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The Mamas & the Papas - Creeque Alley

The Mamas & the Papas - Creeque Alley Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Deliver
Released: 1967

Creeque Alley Lyrics

John and Mitchy were gettin' kind of itchy
Just to leave the folk music behind
Zal and Denny workin' for a penny
Tryin' to get a fish on the line
In a coffee house Sebastian sat
And after every number they'd pass the hat
McGuinn and McGuire just a-gettin' higher
In L.A., you know where that's at
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass

Zally said "Denny, you know there aren't many
Who can sing a song the way that you do, let's go south"
Denny said "Zally, golly, don't you think that I wish
I could play guitar like you"
Zal, Denny and Sebastian sat (At the Night Owl)
And after every number they'd pass the hat
McGuinn and McGuire still a-gettin higher
In L.A., you know where that's at
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass

When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore
But she changed her mind one day
Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike
"Take me to New York right away"
When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumps
Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps
McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher
But that's what they were aimin' at
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass

Mugwumps, high jumps, low slumps, big bumps
Don't you work as hard as you play
Make up, break up, everything is shake up
Guess it had to be that way
Sebastian and Zal formed the Spoonful
Michelle, John, and Denny gettin' very tuneful
McGuinn and McGuire just a-catchin' fire
In L.A., you know where that's at
And everybody's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
Di-di-di-dit dit dit di-di-di-dit, whoa

Broke, busted, disgusted, agents can't be trusted
And Mitchy wants to go to the sea
Cass can't make it, she says we'll have to fake it
We knew she'd come eventually
Greasin' on American Express cards
It's low rent, but keeping out the heat's hard
Duffy's good vibrations and our imaginations
Can't go on indefinitely
And California dreamin' is becomin' a reality

Writer/s: JOHN EDMUND ANDREW PHILLIPS, MICHELLE GILLIAM
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Creeque Alley

This is the story of how the band met and formed. Individual members had sung in other bands before and these show up in the lyrics (Mugwumps etc.). The Mamas & The Papas spent time in the Virgin Islands staying in a club on a road called Creeque Alley, providing the name of this song.

While the song is about the formation of the Mamas and the Papas, it mentions other artists who were getting their starts at the same time:

Sebastian is John Sebastian, who, with Zal Yanovsky (also mentioned in the song), formed the Lovin' Spoonful.

"McGuinn and McGuire, couldn't get no higher" - Jim "Roger" McGuinn was the lead singer for The Byrds, who were starting to take flight at the time and who had two #1 songs in 1965 - "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn, Turn, Turn." Barry McGuire had a #1 in 1965 with the anti-war song "Eve Of Destruction." In other words, at #1 they "Couldn't get no higher."

The line, "Zallie said 'Denny, you know there aren't many who can sing a song the way that you do,'" "Zallie" is The Lovin' Spoonful's Zal Yanovsky, and he's talking about Papa Denny Doherty, who sang the male lead on "California Dreamin'" and many of their other songs. Doherty died of kidney failure on January 19, 2007 at age 66.

The lyrics, "Greasin' on American Express cards" refers to a time when the band was in the Virgin Islands and living off their American Express cards, running up balances they couldn't (and didn't intend to) pay.

The Mamas & the Papas - Monday, Monday

The Mamas & the Papas - Monday, Monday Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears
Released: 1966

Monday, Monday Lyrics

Monday, Monday
So good to me
Monday morning
It was all I hoped it would be

Oh, Monday morning
Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening you would still
Be here with me

Monday, Monday
Can't trust that day
Monday, Monday
Sometimes it just turns out that way

Oh, Monday morning you gave me no warning
Of what was to be
Oh, Monday, Monday
How could you leave and not take me

Every other day
Every other day
Every other day of the week is fine (fine), yeah
But whenever Monday comes
But whenever Monday comes
You can find me crying all of the time

Monday, Monday
So good to me
Monday morning
It was all I hoped it would be

But, Monday morning
Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening you would still
Be here with me

Monday, Monday
Can't trust that day
Monday, Monday
It just turns out that way
Oh, Monday, Monday

Won't go away
Monday, Monday
It's here to stay
Oh, Monday, Monday

Writer/s: PHILLIPS, JOHN EDMUND ANDREW
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Monday, Monday

While awaiting the release of "California Dreamin'," band member Denny Doherty was prodding songwriter John Phillips to come up with some new material. Phillips said he would come back in the morning with "A song with universal appeal." Ignoring the sarcastic comments from the group members, Phillips came up with this. It's about the lousy feeling that comes with the end of the weekend and beginning of another workweek.

