The Mamas and The Papas Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Journeymen

John Phillips, Scott McKenzie and Dick Weissman formed The Journeymen in 1961. They recorded three albums for Capitol Records, none of which sold particularly well. McKenzie later sang a John Phillips' song titled "If You Go to San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" that became the unofficial anthem of the "Summer of Love" in 1967 in San Francisco. Aspiring model 17-year-old Michelle Gilliam met John in 1962 when the Greenwich Village-based trio played at "The Hungry i" in San Francisco and became John's second wife by the end of the year.

Answer: St. Thomas

John, his second wife Michelle and Denny Doherty decided in 1965 to take a vacation in St. Thomas to get a break from the Greenwich Village folk music scene. They were soon joined by Denny's good friend Cass Elliot. While in St. Thomas the group sang at a boardinghouse named Duffy's on Creeque Alley (the inspiration for the autobiographical song "Creeque Alley").

Answer: American Express

After their American Express credit line was exhausted, they were left with less than $50.00 and no return air tickets. In a last-ditch effort to win enough money get back home, John, Michelle and Denny went to the casino in the Caribe Hilton hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

They headed for the craps tables, and Michelle (who had never played craps before) had beginner's luck and won enough money to fly the three of them first class back to New York (Cass, who had a round-trip ticket, went back to Los Angeles).

Answer: Cass Elliot (Mama Cass)

Cass had a crush on Denny and followed him to St. Thomas. They had sung together in 1964 when they were both in the short-lived group called the Mugwumps (this is also mentioned in "Creeque Alley"). Although Cass very much wanted in the group, John wouldn't allow it at first.

The story often mentioned is an accidental blow to her head raised her singing voice a full tone higher, which fit in with the harmonic blend John wanted. However, according to Snopes.com, Michelle's sister, Russell Gilliam, claims this is just a cover story, invented to explain away John's real reason: Cass' weight did not fit his group image. Re: www.snopes.com/music/artists/casspipe.asp

Answer: Michelle was homesick for California while living in New York City in a bone-chilling winter

After the warm weather of the Virgin Islands, New York seemed very cold. Michelle was anxious to get back to warm weather in Los Angeles, and that inspired John to write California Dreamin'. Michelle helped him write down the words, and as a result she got half publishing credit and royalties.

Answer: Monday, Monday

Although California Dreamin' has become a signature anthem of the '60s, it was not their biggest hit. California Dreamin' was released in 1965, and after a slow start it rose to a number 4 ranking nationwide. The follow-up tune, 'Monday Monday,' shot to number 1 and became the biggest hit of their career.

It won a Grammy award in 1966. Their first album, 'If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears,' was released in January 1966 and by March of that year it was at number 1 in the charts.

Answer: Jill Gibson

Jill Gibson was the girlfriend of the group's producer, Lou Adler. She was needed for a brief time in 1966 because John fired Michelle from the group (as a result of strained group relations after her affair with Denny Doherty) but then reluctantly let her back in after fans objected.

Interesting trivia: the daughter of John Phillips and his first wife Suzy was the young kid in the hot rod in the movie "American Graffiti" in her first acting job at age 12 (Mackenzie Phillips). The daughter Michelle and John Phillips had was named Chynna.

She later, along with the two daughters of Brian Wilson (of Beach Boys fame), formed the rock group "Wilson Phillips.")

Answer: John Phillips

Later in his career John usually wore a chinchilla hat during performances, TV appearances and photo shoots. Early in career as a Papa he frequently wore various styles of cloth hats.

Answer: Cass Elliot (Mama Cass)

The group's fourth album was titled "The Papas and the Mamas" and was released in 1968. It included Cass singing a solo rendition of the song "Dream a Little Dream of Me," which served as a launching pad for her subsequent solo career. The group broke up shortly thereafter in 1968.

They did reunite briefly in 1971 to produce a fifth album called "People Like Us" to fulfill contractual obligations, but as Michelle described it: "It sounded like what it was--four people just trying to avoid a lawsuit." Michelle has had a successful acting career, appearing in many TV shows and movies. Both she and John have published books: John's book is titled "Papa John" and Michelle's is titled "California Dreamin'".

Answer: Cass Elliot (Mama Cass)

Cass died in London in 1974 at age 33 of a heart attack. The popular misconception is that she choked to death on a ham sandwich, but that is one of those urban legends that get ingrained in the popular culture but isn't true. The urban legend probably got started because early investigators found a half-eaten sandwich by her bed. John Phillips died 18 March 2001 at age 65. Denny Doherty died 19 January 2007 at age 66.