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
The Mamas & the Papas discography certified as gold records by the RIAA. The Mamas & the Papas discography The Mamas & the Papas were a vocal group from Los Angeles, California that was active from 1966 to 1969. Their discography consists of a total of five albums and seventeen singles, six of which made the Billboard top ten, and sold close to 40 million records worldwide. The Mamas and the Papas' recordings were released on Dunhill Records until 1967, when the company was sold and the label became ABC-Dunhill. Around 1973, ABC-Dunhill discarded all multi-track session recordings and mono masters because they were deemed obsolete