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
The Mamas & the Papas Teichiku in Japan; and "Dreamin' Live" (2005) on a label called Legacy (not the Columbia-Sony imprint), which features John and Mackenzie Phillips, Spanky McFarlane, and (probably) Scott McKenzie. In 1986, John and Michelle Phillips were featured in the music video for the Beach Boys' second recording of "California Dreamin, which appeared on the album "Made in U.S.A." Denny Doherty was unavailable. The Mamas and the Papas' own version of "California Dreamin was reissued in the UK and peaked at number nine in 1997. The song received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2001. The Mamas and the Papas were