Trivia / The Mamas & the Papas

• Contractual Obligation Project: The People Like Us album, made three years after the group's breakup when their label threatened to sue them for breach of contract.
• Creator Couple: John and Michelle Phillips, although they divorced prior to the group's final album. Michelle also had an affair with Denny Doherty.
• He Also Did: Denny Doherty later went on to host Theodore Tugboat.
• The Other Darrin: Michelle Phillips was fired from the band in June 1966 and was replaced by Jill Gibson. Both Gibson and Phillips sing on The Mamas & the Papas, which was being recorded that summer (it is unclear, however, who is singing on which songs; Michelle herself claims that the only two people who know are producer Lou Adler and engineer Bones Howe). Within a few months, the other members decided that, while they liked Gibson, she didn't have Michelle's stage presence or charisma. By August, Michelle was back and Gibson was given a lump sum payment for her time with the band.
• Pop-Culture Urban Legends: No, Mama Cass did not choke to death on a ham sandwich. And she wasn't pregnant either, much less with John Lennon's baby. The former was based on speculation made by a doctor on the scene because a half-eaten ham sandwich was found in the room where she died. The latter was a recent, long-standing rumor. Both were disproven in her autopsy. She had died in her sleep from a heart attack. She had no drugs in her system, no food in her windpipe, and was not carrying an unborn child.
• Throw It In!: The coda vocals for "I Saw Her Again" were punched in too early, causing Denny Doherty's vocals to have a false start "I saw her- I saw her again last night." Producer Lou Adler liked the effect and left it in.
  • Paul McCartney is said to have checked with the band to see if the effect was in error, because "no one's that good."
• Working Title: The group's sophomore album was originally to be called Crashon Screamon All Fall Down, and advance copies were even sent out under that title. But after Michelle Phillips returned, it was necessary to swap out the cover art (which featured her temporary replacement Jill Gibson), and it was decided at the same time to just make it a Self-Titled Album.

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