The Mamas & the Papas released us from our contracts and we were history, though we still owed the label another album." Elliot (billed as Mama Cass) had released her solo debut "Dream a Little Dream" in 1968, Phillips released "John Phillips (John, the Wolf King of L.A.)" in 1970, and Denny Doherty followed with "Watcha Gonna Do?" in 1971. Dunhill maintained momentum by releasing "The Best of the Mamas and the Papas: Farewell to the First Golden Era" in 1967, "Golden Era Vol. 2" in 1968, "16 of Their Greatest Hits" in 1969, and the Monterey live album in 1970. Dunhill was determined to
The Mamas & the Papas sometimes referred to as "Cass, John, Michelle, Dennie", whose names appear above the band's name on the cover, including the unexplained misspelling of Doherty's first name. Recording was reportedly interrupted when Michelle Phillips became indiscreet about her affair with Gene Clark of the Byrds. A liaison the previous year between Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty had been forgiven by her husband John Phillips; Doherty and John Phillips had reconciled and written "I Saw Her Again" about the episode. They later disagreed about how much Doherty contributed to the song. But after Michelle's affair with Clark, John Phillips was determined to