Why the Mamas and the Papas?
John admitted that he was reluctant to abandon his folk music roots. Denny Doherty and guitarist Eric Hord said he hung on to it “like death.” It was Doherty and Elliot who roused his interest in contemporary pop, as it had become “cool” with the Beatles. It was during their rehearsals in the Virgin Islands that they played “electric” for the first time.
Denny Doherty, Michelle Gilliam, Scott Mckenzie, ‘Mama Cass’ Elliot, and John Phillips. Photo by Bill Johnson / Associated Newspapers / Shutterstock
Playing electric wasn’t the only “first” they experienced on this trip to the Islands. It was also the first time the group experimented with acid. According to the story, one of the four closed their eyes, pointed to a map, and landed on the Virgin Islands. The quartet, along with 15 others (including five-year-old Mackenzie Phillips) camped on the beach, drank rum from coconuts, and wasted away all their money.