"Monday, Monday..." I realized as I sat down to type that I'm writing this review on a Monday. Somehow appropriate, even if I now know that no one in the group was particularly fond of the song, even vocal lead Denny Doherty. Actually, it turns out the Mamas and Papas weren't always particularly fond of each other, either, at times. This made those old photos from fan magazines seem not just faded but false. Heck, I'll never again even look at that rather famous photo of all four of them posing in a bathtub now that I know what was going on at the time.
The hows and whys of this discord is better left to individual readers to discover on their own as it is both intertwined and complex. What most knew about the group is what the music media of the time told us. You'll get the back stories here, however, on each of the members, such as Cass Elliot's early Broadway dreams, not to mention various detours into the times and supporting cast of characters about them. Be prepared for some hard truths. Infidelity ran rampant, as did Cass' long-time love for Denny Doherty, the same Denny who has an affair with John's wife Michelle, the one he left his wife and two chidren for, who had an affair with the Byrd's Gene Clark. And....well, it's complicated.
In the meantime, after you give up trying to keep score on the drugs and bed-hopping, you'll learn a great deal. First, yes, about the backgrounds of the four individuals who made up the group. You'll learn that being a musician isn't always glamorous. You'll also see friendships made (and destroyed). This is only the tip of the iceberg and, quite frankly, most of it came before the group found success. You'll discover that John was even a bit of a music snob, looking upon the Beatles with disdain until Denny managed to change his mind. In any case, much of what you'll read made me sad or even angry, but I still found it fascinating, Quite frankly, for example,I really knew nothing more about the Monterey Pop Festival than that it happened, let alone John Phillips' role in it.
If you're a music fan, this book should be on your bookshelf. It's a behind the scenes look at not only what it takes to get to the top of the heap but what getting there can mean. Thanks to #NetGalley and #GlobePequot - #Backbeat for allowing me to indulge myself with "California Dreaming" for awhile. It wasn't always a pleasant memory-fest but fascinating nevertheless. Scott G. Shea really made me feel I was there.
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