Happy Birthday John Phillips. John Edmund Andrew Phillips (August 30, 1935 – March 18, 2001) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and promoter, most notably of the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, a landmark event of the counterculture era. Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the vocal group, The Mamas & the Papas. Phillips was the primary songwriter and musical arranger of The Mamas & the Papas. In a 1968 interview, Phillips described some of his arrangements as well arranged two-part harmony moving in opposite directions. After being signed to Dunhill, they had several Billboard Top Ten hits, 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), in 1967 for former The Journeyman band mate, Scott McKenzie. San Francisco is widely regarded as emblematic of 1960s American counterculture music. Phillips also wrote the oft-covered Me and My Uncle, which was a favorite song cover frequently performed by The Grateful Dead. Phillips also helped promote and performed with The Mamas & the Papas in the Monterey International Pop Music Festival held June 16 to June 18, 1967 in Monterey, California. The festival was planned in just seven weeks and was developed as a way to validate rock music as an art form in the way jazz and folk were regarded. It was the first major pop-rock music event in history. John and Michelle Phillips became Hollywood celebrities, living in the Hollywood Hills and socializing with stars such as Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, and Roman Polanski. The Mamas & the Papas broke up in 1968 largely because Cass Elliot wanted to go solo and because of some personal problems among Phillips, his wife Michelle, and Denny Doherty, including his wifes affair with Doherty. As Michelle Phillips later recounted, Cass confronted me and said I dont get it. You could have any man you want. Why would you take mine? Michelle had been fired briefly in 1966, for having had affairs with both Gene Clark and Doherty, and was replaced for a period of two months by Jill Gibson, their producer Lou Adlers girlfriend. Although Michelle Phillips was forgiven and asked to return to the group, the personal problems would continue until the group split. Cass Elliot went on to have a successful solo career until her death from heart failure in 1974. Phillips married Susan Adams of a wealthy Virginia family in 1959. They had a son, Jeffrey, and a daughter, Laura Mackenzie (known as Mackenzie) Phillips. While touring California with The Journeymen, Phillips met teenage Michelle Gilliam, with whom he had an extramarital affair. Their affair forced the dissolution of his marriage to Adams, and he married Michelle in 1962. The couple had one child together, Chynna Phillips, vocalist of the 1990s pop trio Wilson Phillips. They divorced in 1970. Actress Geneviève Waïte became his third wife in 1972. The couple had two children, Tamerlane and Bijou Phillips. Reportedly, both parents were drug addicts and infidelity marked their marriage. Phillips and Waite divorced in 1985. In 1996, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to Phillips. The Mamas and the Papas were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame on January 12, 1998 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 01:50:28 +0000
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