The Lovin' Spoonful folk musicians who were involved with the American folk music revival of the 1950s through the early 1960s. Sebastian formed the Spoonful with guitarist Zal Yanovsky from a bohemian folk group called The Mugwumps (two other members, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, later formed half of the Mamas & the Papas), playing local coffee houses and small clubs. The formation of the Lovin' Spoonful during this period was later described in the lyrics of the Mamas & the Papas' 1967 top ten hit, "Creeque Alley". Drummer Jan Carl and bassist Steve Boone rounded out the group, but Carl was replaced
The Mamas & the Papas and Papas' story in the memoir "Papa John" (1986), and in the PBS television documentary, "Straight Shooter: The True Story of John Phillips and the Mamas and the Papas" (1988). John Phillips died of heart failure in Los Angeles on March 18, 2001. Two albums were released immediately after his death: "Pay Pack and Follow" (April 2001), which included material recorded in London and New York with members of the Rolling Stones in 1976 and 1977; and "Phillips 66" (August 2001), an album of new material and reworkings that "takes its title from the age Phillips would have been when