I Saw Her Again

"I Saw Her Again"
Cashbox advertisement, June 25, 1966
Single by the Mamas & the Papas
from the album The Mamas & the Papas
B-side	"Even If I Could"
Released	June 1966 [1]
Recorded	April 1966
Genre	Folk rock [2] sunshine pop [3]
Length	3:10 (album) 2:50 (single)
Label	Dunhill (U.S.) RCA Victor (Europe)
Songwriter(s)	John Phillips Denny Doherty
Producer(s)	Lou Adler
The Mamas & the Papas singles chronology
"Monday, Monday" (1966) "I Saw Her Again" (1966) "Look Through My Window" (1966)

"I Saw Her Again" is a pop song recorded by the U.S. vocal group the Mamas & the Papas in 1966. Co-written by band members John Phillips and Denny Doherty, it was released as a single in June 1966, ^[1] and peaked at number one on the RPM Canadian Singles Chart, ^[4] number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, ^[5] and number five on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart the week of July 30, 1966. ^[6] It appeared on their eponymous second album in September 1966.

One of the group's most popular songs, "I Saw Her Again" has been featured on numerous compilation albums and is frequently titled "I Saw Her Again Last Night", such as on the sleeve of their first hits collection Farewell to the First Golden Era in October 1967.

The mono 45 version omits the orchestra instrumental break and chorus that follows on the stereo mix, most likely to reduce the running time for the single release, as many 45's of that era were similarly edited for radio play. All Dunhill albums that include the song erroneously show the single playing time of 2:50 instead of the correct time of 3:10.

Background

One of three songs co-written by the two male members of the group (the others being "Got a Feelin'" and "For the Love of Ivy"), "I Saw Her Again" was inspired by Doherty's brief affair with Michelle Phillips, then married to John Phillips, which, combined with an affair between Michelle Phillips and Gene Clark of The Byrds, ^{[7] [8]} resulted in the brief expulsion of Michelle from the group. ^[9] While mixing the record, engineer Bones Howe punched in the coda vocals too early, inadvertently including Doherty's false start on the third chorus ("I saw her..."). Despite attempting to correct the error, the miscued vocal could still be heard on playback. Producer Lou Adler liked the effect and told Howe to leave it in the final mix. ^[10]

Lou Adler has said that this song was specifically done to try and capture the flavor of what the Beatles had been doing, and that it was intentionally written to be a single.

Reception

Billboard described the single as a "lyric rhythm rocker" that was a "hot follow-up to their 'Monday, Monday' smash". ^[11] Cash Box described the song as a "rhythmic, pulsating folk-rock handclapper about a lucky fella who has finally found Miss Right." ^[12]

Music video

A light-hearted music video was made to promote the single, in which the four members arrive outside De Voss, a clothes shop on Sunset Plaza on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, ^[13] by motorcycle (John) then car (in order, Michelle, Denny, Cass), with Michelle and Cass "examining" various garments and John spraying the air (and his glasses suddenly disappearing). Denny smokes a cigarette before they all lie on the floor and hurl clothes around. They then leave the store (first Denny and Cass, then John and Michelle), walking away from their vehicles. About ten seconds into the video, John and Michelle suddenly switch between their motorcycle and car before entering the store.

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "I Saw Her Again"

Chart (1966)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)	9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [14]	47
Canada (RPM 100) [4]	1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [15]	8
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [16]	6
New Zealand ( Listener ) [17]	6
South Africa (Springbok) [18]	3
Sweden (Kvällstoppen) [19]	14
Sweden ( Tio i Topp ) [20]	5
UK (OCC) [5]	11
US (Billboard Hot 100) [6]	5
US (Cash Box Top 100) [21]	6
US (Record World 100 Top Pops) [22]	4
West Germany (Media Control) [23]	21

References

References

1. Phillips & Jerome 1986, p. 153.
2. Goldsmith 2019, p. 152.
3. Deming, Mark. Various Artists - Chartbusters USA: Sunshine Pop (2009) Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
4. "RPM 100" (PDF). RPM . August 8, 1966. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved September 28, 2025– via WorldRadioHistory.
5. "Mamas & The Papas". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
6. Whitburn 1991, p. 186.
7. Phillips 1986, pp. 84–87.
8. Phillips & Jerome 1986, p. 136.
9. Grein 2004.
10. "The Wrecking Crew: Mamas & The Papas" (video). YouTube . The Wrecking Crew. February 12, 2012. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
11. "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard . June 25, 1966. p. 16. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 20, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2025– via WorldRadioHistory.
12. "Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box . June 25, 1966. p. 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 4, 2025. Retrieved September 28, 2025– via WorldRadioHistory.
13. Meares, Headley (March 7, 2019). "Rebellion and rock 'n' roll: The Sunset Strip in the '60s". Curbed Los Angeles. Archived from the original on September 11, 2025. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
14. "The Mamas & The Papas – I Saw Her Again" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
15. "Top-40 Lijst Van Week 36, 1966" [Top-40 List of Week 36, 1966] (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Archived from the original on August 14, 2025. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
16. "The Mamas & The Papas - I Saw Her Again" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
17. "The Mamas and the Papas - NZ Listener chart summary". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Listener. Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved Sep 25, 2022.
18. "SA Charts 1965 – 1989: Acts M". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Springbok Radio. 2000. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
19. Hallberg 1993, p. 236.
20. Hallberg & Henningsson 2012, p. 451.
21. "Cash Box Top 100" (PDF). Cash Box . July 30, 1966. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 20, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2025– via WorldRadioHistory.
22. "100 Top Pops" (PDF). Record World . August 6, 1966. p. 17. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2025. Retrieved September 28, 2025– via WorldRadioHistory.
23. "I Saw Her Again" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2025.

Sources

• Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P3[Eric Hallberg Presents Kvällstoppen on P3] (1st ed.). Sweden: Drift. ISBN   9-789-16-302-14-04. OCLC   186244613.
• Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (2012). Tio i Topp - med de utslagna "på försök" 1961–74[Tio I Topp With The Eliminated On Try 1961–1974] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Premium. ISBN   978-91-89136-89-2. OCLC   939611828.
• Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn (2019). Listen to Classic Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre . United States: ABC-CLIO. ISBN   978-1-4408-6579-4. OCLC   1390968159 . Retrieved September 28, 2025– via Google Books.
• Grein, Paul (2004). Complete Anthology (CD). Europe: MCA Records. 982 168 0.
• Phillips, John; Jerome, Jim (1986). Papa John: An Autobiography . United States: Doubleday & Company. ISBN   0-385-23120-2. OCLC   13007812 . Retrieved September 28, 2025– via Internet Archive.
• Phillips, Michelle (1986). California Dreamin': The True Story of the Mamas and the Papas . United States: Warner Books. ISBN   0-446-51308-3. OCLC   12941503 . Retrieved September 28, 2025– via Internet Archive.
• Whitburn, Joel (1991). Joel Whitburn's Pop Singles Annual, 1955–1990 (4th ed.). United States: Record Research, Inc. ISBN   0-89820-091-1. OCLC   1035892785 – via Internet Archive.