Fabian Andre (January 8, 1910 – March 30, 1960) was an American composer, best known for co-writing the music of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" with Wilbur Schwandt in 1931. [1] Popular in its time, the song was revived in 1968 when covered by the Mamas & the Papas.
As an orchestra leader, he had a hit with the song "Dance of an Ear of Corn" for Columbia Records in July 1940. [2] He released an album of rumbas for Fiesta Records in 1954. [3]
In 1960, Andre was found dead in his hotel room in Mexico City. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be "alcoholic congestion". [4] Years later, the Mamas and the Papas decided to record "Dream a Little Dream of Me" after member Michelle Phillips got word that Andre, whom she met in her childhood, had died supposedly in a fall down an elevator shaft. [1]
The Mamas & the Papas was a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Americans John Phillips, Cass Elliot, and Michelle Phillips, and Canadian Denny Doherty. Its 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 Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, Elliot released five solo albums. In 1998, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas & the Papas.
Michelle Gilliam Phillips is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and model. She rose to fame as a vocalist in the musical quartet the Mamas and the Papas in the mid-1960s. Her voice was described by Time magazine as the "purest soprano in pop music". She later established a successful career as an actress in film and television beginning in the 1970s.
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.
"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in 1965. The lyrics express the narrator's longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter in New York City. It is recorded in the key of C-sharp minor.
Sunshine pop is a subgenre of pop music that originated in Southern California in the mid-1960s. Rooted in easy listening and advertising jingles, sunshine pop acts combined nostalgic or anxious moods with "an appreciation for the beauty of the world". The category largely consists of lesser-known artists who imitated more popular groups such as the Mamas & the Papas and the 5th Dimension. While the Beach Boys are noted as prominent influences, the band's own music was rarely representative of the genre.
Scott McKenzie was an American singer and songwriter who recorded the 1967 hit single and generational anthem "San Francisco ".
Albert Edward "Eddie" Calvert was an English trumpeter, who enjoyed his greatest success in the 1950s. Between 1953 and 1958, Calvert achieved seven instrumental hits on the UK Singles Chart, including two chart-toppers": "Oh, Mein Papa" in 1953 and "Cherry Pink " in 1955.
Jill Gibson is an American singer, songwriter, photographer, painter and sculptor. She is mostly known for her collaboration work with Jan & Dean and for having briefly been a member of the successful 1960s rock group the Mamas and the Papas. She was also one of the main photographers at the historic Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
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 iconic 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.
The Papas & The Mamas is the fourth studio album by the American folk rock vocal group the Mamas and the Papas, released in 1968.
"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 and also by Wayne King and His Orchestra with vocals by Ernie Birchill. A popular standard, it has seen well over 400 recorded versions.
Ella and Basie! is a 1963 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by Count Basie and his orchestra, with arrangements by Quincy Jones and Benny Carter. It was later reissued with slightly different cover art as On the Sunny Side of the Street.
"Here in My Arms" is a popular song published in 1925, written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart.
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 on October 19, 1968 by Dunhill Records. The album was re-released by MCA Japan in 2001.
Mama’s Big Ones is a compilation album of previously released material as noted below, by Cass Elliot.
All the Leaves are Brown: The Golden Era Collection is a 2001 release compiling the first four albums by The Mamas & the Papas in their entirety, with some single-exclusive mono versions and one non-album track. The package includes a brief history of the group and its albums by Matthew Greenwald, author of Creeque Alley: The Oral History of The Mamas & The Papas.
"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.
"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 seventeen 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.