In a Songfacts interview, Alan Merrill relates the story of how his cousin - the noted songwriter Laura Nyro - got invited to the Monterey Pop Festival, which was her first major live appearance. Songwriter John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas called her up and invited her to join them in Monterey. She hung up and told the news to her cousin Alan, who asked "That's great isn't it?" Nyro responds, "No, I've never done a gig. All I've ever done is recording." She had great anxiety about not having her own stage act. This anxiety, together with the personal problems of The Mamas & The Papas (Doherty was drinking heavily at the time, trying to get over Michelle Phillips and their affair), might have contributed to the gloomy atmosphere cast over the Monterey festival which had such dismal reviews. (Check out our interview with Alan Merrill .)

This was the first Hot 100 chart-topper with a day in the week in the title, and the only one with "Monday." ("Manic Monday" by the Bangles and "Rainy Days And Mondays" by the Carpenters both stalled at #2.)

Denny Doherty, who sang lead on this song for The Mamas & the Papas thought very little of "Monday Monday" when they recorded it. "Nobody likes Monday, so I thought it was just a song about the working man," he said. "Nothing about it stood out to me; it was a dumb f--kin' song about a day of the week."

As you can imagine, he was taken by surprise when the song became a huge hit.

Doherty wasn't alone in his incredulity: Mama Cass and Michelle Phillips didn't like the song either, and John Phillips claimed he had no idea what the song meant.

The Mamas & the Papas used top-tier Los Angeles studio musicians on their recordings. On this track, Larry Knechtel played keyboards, Joe Osborn played bass, Hal Blaine was on drums and P.F. Sloan played guitar. Sloan was the baby of the bunch, just 20 years old when the song was released. He describes it as a "magical session," and says that he gave Blaine the idea for the drum riff based on a song P.F. had worked on when he was a member of the Grass Roots. Sloan used a tremolo effect on his guitar part, which he overdubbed later.

This was the first #1 US hit by a group comprised of at least two men and two women.

"Monday, Monday" was the group's third single. "Go Where You Wanna Go" was issued first and went nowhere, but their next release was "California Dreamin'," which was a phenomenon. When that song was having its run, radio stations started playing "Monday, Monday" off the album, so by the time it was released as a single, it was already widely anticipated and quickly rose to #1.

The Mamas & the Papas - I Saw Her Again

The Mamas & the Papas - I Saw Her Again Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Mamas And The Papas
Released: 1966

I Saw Her Again Lyrics

I Saw Her Again last night
And you know that I shouldn't
To string her along's just not right
If I couldn't I wouldn't

But what can I do, I'm lonely too
And it makes me feel so good to know
You'll never leave me
I'm in way over my head

Now she thinks that I love her
Because that's what I said
Though I never think of her
But what can I do, I'm lonely too

And it makes me feel so good to know
You'll never leave me
Every time I see that girl
You know I want to lay down and die

But I really need that girl
Don't know why I'm livin' a lie
It makes me want to cry
I saw her again last night

And you know that I shouldn't
To string her along's just not right
If I couldn't I wouldn't
But what can I do, I'm lonely too

And it makes me feel so good to know
You'll never leave me

But what can I do, I'm lonely too
And it makes me feel so good to know
You'll never leave me
Every time I see that girl

You know I want to lay down and die
But I really need that girl
Don't know why I'm livin' a lie
It makes me want to cry

I saw her again last night
And you know that I shouldn't
To string her along's just not right
If I couldn't I wouldn't

I'm in way over my head
Now she thinks that I love her
Because that's what I said
Though I never think of her

Writer/s: PHILLIPS, JOHN EDMUND ANDREW / DOHERTY, DENNIS
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

