I went to a lot of sessions with my dad when I was a kid and this really moved me. The guy in the blue shirt playing the bass is my father. Thanks for posting this, to see Hal, Larry and Dad together it's a glimpse into my childhood memories. Again, thank you.
Those guys were the epitome of studio musicians. Hal, Joe, Larry, Tommy. Not only could they play amazingly well individually, but brought a very rare ‘magic’ to every session they played together as a group. Relics of a bygone era of absolutely wonderful music.
Yes Mama Cass had a overpower voice over Michelle and that's why she had to hold back in volume so Michelle can come through in the arangement but listen to this session , to say Michelle could'nt sing and had no voice in the sound is just plain crazy , you can clearly hear both girls sing loudly and of course the guys too !!!
I have been waiting to see this video for over 6 years since I first started listening to this group. Please, anyone and everything, post any content with or about The M & the P. They might not have been perfect individuals, but they were really groovy together, and no one has ever matched their harmonies or john's music.
Omg Hal Blaine was such a big part of this. It was a truly gifted, unique time and combination of talent. Lou Adler production, Denny’s voice (criminally under appreciated). Love seeing this, huge thanks to the poster. The process alone was so different, and special, then. We will not see this again, ever. These times and talents are gone.
It is wonderful how we are now getting the behind the scenes look at how these songs were developed. Almost more interesting than the songs themselves!
The Wrecking Crew here was amazing. They did most of the musical arrangements and played the instruments for the Mamas and Papas, Beach Boys and many of other hit groups of the era.
I loved Mama Cass Elliott, she was very outspoken, some would say blunt, but I think that was part of her appeal. She had a great voice, and was a consummate professional at her craft. This video definitely brings back memories of a simpler, happier time.
what amazing vocals and such incredible songwriting craft. i'm a goth/metalhead/punkrocker/general alternadude and i have no probs at all appreciating the sheer artistry involved here. especially because music videos were not mandatory yet as they became in the early 80's the music truly had to stand on its own in releasing endorphins and giving that dopamine hit. they just don't seem to make bands like this anymore.
Reelin, what exactly else do you have from the Mamas & Papas? The Songmakers 1967 special you have here is Holy Grail-level stuff, we've been searching for this full clip for DECADES!
Very interesting to see this slice of musical history. Also very sad to think that this kind of record making is pretty well dead, being virtually replaced by digital canned crap. Beautiful vocal harmonies and creative instrumentality played by real musical virtuosos have become squeezed out and taken over by the horrible phenomenon of rap, hip-hop, techno-dance and other modern musical abortions. How the hell did things ever get so bad?
"Beautiful vocal harmonies and creative instrumentality played by real musical virtuosos" - then listen to Lucius, for just one glorious example of that kind of music and songwriting in current music.
From research I've done, here's a "for what it's worth", which at first seems hard to believe. In the 1980s, the government run prison industry was put up for sale to private investors. Those investors did their own research to figure out how to keep prison cells filled...why? For profits, of course. So, their research discovered that popular music had the biggest influence on the habits of young people and that blacks committed most crimes that called for jail time. As a result, those private prison investors contacted a number of music industry execs and held a special meeting at which they put a "gun" to their heads and told them they needed to start pushing rap, hip hop, etc, because of it's violent lyrical content and WHO it catered to. And it "worked", at least for those greedy investors, and look what it has done to society and the level of violence that exists today, just to keep their prison cells and their wallets full.
The great bass line in 5th Dimension's "Let The Sunshine In" - that f'in guy - Joe Osborn. Check out these guys' resumes...Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco, etc. GD insane. True masters. I'm guessing this is at Gold Star. Anybody know for certain?
Its SO rare to see any footage of them, so thank you so much!!! Is there any way to contact Michelle phillips? I feel like she's the only way a documentary would ever get green lit, but it has to be done before she passes :(
lou adler. his history of the rock world and clubs should be a film. he was there. he created montery with the mama and papas. used to be on the court with jack at all the lakers games back in the day.
There's that flatness that a lot of their recordings suffer from. It was headphone-related. When you wear just half of the phones, it screws up the pitch you hear and will cause that flatness. Brian Wilson recorded there too but he would never have signed off on the The Mamas & The Papas sounding that flat. Come on, Lou Adler !
Many artists today cannot do this... I prefer music with instruments and real people... Maybe I'm just too old but I do not enjoy computer and synthesize music with lyrics that have no substance... Although I do think this is one of the weaker songs of The Mamas and papas... This was very interesting
I don't remember its name, but it was part of a documentary about modern popular music, and it was broadcast on TV, with a good degree of promotion. I watched it then and was fascinated seeing a real recording studio in action. "Boys and Girls Together" showed up on their "Deliver" LP not long after broadcast (February '67), which also featured the excellent "Look Through My Window".
At first I thought it sounded too much like their other song that begins on a slightly dissonant chord singing, 'And the rain beats on my roof'. Like this I don't remember the title of that song either. "boys and girls' seems perfect for Woodstock but they all got too sick and tired (familiar) with each other plus drugs=.....
