The Mamas & the Papas from 1964 to 1965. The last member to join was Cass Elliot, Doherty's bandmate in the Mugwumps, who had to overcome John Phillips' concern that her voice was too low for his arrangements, that her physical appearance would be an obstacle to the band's success, and that her temperament was incompatible with his. The group considered calling itself the Magic Cyrcle before switching to the Mamas & the Papas, inspired by the Hells Angels, whose female associates were called "mamas". The quartet spent the period from early spring to midsummer 1965 in the Virgin Islands "to rehearse and just put
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,