I Saw Her Again

This song was written by John Phillips, the leader of the Mamas And The Papas, about the affair between his wife, Michelle Phillips (a Mamas And Papas member), and Denny Doherty (also a Mamas And Papas member), which ultimately led to Michelle Phillips' unceremonious dismissal from the band and John and Michelle's divorce. Ironically enough, Doherty received a songwriting credit. The sessions for this album must have been as uncomfortable as were the sessions when Fleetwood Mac was recording the Rumours album 10 years later and the personal relationships in that band were imploding. (thanks, Dave - St. Paul, MN)

Lou Adler produced this song, and Bones Howe was the engineer for the session. According to Bones, the part around the 1:45 mark where "I saw her" is repeated twice was a happy accident. Said Bones: "We were punching vocals in, and when we came to that part where the rhythm stops and the group goes, 'I saw her again last night,' I just punched in early. They came in early, and so we stopped. And then we went back and started again, and I punched in at the beginning of the vocal, they started two bars later or whatever it was. And when I played it back, the vocal went, 'I saw her - I saw her again.' It was a mistaken punch. And Lou said, 'I love it! Leave it in.' It was an error, it was a mistake. But Lou was wise enough, it caught his ear and he left it. And I learned something from that. You go with your gut. If something catches - they could be - there are wonderful mistakes that happen in the studio and you have to learn to catch those when they happen and use them."

The Mamas & the Papas - California Dreamin'

The Mamas & the Papas - California Dreamin' Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears
Released: 1966

California Dreamin' Lyrics

All the leaves are brown (all the leaves are brown)
And the sky is grey (and the sky is grey)
I've been for a walk (I've been for a walk)
On a winter's day (on a winter's day)
I'd be safe and warm (I'd be safe and warm)
If I was in L.A. (if I was in L.A.)

California dreaming (California dreaming)
On such a winter's day

Stopped into a church
I passed along the way
Well, I got down on my knees (got down on my knees)
And I pretend to pray (I pretend to pray)
You know the preacher like the cold (preacher like the cold)
He knows I'm gonna stay (knows I'm gonna stay)

California dreaming (California dreaming)
On such a winter's day

All the leaves are brown (all the leaves are brown)
And the sky is grey (and the sky is grey)
I've been for a walk (I've been for a walk)
On a winter's day (on a winter's day)
If I didn't tell her (if I didn't tell her)
I could leave today (I could leave today)

California dreaming (California dreaming)
On such a winter's day (California dreaming)
On such a winter's day (California dreaming)
On such a winter's day

Writer/s: GILLIAM, MICHELLE / PHILLIPS, JOHN EDMUND ANDREW
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

California Dreamin' Song Chart

In a 2002 interview with National Public Radio (NPR), Michelle Phillips explained how this song came about. It was 1963, and she was newly married to John Phillips. They were living in New York City, which was having a particularly cold winter, at least by Michelle's standards as she was from sunny California. John would walk around the apartment at night working out tunes, and one morning brought the first verse of the song to Michelle. It was a song about longing to be in another place, and it was inspired by Michelle's homesickness.

Michelle enjoyed visiting churches, and a few days before, she and John visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, which inspired the second verse ("Stopped into a church..."). John hated the verse, as he was turned off to churches by unpleasant memories of parochial school, but he couldn't think of anything better so he left it in.

This is a rare pop song that contains a flute solo. Even more surprising, it's an alto flute, which is larger than a regular flute and plays in a lower register. A Jazz player named Bud Shank was brought to the session to play it. Shank, who also played saxophone, had a minor hit with his version of The Beatles "Michelle" in 1966. He died in 2009 at age 82.

Doug Thompson tells this story:
Denny Doherty once told me that when they were recording that song, they wanted a solo, but didn't want the usual guitar solo. John Phillips walked out into the hall of the Hollywood recording studio they were at and Bud Shank was in that hallway as well. John grabbed him and brought him into the studio. Shank listened to the hole he was supposed to fill and nailed it on the first take.

