The Mamas and The Papas were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 (Performer). Owners of Honest John Studios, built in John & Michelle Phillips' home at Bel Air, California. Another version of the band, including only John Phillips from the original line-up, released the live album 'Californa Dreamin: Live in Concert' in 1995. In 1982, the group was reformed, including founding member Denny Doherty and two new “Mamas”: Mackenzie Phillips (daughter of John) and Elaine “Spanky” McFarlane, a longtime friend who had sung with Spanky and Our Gang. They broke up in 1968 and reunited briefly in 1971. After briefly calling themselves the Magic Circle, they took the name The Mamas and The Papas. The foursome relocated to Los Angeles, where they signed to Lou Adler’s Dunhill label. They were joined by the alto-voiced Cass Elliot. Thomas, in the US Virgin Islands, to write and to rehearse. The work was all spontaneous and unforced here, as opposed to the emotional complications that had to be overcome before their next sessions.John Phillips, Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty performed in the New Journeymen, a temporary group put together to fulfill contractual obligations after the original trio’s breakup. If the material here has a certain glow that the Mamas & the Papas' subsequent LPs lacked, that may be due in part to the extensive rehearsal and the exhilaration of their first experience in the studio, but also a result of the fact that it was recorded before the members' personal conflicts began interfering with their ability to work together. But the rest is mighty compelling even to casual listeners, including the ethereal "Got a Feelin'," the rocking "Straight Shooter" and "Somebody Groovy," the jaunty, torch song-style version of "I Call Your Name," and the prettiest versions of "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Spanish Harlem" that anyone ever recorded.
"Monday, Monday" and "California Dreamin'" are familiar enough to anyone who's ever listened to the radio, and "Go Where You Wanna Go" isn't far behind, in this version or the very similar rendition by the Fifth Dimension. Released just as "California Dreaming" was ascending the charts by leaps and bounds, it was the product of months of rehearsal in the Virgin Islands and John Phillips' discovery of what one could do to build a polished recorded sound in the studio - it embraced folk-rock, pop/rock, pop, and soul, and also reflected the kind of care that acts like the Beatles were putting into their records at the time. In the spring of 1966, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears represented a genuinely new sound, as fresh to listeners as the songs on Meet the Beatles had seemed two years earlier.