John Phillips, musician, 65

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

Sunday March 18 06:37 PM EST 

Papa John's "California Dreamin'" Life Ends

The California dreamin' is over. 
John Phillips, cofounder and guru of legendary '60s folk-rockers the Mamas
and the Papas, succumbed to heart failure at a Los Angeles hospital Sunday
morning. He was 65. 

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer behind such harmonious hippie hits as
"California Dreamin'," "I Saw Her Again Last Night" and the Grammy-winning
"Monday, Monday" had a long history of substance abuse, which wreaked
havoc on his body and led to a liver transplant in 1992. He claimed he
finally kicked his drug and booze habit in the 1980s, following a
court-ordered rehab stint. 

A seminal force of '60s music, Phillips, with impresario Lou Adler, staged
the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival, which featured a
mind-blowing lineup of Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Simon and Garfunkel,
the Who, Ravi Shankar and Janis Joplin. 

Fueled by the era's free-loving, high-living culture, Phillips saw his
greatest success with his sweet-sounding group, the Mamas and the
Papas. Papa John joined with his then-wife, Michelle Phillips, Denny
Doherty and Cass Elliot to form the vocal group in 1964. Phillips was
considered the band's mastermind, serving as chief songwriter and
arranger. The band's catalog also included "Creeque Alley" and a cover of
the Shirelles' "Dedicated to the One I Love." 

In 1968, the quartet's notorious infighting led to a break-up. Two years
later, John and Michelle divorced. Despite all this, the band decided to
regroup. They recorded a few more tracks and released the album People
Like Us before splintering for good in 1971--three years before a heart
attack claimed the life of Mama Cass. 

Over the past two decades, Phillips had attempted to revive the Mamas and
the Papas with different players, including his daughter, Mackenzie
Phillips. The refurbished quartet made the rounds on the county fair
oldies circuit, but never reproduced the original band's musical magic. 

In 1998, the Mamas and the Papas got the ultimate nod from their music
industry peers, getting enshrined in the Rock Hall of Fame. 

Just before entering the hospital, Phillips had finished a new solo album,
Slow Starter, and completed another, Pay Pack and Follow--a collaboration
with Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richards that was some 25 years
in the making. It is slated for release in May. 

Survivors include his widow, Farnaz, a trio of actress-singer daughters,
Mackenzie, Chynna and Bijou, and sons Jeffrey and Tamerlane. 



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