When the group was just starting out in 1965, their friend Barry McGuire helped them get a contract with his record label, Dunhill Records. McGuire recorded the first version of the song with The Mamas & the Papas as his backing band and a harmonica solo instead of a flute. It was going to be used as the follow-up single to his hit, "Eve Of Destruction." The Mamas & The Papas then decided to record it on their own, with Denny Doherty (the other Papa) singing lead and some chord changes he came up with after consulting the session guitarist, P.F. Sloan, who had him listen to "Walk - Don't Run" by The Ventures. The results were impressive, and Dunhill Records agreed to use it as their first single, holding off on McGuire's version so there wouldn't be competition from an established artist.

The group's first single was "Go Where You Wanna Go," which didn't "go" anywhere and was pulled to focus on "California Dreamin'," allowing The 5th Dimension to score their first chart it with that song a few months later. When "California Dreamin'" caught on, listeners wanted to hear more from The Mamas & the Papas, so radio stations started playing "Monday, Monday" off the album. When that song was released as a single, it quickly shot to #1 in America.

The group had a string of hits until 1968, when they split up. They reunited occasionally until 1974, when Mama Cass Elliot died of a massive heart attack due to her poor health and eating habits.

The Mamas & The Papas recorded this song in Los Angeles at United Western Recorders, in the same studio where The Beach Boys recorded their Pet Sounds album. Musicians on the session, which took place November 4, 1965, were some of the great session players of the era: Hal Blaine (drums), Larry Knechtel (keyboards), Joe Osborn (bass) and P.F. Sloan (guitar). John Phillips also played guitar on the track - that's him on 12-string during the intro. The engineer on the track was Bones Howe.

In our interview with P.F. Sloan , he talked about recording this track: "The 'California Dreamin'' session was magical. John [Phillips] was very nervous. Nobody particularly liked the song, and to be honest with you, 'California Dreamin'' was maybe three or four chords. I added the 'Walk - Don't Run' Ventures guitar riffs for that 'da da da da da da.' That was all creative work inside the studio when I heard them singing on mic. I had recorded them with Barry McGuire on his second album, so I knew how good they were."

The Carpenters recorded a version of this that Richard Carpenter released on his 2001 album As Time Goes By. In the liner notes, he explains: "Another demo from Joe's [Joe Osborn] studio, circa 1967. This one however, is on the one 4-track that Joe gave to me. Even though the most important ingredient on tape, the lead, is on its own track, the bass, piano, drums and string machine were all bounced to another track, leaving two open... Karen, at 17, is a marvel. I especially like the way she jumps an octave, from chest voice, to head voice on the letter (and note) "A" in the opening." (thanks, Patrick - Wahiawa, HI)

The Beach Boys released a cover of this song in 1986, which made its way into the lyrics of the Dead Milkmen song "Punk Rock Girl": "someone played a Beach Boys song on the jukebox, it was California Dreamin.'"

The Beach Boys cover was popular at the time, which is why they got the credit, although many listeners thought the Milkmen had their vocal groups mixed up.

The cover by The Beach Boys made #57 US. Roger McGuinn of The Byrds played 12-string guitar on the track, and also appeared in the video along with every living member of The Beach Boys and the "California Dreamin'" songwriters, John and Michelle Phillips. This primed the group for a big comeback two years later with their #1 hit "Kokomo."

Michelle Phillips told Spinner in a 2012 interview that John didn't like the second verse - "Stopped into a church, I passed along the way ... " She explained: "Poor John had been sent of to Catholic military school when he was just 7 years old, so he didn't like the religiosity of it." He told her that he didn't want, "religion and churches," so she said they will rewrite it. However, when the others heard the second verse they wanted to keep it. "Glad we did!", she said.

One of the more misheard lyrics comes in the second verse of this song, as "You know the preacher likes the cold" is often mistaken as "the preacher lights the coals."

In their 1967 song "Creeque Alley," The Mamas & The Papas gave a history of the band and explained what happened when they did come to California.

Bobby Womack hit #43 US with his 1968 cover, which was featured in the 2009 movie Fish Tank.

In 1979, a movie called California Dreaming was released, featuring a cover of this song by the group America. This version made #56 US.

Other popular covers were recorded by George Benson and Guster.

Australian singer-songwriter Sia recorded a haunting, slow burning cover for the Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson-starring 2015 disaster movie, San Andreas. We wonder if Mama Cass' 1968 minor solo hit, "California Earthquake" was considered for the soundtrack?