The Mamas & the Papas played something closer to folk rock, with bass and drums. Their rehearsals in the Virgin Islands were "the first time that we tried playing electric". The band then traveled from New York to Los Angeles for an audition with Lou Adler, co-owner of Dunhill Records. The audition was arranged by Barry McGuire, who had befriended Cass Elliot and John Phillips independently over the previous two years, and who had recently signed with Dunhill himself. It led to "a deal in which they would record two albums a year for the next five years", with a royalty of 5 percent on
Michelle Phillips vocalist of the 1990s pop trio Wilson Phillips. After her marriage to John Phillips at age eighteen, the couple relocated to New York City, where they began writing songs together. There, Phillips was a founding member of the Mamas & the Papas, helping to form the vocal group in 1965. She co-wrote some of the band's hits, including "California Dreamin'", which appears on their debut album "If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears" (1966). Recording of the Mamas and the Papas' second album (eponymously titled "The Mamas and the Papas" (1966) and sometimes referred to as "Cass, John, Michelle,