Tracing the NYC Roots of the Mamas & the Papas’ ‘California Dreamin’'
- edgarstreetbooks
- Mar 13
- 3 min read
'New York Rock & Roll History: The 1960s' Book Excerpt
Frank Mastropolo
A stop at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral helped inspire John and Michelle Phillips to write “California Dreamin’,” the 1966 Top 10 hit for the Mamas & the Papas. “We were at the Hotel Earle in New York and Michelle was asleep,” John Phillips told filmmaker Larry “L.A.” Johnson.
Hotel Earle, renamed the Washington Square Hotel, 2021. © Frank Mastropolo
“I was playing the guitar. We’d been out for a walk that day and she’d just come from California and all she had was California clothing. And it snowed overnight and in the morning she didn’t know what the white stuff coming out of the sky was, because it never snowed in Southern LA, you know, Southern California.
“So we went for a walk and the song is mostly a narrative of what happened that day, stopped into a church to get her warm, and so on and so on. And so as I was thinking about it later that night, I was playing and singing and I thought ‘California Dreamin’’ was what we were doing, actually, that day.
“So I tried to wake Michelle up to write the lyrics down that I was doing. And she said, ‘Leave me alone. I want to sleep. I want to sleep.’ ‘Wake up. Write this down. You’ll never regret it. I promise you, Michelle.’ ‘Okay.’
“Then she wrote it down and went back to sleep. And she told me up to this day, she’s never regretted getting up and writing it down. Since she gets half of the writing of the song for it.”
Barry McGuire was the first to record “California Dreamin’” with the Mamas & the Papas singing background vocals. It was intended as the follow-up to McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction.” Producer Lou Adler, impressed with the group, had them re-record the song using the same instrumental and backing tracks with Papa Denny Doherty singing lead.
“California Dreamin’” was recorded at United Western Recorders in Los Angeles with session musicians Hal Blaine (drums), Larry Knechtel (keyboards), Joe Osborn (bass), and P.F. Sloan (guitar). John Phillips played 12-string guitar on the song’s intro.
“You know, it’s rare when magic happens inside a studio,” Sloan told Songfacts. “Mostly there’s some creative things that happen with the bass player or the drummer or the piano player that everyone likes. But I had worked with John Phillips before they became famous. He literally was playing guitar on one of my singles, ‘City Women,’ and that was his first introduction to the studios.
“The ‘California Dreamin’’ session was magical. John was very nervous. Nobody particularly liked the song, and to be honest with you, ‘California Dreamin’’ was maybe three or four chords. I added the ‘Walk, Don’t Run’ Ventures guitar riffs for that ‘da da da da da da.’ That was all creative work inside the studio when I heard them singing on mic.”
Barry McGuire’s take on “California Dreamin’” was released on his album This Precious Time. When the Mamas & the Papas released their debut album If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (shown above), it was pulled from stores because the toilet shown was considered indecent. Later copies covered the toilet with a scroll of songs.
The Mamas & the Papas’ single was not an immediate hit when released from the album in late 1965. Airplay on a Boston radio station helped the song break nationwide and the song peaked at №4 in March 1966.
Frank Mastropolo is the author of New York Rock & Roll History: The 1960s, part of the New York Rock series. For more on our latest projects, visit Edgar Street Books.
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