The Mamas & the Papas their original roles, Mackenzie Phillips taking Michelle Phillips' part and Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane of Spanky and Our Gang taking the part of Cass Elliot. Little progress was made until after Phillips had been sentenced and served his time in jail. The quartet began rehearsing in earnest and recording demos in the summer of 1981. Their first performances were in March 1982, when they were praised for their "verve and expertise", the "impressive precision" of the harmonies, and the "feeling ... of genuine celebration" on stage. The group toured the United States, including residencies in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, but
Dream a Little Dream of Me was 1943 and somebody had just come in and said, 'Here's a new song.' I tried to sing it as if it were the first time." In the album version, recorded with the Mamas and the Papas, a spoken introduction from an engineer is heard mentioning a drink, and then concluding with the words: "And now, to sing a lovely ballad, here is Mama Cass". Only the last part was heard on the single version of the song. Cass did her own whistling, which is heard before the song's fade. By the time of the album's release, there were strong