JOHN PHILLIPS
Name: John Phillips
Birth name: John Edmund Andrew Phillips
Also known as Papa John
Born; 30 August 1935 Parris Island, South Carolina, USA
Died: 18 March 2001 Los Angeles, California, USA
John Phillips, born John Edmund Andrew Phillips (August 30, 1935 - March 18,
2001), was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Known as Papa John,
Phillips was a member and leader of the singing group The Mamas & the Papas. He
is the father of Jeffrey Phillips, Mackenzie Phillips, Chynna Phillips,
Tamerlane Phillips, and Bijou Phillips.
Phillips was born in Parris Island, South Carolina. His father was a retired
United States Marine Corps officer who won an Oklahoma bar from a fellow Marine
in a poker game on the way home from Europe after World War I. His mother was
Cherokee Indian and met and married Phillips' father in Oklahoma. According to
Phillips' autobiography, Papa John, his father was a heavy drinker who suffered
from ill health.
Growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, Phillips was inspired by Marlon Brando and
other film stars to be "street tough." He formed a small gang of teenage boys,
who also sang doo-wop songs. A poor student but likable kid, he was the star of
the George Washington High School basketball team. He attended the U.S. Naval
Academy, but left during his first (plebe) year. He also attended Hampden-Sydney
College on a partial athletic scholarship, but dropped out and shortly
thereafter married his first of four wives.
Susan Adams was the daughter of a wealthy Virginia family. Together they had a
son called Jeffrey and a girl they named (Laura) Mackenzie Phillips.
Phillips longed to have success in the music industry and traveled to New York
to find a record contract in the early sixties. His first band, The Journeymen,
was a folk trio. He developed his craft in Greenwich Village, during the
American folk music revival, and met his future The Mamas & the Papas bandmates
Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot there. Lyrics of their song "Creeque Alley"
describe this period.
While touring California with The Journeymen he met his future second wife, the
teenage Michelle Gilliam. Their affair finally forced the dissolution of his
first marriage. Phillips was married to Michelle Phillips from 1962 to 1970.
They had one child together, Chynna Phillips, the founder of the singing group
Wilson Phillips.
Phillips was the primary songwriter and musical arranger of The Mamas & the
Papas. Early in the band's history, John and Michelle were responsible for
writing most of the band's songs. John would often come up with a melody and
some lyrics and Michelle would help him complete the lyrical portion of the song.
After being signed to Dunhill Records, they had several Billboard Top Ten hits
during the group's short lifetime, including "California Dreamin'"; "Monday,
Monday"; "I Saw Her Again"; "Creeque Alley"; and "12:30 (Young Girls Are Coming
to the Canyon)". John Phillips also wrote "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear
Flowers in Your Hair)," the 1967 Scott McKenzie hit that was to become the
Summer of Love "anthem." Phillips also wrote the oft-covered "Me and My Uncle,"
which was the song performed more times than any other over 30 years of Grateful
Dead concerts.
The group's popularity rivaled that of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in the
late sixties. Although the band lasted only several short years with five studio
albums, the music is recognized today as some of the greatest pop of the 20th
century.
The Phillipses became Hollywood celebrities, living in the Hollywood Hills and
socializing with stars like Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, and Roman Polanski.
The group broke up largely because Cass Elliot wanted to go solo and because of
some personal problems between Phillips, Michelle, and Denny Doherty. Michelle
had been fired briefly in 1966, for having had affairs with both Denny and Gene
Clark, and was replaced for two months by Jill Gibson, their producer Lou Adler's
girlfriend. Although Michelle was forgiven and asked to return to the group, the
personal problems would continue until the band split up in 1968. Cass Elliot
went on to have a successful solo career until her death in 1974.
Name: John Phillips
Birth name: John Edmund Andrew Phillips
Also known as Papa John
Born; 30 August 1935 Parris Island, South Carolina, USA
Died: 18 March 2001 Los Angeles, California, USA
John Phillips, born John Edmund Andrew Phillips (August 30, 1935 - March 18,
2001), was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Known as Papa John,
Phillips was a member and leader of the singing group The Mamas & the Papas. He
is the father of Jeffrey Phillips, Mackenzie Phillips, Chynna Phillips,
Tamerlane Phillips, and Bijou Phillips.
Phillips was born in Parris Island, South Carolina. His father was a retired
United States Marine Corps officer who won an Oklahoma bar from a fellow Marine
in a poker game on the way home from Europe after World War I. His mother was
Cherokee Indian and met and married Phillips' father in Oklahoma. According to
Phillips' autobiography, Papa John, his father was a heavy drinker who suffered
from ill health.
Growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, Phillips was inspired by Marlon Brando and
other film stars to be "street tough." He formed a small gang of teenage boys,
who also sang doo-wop songs. A poor student but likable kid, he was the star of
the George Washington High School basketball team. He attended the U.S. Naval
Academy, but left during his first (plebe) year. He also attended Hampden-Sydney
College on a partial athletic scholarship, but dropped out and shortly
thereafter married his first of four wives.
Susan Adams was the daughter of a wealthy Virginia family. Together they had a
son called Jeffrey and a girl they named (Laura) Mackenzie Phillips.
Phillips longed to have success in the music industry and traveled to New York
to find a record contract in the early sixties. His first band, The Journeymen,
was a folk trio. He developed his craft in Greenwich Village, during the
American folk music revival, and met his future The Mamas & the Papas bandmates
Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot there. Lyrics of their song "Creeque Alley"
describe this period.
While touring California with The Journeymen he met his future second wife, the
teenage Michelle Gilliam. Their affair finally forced the dissolution of his
first marriage. Phillips was married to Michelle Phillips from 1962 to 1970.
They had one child together, Chynna Phillips, the founder of the singing group
Wilson Phillips.
Phillips was the primary songwriter and musical arranger of The Mamas & the
Papas. Early in the band's history, John and Michelle were responsible for
writing most of the band's songs. John would often come up with a melody and
some lyrics and Michelle would help him complete the lyrical portion of the song.
After being signed to Dunhill Records, they had several Billboard Top Ten hits
during the group's short lifetime, including "California Dreamin'"; "Monday,
Monday"; "I Saw Her Again"; "Creeque Alley"; and "12:30 (Young Girls Are Coming
to the Canyon)". John Phillips also wrote "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear
Flowers in Your Hair)," the 1967 Scott McKenzie hit that was to become the
Summer of Love "anthem." Phillips also wrote the oft-covered "Me and My Uncle,"
which was the song performed more times than any other over 30 years of Grateful
Dead concerts.
The group's popularity rivaled that of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in the
late sixties. Although the band lasted only several short years with five studio
albums, the music is recognized today as some of the greatest pop of the 20th
century.
The Phillipses became Hollywood celebrities, living in the Hollywood Hills and
socializing with stars like Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, and Roman Polanski.
The group broke up largely because Cass Elliot wanted to go solo and because of
some personal problems between Phillips, Michelle, and Denny Doherty. Michelle
had been fired briefly in 1966, for having had affairs with both Denny and Gene
Clark, and was replaced for two months by Jill Gibson, their producer Lou Adler's
girlfriend. Although Michelle was forgiven and asked to return to the group, the
personal problems would continue until the band split up in 1968. Cass Elliot
went on to have a successful solo career until her death in 1974.