969). It was released as the third and final single from the album in September 1969, by Dunhill Records. The song was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, while production was helmed by Steve Barri. In the United States, "Make Your Own Kind of Music" was a Top 40 hit, in which it peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Dream a Little Dream is the debut solo album by American singer Cass Elliot immediately following the breakup of The Mamas & the Papas, though she was still billed as "Mama Cass" for this release. Capitalizing on the success of her first solo song as the album's title, it was released in October 1968 by Dunhill Records. The album was re-released by MCA Japan in 2001.
Cass Elliot is the fourth studio album released by Cass Elliot and the first album recorded for RCA Records, being released in January 1972.
The Road Is No Place for a Lady is the fifth and final studio album released by Cass Elliot. It was the second album she recorded after signing with RCA Records. The album was recorded over a period of two months during the summer of 1972 at London's Trident Studios, produced by Lewis Merenstein and arranged and conducted by Larry Fallon and Del Newman.
Mama's Big Ones is a compilation album of previously released material as noted below, by Cass Elliot.
Dave Mason & Cass Elliot was the only teaming of artists Dave Mason and Cass Elliot. The album was produced by both Mason and Elliot and recorded in 1970. The album was released by Mason's label, Blue Thumb Records.
"It's Getting Better" is a song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil that was a sunshine pop hit single in 1969 for Mama Cass.
Leah Kunkel is an American singer and attorney.
"New World Coming" is a pop song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil which became a hit for Cass Elliot in early 1970.
"Move in a Little Closer, Baby" is a pop song, first recorded by Harmony Grass as "Move in a Little Closer." The song became an international hit for Cass Elliot in the spring of 1969.
The Mamas & the Papas were a vocal group from Los Angeles, California that was active from 1966 to 1969. Their discography consists of a total of five albums and 17 singles, six of which made the Billboard top ten, and sold close to 40 million records worldwide. Monday, Monday hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1966 and California Dreamin' was the top song on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1966.
The Will-O-Bees were an American folk rock and sunshine pop trio in the 1960s comprising Janet Blossom, Steven Porter, and Robert Merchanthouse.
