Mamas and Papas' Doherty dies at 66

[estranged4life]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario (AP) -- Denny Doherty, one-quarter of the 1960s folk-rock group the Mamas and the Papas, known for their soaring harmony on hits like "California Dreamin' " and "Monday, Monday," died Friday at 66.

His sister, Frances Arnold, said the singer-songwriter died at his home in Mississauga, a city just west of Toronto, after a short illness.

The group burst on the national scene in 1966 with the top 10 smash "California Dreamin'." The Mamas and the Papas broke ground by having women and men in one group at a time when most singing groups were unisex. John Phillips, the group's chief songwriter; his wife, Michelle; and another female vocalist, Cass Elliot, teamed with Doherty.

"Monday, Monday" hit No. 1 on the charts and won the band a Grammy for best contemporary group performance. Among the group's other songs were "I Saw Her Again Last Night," "Go Where You Wanna Go," "Dancing Bear," and versions of "I Call Your Name" and "Dedicated to the One I Love."

"What made the group special was their haunting and sumptuous harmony singing," according to "The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll."

In 1998, the Mamas and the Papas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The group's catchy sound was a blend of '60s upbeat pop and the folk music that had surged in popularity early in the decade. The song "Creeque Alley" told the story of their formation amid the musical ferment of the folk scene; among the other stars-to-be mentioned in its lyrics were members of the Lovin' Spoonful and the Byrds.

The group's heyday was brief and it disbanded in 1968 after John and Michelle Phillips' divorce. The members re-formed in 1971 for the album "People Like Us," but all hope for a reunion ended in 1974 when the 30-year-old Elliot choked and suffered a fatal heart attack while eating a sandwich in London.

Phillips briefly re-formed the group in 1982 with Doherty, Phillips' actress daughter, Mackenzie, and Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane. The foursome toured, playing oldies and new Phillips originals.

In 2003, Doherty was co-author and performer in an off-Broadway show called "Dream a Little Dream: The Mamas and the Papas Musical," which traced the band's early years, its dizzying fame and breakup.

"There's a part of this thing that if I'm not careful, I'd be just a blob on the stage crying my guts out," Doherty told The Associated Press at the time. "Everybody knows about death and dying and sadness, so it's an exercise in staying in the moment and not getting maudlin about your friends dying."

John Phillips died in 2001 at 65.

The Halifax-born Doherty started his music career in Montreal in 1960 as the co-founder of the Colonials, which later became the Halifax Three.

Doherty made a solo album in 1974 and achieved a bit of immortality by both playing the Harbormaster and voicing all the characters for the children's TV series "Theodore Tugboat."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[goldustsongbird]

Uhh, I've been singing Monday Monday all.day. Freaky.

He lived in Missisauga? That's so cool! I had no idea. That isn't very far from me... RIP.

[ontheEdgeof17]

One of the best, if not the best, harmonizer in the music industry. He will be missed.

[gldstwmn]

I loved Papa Denny. This makes me want to cry. Poor Michelle is the only one left.

[Miss Vicky]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

Poor Michelle is the only one left.

I was just thinking this, too. What a tragedy. Mamas and Papas were one of the truly great groups of all time.

[rbs3676]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

I loved Papa Denny. This makes me want to cry. Poor Michelle is the only one left.

I just saw this on CNN and I thought the same thing...Only Michelle, now.
Such an influential band!

I'm gonna go find my Best of Mamas & Papas CD right now...

rbs

[becca]

This has been a great shock to many of us who are fans and aquaintances of Denny's. He was still performing on stage and making appearances a very short time before this.

CNN's "the 30-year-old Elliot choked and suffered a fatal heart attack while eating a sandwich in London" is totally inappropriate and false, it would make Denny really angry I'm sure that his own death would be an occaision to trot out this stupid sandwich story. Cass Elliot died of a heart attack in the bed she was sleeping in, her heart was weakened from dieting and strained from strenuous travelling and performing. They even have her age wrong. This is nothing surprising, the big media can't be bothered to be accurate about details anymore. It would be wonderful if they were wrong about Denny's sudden death though!

Denny was first a member of The Halifax Three (later The Halifax Three Plus One, the one being fellow Canadian Zalman Yanovsky later guitarist with The Lovin' Spoonful) who recorded with Epic records, and one of The Mugwumps (with Zal and Cass Elliot) released by Warner Brothers, leaving that group to join John and Michelle Phillips in The New Journeymen. Denny co-wrote I Saw Her Again with John Phillips and the song he sang lead on with The Mamas And Papas I remember the best is Dancing Bear.

[Lala]

Originally Posted by rbs3676

I'm gonna go find my Best of Mamas & Papas CD right now...

rbs

Ditto!

I was sad to read this in today's paper. I remember watching Denny as the Harbormaster on Theodore Tugboat when I was a kid. It was years later, in my teens, that I discovered the music of the Mamas and the Papas. Wonderful harmonies.