John Phillips

Greatly Appreciated

JOHN PHILLIPS
 
 
John 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 for the beginning of the counterculture era, the Summer of Love.  Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the vocal group The Mamas & the Papas.  (More from Wikipedia)
 
 
There are two cool “flower power” songs on the Queen Anne’s Lace album that were written by singer-songwriter Peter Cofield (whose first album came out on Coral Records the previous year), “Thank the Beautiful People (Thank the Young)” and “The Power of the Flower”.  These songs celebrate the best of the hippie spirit at least as well as the Tin Pan Alley-ish “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” (written by John Phillips – no relation to Anne Phillips, once again apparently – of the Mamas and the Papas and beautifully sung by Scott McKenzie).
 
(August 2010)
 
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The Mamas and the Papas are another band featuring both men and women that had enduring popularity throughout the British Invasion years.  They were also one of the first American bands that fans began to know individually the way they knew the Beatles:  Suave bandleader John Phillips, his gorgeous wife Michelle Phillips, the muscular singer Cass Elliot (who became known almost immediately as “Mama Cass”), and Denny Doherty, the other Papa.   

 

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Wilson Phillips is one of the early second-generation rock bands and features another pair of Wilson sisters – Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson (daughters of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys) – plus Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John Phillips and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas.  She is the half-sister of actress Mackenzie Phillips, who started out in the film American Graffiti when she was just 12 years old.  Wilson Phillips had a major hit song in 1990 called “Hold On” and has released a total of six albums to date. 

 

(November 2013)

 

Last edited: March 22, 2021