You must be listening in mono or through one speaker. Not your fault. In production for UA-cam someone must have messed up and inverted one of the stereo channels. Asleep at the wheel...
@@harvey1954 Correct, and he went on to play on a lot of their stuff. I'm very aware of Joe's discography. He was quite a player. Loved that he played with a pick. Gave him a signature sound.
I don't own any either, never bought a thing they did. But I have everything to ever sang, got it all free by copying! Love their music! John was a peice of shit however. I believe every word MacKenzie wrote in her book, which I did buy.
@duaneginn We don't know do we about his behaviour! It's McKensies word against his and he's gone, why didn't she talk up when he was alive...he can't defend himself now.
..here we are now in the studio bathroom. where clouds of smoke that doesn't smell like cigarettes billows out.... and that funny looking lil square thingy... that's acid... soon the band will be talking to Jesus.
Interesting behind the scenes putting together of a song. Wish they had chosen a better one though...never heard this and it's obvious why. (it's mediocre at best).
@@hepphepps8356 Nah - not so much. His sound was much better about 3/4 years down the road (Carpenters and other Cutting Crew gigs) when it had a little more low end and a little less top. This just sounds like a really crap solid-state amp with the high pot on 11. Not at all complimentary to the music, which is the primary role of the bass - to underpin, not overpower....
This is just my opinion, but I don't think this group is going to do very well with the public. For one thing, they just seem very old fashioned to me. Second of all, their band name is just atrocious.
I went to a lot of sessions with my dad when I was a kid and this really moved me. The guy in the blue shirt playing the bass is my father.
Thanks for posting this, to see Hal, Larry and Dad together it's a glimpse into my childhood memories.
Again, thank you.
What was your dad’s name.
@@grouchosays
Joe Osborn
@@grouchosays
No, he died died December 2018
@@davidosborn146 Sorry to hear that. I was always a fan of him. Fabulous player!! I bet you are very proud of him.
@@grouchosays
Yes, I am. He was the best friend I've ever had and I miss him.
Just hearing those raw vocals is unbelivable. Some of the greatest harmonies ever recorded came from these four
Those guys were the epitome of studio musicians. Hal, Joe, Larry, Tommy. Not only could they play amazingly well individually, but brought a very rare ‘magic’ to every session they played together as a group.
Relics of a bygone era of absolutely wonderful music.
And Carol, may not have been in this video though. Good to see the Crew finally receiving recognition. Role model legacy.
The blend, even just in rehearsal..
You can't deny talent.
Unbelievable instant vocal connection.
its amazing how many artists used the WRECKING CREW for the music!
I really loved that 60 s group and their songs
We are so lucky to see this
Yes Mama Cass had a overpower voice over Michelle and that's why she had to hold back in volume so Michelle can come through in the arangement but listen to this session , to say Michelle could'nt sing and had no voice in the sound is just plain crazy , you can clearly hear both girls sing loudly and of course the guys too !!!
I have been waiting to see this video for over 6 years since I first started listening to this group. Please, anyone and everything, post any content with or about The M & the P. They might not have been perfect individuals, but they were really groovy together, and no one has ever matched their harmonies or john's music.
Good percussion improvisation, Michelle!
Omg Hal Blaine was such a big part of this. It was a truly gifted, unique time and combination of talent. Lou Adler production, Denny’s voice (criminally under appreciated).
Love seeing this, huge thanks to the poster. The process alone was so different, and special, then. We will not see this again, ever. These times and talents are gone.
Michelle Phillips was just plain gorgeous
Right? It literally hurts.
The rehearsal vocals are more interesting than the final record
Exactly. Why has it taken so long to surface this video? This is amazing. I love it!
Omg this is beautiful, thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!!! I love The Mamas and the Papas!!!!!
It is wonderful how we are now getting the behind the scenes look at how these songs were developed. Almost more interesting than the songs themselves!
God Iove their singing sooo much, the way they look at each other while singing, it’s wonderful
Such great footage. And to think that Hal, Tommy and Joe hadn't heard the song until that session. Great time for studio musicians..
Wrecking Crew royalty in that session!
i also really loved that group and this is absolutely wonderful to watch...thank you
The Wrecking Crew here was amazing. They did most of the musical arrangements and played the instruments for the Mamas and Papas, Beach Boys and many of other hit groups of the era.
I loved Mama Cass Elliott, she was very outspoken, some would say blunt, but I think that was part of her appeal. She had a great voice, and was a consummate professional at her craft. This video definitely brings back memories of a simpler, happier time.
The legendary Joe Osborn on bass @3:10.
Larry Knechtal on piano I believe , his shining moment was later on 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters"
Cass was an amazing talent.
what amazing vocals and such incredible songwriting craft. i'm a goth/metalhead/punkrocker/general alternadude and i have no probs at all appreciating the sheer artistry involved here. especially because music videos were not mandatory yet as they became in the early 80's the music truly had to stand on its own in releasing endorphins and giving that dopamine hit.
they just don't seem to make bands like this anymore.
Those voices!… THOSE BEAUTIFUL VOICES!!!
This was really cool to watch! Although this was like 10 years before I was born, I love 60s music and wish I could have experienced it.
