03/21/2001

60s Superstars

NCAA Quiz: Name the four players who averaged 33 points per
game for their career. [Hint: All went on to the NBA and played
at least some in the 1970s.] Answer below.

The Mamas and the Papas

With the death of John Phillips, I thought we''d take a look back
at the superstar rock group that he founded in 1965. Phillips, the
son of a career marine officer, was born on Parris Island, SC in
1935. He was an all-state hoops player but really didn''t know
what he wanted to do, bouncing around between jobs and stints
in college (he went to George Washington for a spell, as well as
3 months at the Naval Academy). Finally, he settled down in
Greenwich Village, NY where he became a member of the folk
trio the Journeymen (which included Scott McKenzie). Then in
1962, he married Michelle Gilliam, a California girl who had
come to New York to be a model, and the new Mrs. Phillips joined
her husband''s group.

Meanwhile, Canadian Denny Doherty had been a member of the
Halifax Three, a group which included future Lovin'' Spoonful
member Zal Yanovsky. Doherty and Yanovsky joined Ellen
Cohen (Cass Elliot) and her group, Cass Elliot and the Big Three.
They changed their name to the Mugwumps and added John
Sebastian. [Then Yanovsky and Sebastian split to launch
Spoonful.]

When the Mugwumps broke up, Doherty joined the New
Journeymen. John Phillips then thought that he, Michelle, and
Denny should go the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas) and rehearse
the material that Phillips was working on. Elliot was down there
as a waitress and joined them at rehearsals. [Something tells me
these guys weren''t exactly getting up at the crack of dawn, if you
know what I mean.]

Well, the 4 of them got along pretty well so they decided to head
to California, where they met ex-New Christy Minstrel Barry
McGuire (#1 "Eve Of Destruction) who hooks them up with
producer Lou Adler. Adler toys with the name the Magic Circle
before settling on the Mamas & the Papas.

You''ll recall from your 60s history that a rock group fronted by
two men and two women was rare (like nonexistent). Well, in
early 1966 the group released John Phillips'' tune "California
Dreamin''" and it ran up to #4 on the Billboard Charts. Two
months later, "Monday, Monday," another Phillips composition,
hit #1.

But you had your basic sexual tension in the marriage of John
and Michelle, which interfered in the creative process, so to
speak, so Michelle was fired from the band. A month later, the
two reconciled and she was welcomed back. Pheww, that was close.

In early ''67, the Mamas & the Papas won a Grammy for
"Monday, Monday" and that spring had the #2 "Dedicated To
The One I Love" (a smashing remake of the Shirelles hit), as
well as the autobiographical "Creeque Alley," written by
Phillips, which peaked at #5. [Coupled with the other #5''s from
1966, "I Saw Her Again" and "Words Of Love," and you had six
Top Five''s in the span of about 15 months.]

Separately, John wrote the #4 "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear
Some Flowers In Your Hair)" for friend Scott McKenzie in the
summer of ''67 and there was another big Phillips project, the
Monterey Pop Festival.

In the spring of 1967, Phillips, along with Adler and San
Francisco promoter Bill Graham (not to be confused with the
Rev. Billy Graham), financed a 3 night event where over 50,000
fans paid just $3-$6.50 a ticket to see some of the following:

First, the major introductions to an American audience for Jimi
Hendrix, Janis Joplin (with her Big Brother & The Holding
Company), and the Who...plus...Jefferson Airplane, Laura
Nyro, the Byrds, Johnny Rivers, Simon & Garfunkel, the Steve
Miller Blues Band, Buffalo Springfield, Eric Burdon and the
Animals, Lou Rawls, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Paul
Butterfield Blues Band, Canned Heat, Country Joe and the Fish,
Otis Redding, Moby Grape, and Hugh Masekela. [The Beach
Boys were on the bill, as well, but Brian Wilson was having one
of his days so they bailed.]

Well, Monterey also proved to be the last time the Mamas & the
Papas performed together. And by 1968 there were simply too
many problems, particularly the ongoing issue of John and
Michelle''s marriage. So in June of that year, John, Denny, and
Cass wrote Michelle to inform her that she was fired once again.
The next month the whole group broke up and John and Michelle
divorced.

Michelle went on to a successful acting career, Cass launched a
so-so solo career (the #12 "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" being
her only real winner), Doherty had zero success on his own, and
John Phillips did drugs and alcohol.

Actually, in 1973 the group announced a huge suit against their
Dunhill label for "systematic cold-blooded theft of perhaps up to
$60 million, stolen from each and every artist who recorded for it
during a 7-year period" and John ended up living off his
royalties.

Then on July 29, 1974 Mama Cass died while in London at
singer Harry Nilsson''s place. She was just 32 yet the massive
one suffered a heart attack while choking on a ham sandwich and
inhaling vomit. [It must have taken a crane to remove her from
Nilsson''s flat. And, getting off track, did you know that he wrote
Three Dog Night''s "One?" Actually, I was also surprised to see
that his "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City" only
made it to #34. A travesty.]

In 1980, John Phillips was arrested for cocaine possession in Los
Angeles and was sentenced to five years, but it was later reduced
to 30 days and probation. In and out of rehab, Phillips and
Denny Doherty did team up for a 1982 oldies tour, using John''s
daughter MacKenzie Phillips along with Spanky McFarlane to
round out the group. [MacKenzie was also a mess, you''ll recall.
And I used to live behind the institution the two of them hung out
at! It wasn''t as bad a location as it sounds. But every now and
then you''d hear a scream in the night. Huh, I''d muse.]

John Phillips wasn''t totally finished as a songwriter though. In
1988, he co-wrote along with Scott McKenzie...for whom
MacKenzie Phillips was named, incidentally...and Mike Love
the Beach Boys #1 "Kokomo," a tune which I have written on
numerous occasions in this space tarnishes my favorite group''s
image.

So there you have it, another rock legend gone. Over the coming
years they are really going to start dropping like flies. [Sources:
"The Encyclopedia of Pop Rock and Soul," Irwin Stambler;
"VH1: Rock Stars Encyclopedia;" "The Rolling Stone
Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll;" Richard Pearson / Washington
Post]

Follow-Up

When I wrote my little bit about the Williams Sisters'' act this
weekend in a tournament in California, I didn''t realize the cover
story for the March 27 issue of the National Enquirer read:

"Wimbledon Fixed? - The Shocking Story - Venus & Serena
Williams'' family member charges: Dad ordered Serena to lose."

Well, since the Enquirer has actually broken a few stories
recently, particularly concerning the Clinton pardons, I thought
I''d pick up my first copy in about 15 years. Alas, there really
isn''t anything new. The Williams continue to tank matches,
depending on the wishes of father Richard. And it was duly
noted by the Wimbledon press last year that Serena tanked to
Venus in their semifinal confrontation. This whole issue will
only grow. We need a Mike Wallace "60 Minutes" piece on it.

Bob Hayes

It isn''t football season but I just had to acknowledge a little note
I saw over the weekend concerning Hayes''s deteriorating health.
For the past month, the former track and football star has been in
a hospital battling heart, liver and kidney ailments, along with
the aftermath of his prostate surgery. Doctors allowed him to
attend a high school track meet named for him. "I know the odds
are against me, but I''ve got more to do," he told the crowd.

Bob Hayes hasn''t had an easy life. Many of his problems were
of his own making, but I just wanted to remind you all of his
impact on the football field after he captured gold in the 100-
meter dash at the 1964 Olympics.

Drafted in the 7th round out of Florida A&M by Dallas, "Bullet
Bob" Hayes was an immediate force. He may not have caught
everything thrown to him, but man was he exciting. In his 11-
year, injury-riddled, career (10 seasons with the Cowboys),
Hayes had 371 receptions for exactly a 20.0 average. And he
had 71 touchdowns, a helluva percentage. Perhaps his most
spectacular year was in 1970 when he caught just 34 passes, but
they were for 889 yards (a 26.1 avg.) and 10 TDs.

Finally, back to his track exploits, Hayes still holds the record for
most consecutive wins at 100-meters, 49. That''s phenomenal.
[Edwin Moses had a 107-event streak in the 400-meter hurdles
but, as awesome as that truly is, there is far more competition in
the 100-meter dash.] So hang in there, Bob. We''re rootin'' for
ya.

Crocs

Well, perhaps I shouldn''t admit this but I treated myself to "The
Crocodile Hunter" Monday night. Far more importantly, though,
was a note that Johnny Mac passed along, a Reuters story from
Malaysia, concerning a fatal croc attack over the weekend. On
Friday, a man and his two-year-old boy were bathing in the river
(idiots) when they were attacked by a 15-foot crocodile. The
father pushed his son to safety (well, that was thoughtful of
him...kind of like taking your kid to watch the Battle of the
Bulge and then throwing him in a ditch right before a tank
crushes him) and the animal dragged Dad under.

In February, Reuters reports that a croc was killed after it had
eaten a child at a different Malaysian river. Clearly, the animals
are miffed that the Malaysian government isn''t doing enough to
reform its system of crony capitalism, and this is a way of
sending the message...reduce corruption. At least that''s my
reading of things...I could be wrong.

Top 3 songs for the week of 3/21/70: #1 "Bridge Over Troubled
Water" (Simon & Garfunkel) #2 "The Rapper" (The Jaggerz)
#3 "Give Me Just A Little More Time" (Chairmen of the Board)

NCAA Quiz Answer: Career scoring average - Pete Maravich
(LSU) 44.2 ppg., Austin Carr (Notre Dame) 34.6, Oscar
Robertson (Cincinnati) 33.8, Calvin Murphy (Niagara) 33.1.

Maravich then played 10 seasons in the NBA, averaging 24.2.
*Pistol Pete didn''t have the 3-point shot until his last season. He
would have lit it up even more, otherwise.
Carr played 10 years and averaged 15.4.
The Big "O" played 14, averaging 25.7 ppg., 7.5 rebounds, and
9.5 assists. Awesome babee!
Murphy hung out for 13 seasons and averaged 17.9. I thought
this was kind of interesting, Murphy had the 3-point shot his last
4 seasons and only hit 10 of 72 attempts.

Next Bar Chat, Friday.