You can and you are
raw talent sans auto tune
Priceless.
Great clip showing the process!💕🙏🏼😃📚
So that's how records are made!
Wish I could see some more of them......
Larry Knechtel behind the piano and Joe Osborn on bass guitar.
We seldom heard them live other than in concert.
This is so cool! Have been waiting for this to be released forever.
Reelin, what exactly else do you have from the Mamas & Papas? The Songmakers 1967 special you have here is Holy Grail-level stuff, we've been searching for this full clip for DECADES!
Yes this is fantastic. I'd love to see more footage of the Mamas & Papas that's not widely available
Very interesting to see this slice of musical history. Also very sad to think that this kind of record making is pretty well dead, being virtually replaced by digital canned crap. Beautiful vocal harmonies and creative instrumentality played by real musical virtuosos have become squeezed out and taken over by the horrible phenomenon of rap, hip-hop, techno-dance and other modern musical abortions. How the hell did things ever get so bad?
"Beautiful vocal harmonies and creative instrumentality played by real musical virtuosos" - then listen to Lucius, for just one glorious example of that kind of music and songwriting in current music.
From research I've done, here's a "for what it's worth", which at first seems hard to believe. In the 1980s, the government run prison industry was put up for sale to private investors. Those investors did their own research to figure out how to keep prison cells filled...why? For profits, of course. So, their research discovered that popular music had the biggest influence on the habits of young people and that blacks committed most crimes that called for jail time. As a result, those private prison investors contacted a number of music industry execs and held a special meeting at which they put a "gun" to their heads and told them they needed to start pushing rap, hip hop, etc, because of it's violent lyrical content and WHO it catered to. And it "worked", at least for those greedy investors, and look what it has done to society and the level of violence that exists today, just to keep their prison cells and their wallets full.
Excelente trabajo , mis respetos
Fantastic team: Blaine, Knechtel and Osborn.
The great bass line in 5th Dimension's "Let The Sunshine In" - that f'in guy - Joe Osborn. Check out these guys' resumes...Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco, etc. GD insane. True masters.
I'm guessing this is at Gold Star. Anybody know for certain?
It's studio 3 Western Recorders on Sunset Boulevard
@@philc8622 Cool. Much appreciated. 🤘
Its SO rare to see any footage of them, so thank you so much!!! Is there any way to contact Michelle phillips? I feel like she's the only way a documentary would ever get green lit, but it has to be done before she passes :(
So many artists recorded in that very room, The Beach Boys maybe most famously
Interesting but wish the sound quality was better.
lou adler. his history of the rock world and clubs should be a film. he was there. he created montery with the mama and papas. used to be on the court with jack at all the lakers games back in the day.
I love that fancy custom 12 string John Phillips is playing in the first scene. Does anyone know who made it for him?
The fight eight seconds of the film are missing!!!
Wow!!!where did you find this!Amazing.
Kinda looks like Bones Howe in the control room with Lou.
There's that flatness that a lot of their recordings suffer from. It was headphone-related. When you wear just half of the phones, it screws up the pitch you hear and will cause that flatness. Brian Wilson recorded there too but he would never have signed off on the The Mamas & The Papas sounding that flat. Come on, Lou Adler !
What on Earth are you bleating on about?
It's kind of funny that a video about one of the most famous studio is out of phase.
Many artists today cannot do this... I prefer music with instruments and real people... Maybe I'm just too old but I do not enjoy computer and synthesize music with lyrics that have no substance... Although I do think this is one of the weaker songs of The Mamas and papas... This was very interesting
That blend sounds so unreal
ABBA must have been influenced by these guys.
As a 4some yes!They were kinda ancestors to ma fave Swedes. Benny was mainly mad into The Beach Boys and Bryan Wilson btw..
Hal Blaine 👍🎶
What doc is this from?
I don't remember its name, but it was part of a documentary about modern popular music, and it was broadcast on TV, with a good degree of promotion. I watched it then and was fascinated seeing a real recording studio in action. "Boys and Girls Together" showed up on their "Deliver" LP not long after broadcast (February '67), which also featured the excellent "Look Through My Window".
At first I thought it sounded too much like their other song that begins on a slightly dissonant chord singing, 'And the rain beats on my roof'. Like this I don't remember the title of that song either. "boys and girls' seems perfect for Woodstock but they all got too sick and tired (familiar) with each other plus drugs=.....
The other song you're thinking of is "Look Through My Window."
Audio was almost non-existent .....
. .❤
You must be listening in mono or through one speaker. Not your fault. In production for UA-cam someone must have messed up and inverted one of the stereo channels. Asleep at the wheel...
They all seem a touch buzzed.
Well, I can't imagine why.
Lol.. Michelle phillips, John Phillips, Cass Elliott and Denny Doherty... Buzzed?? Who could imagine LOL (Fyi, they were always blasted)
My audio is scrambled
Is that Peter Tork on banjo?
Pity the audio is out of phase
Anyone know who the banjo player was?
Eric Hord (“The Doctor”)
How hard is it to write out the chord progression ? Joe Osborn on bass, Carol must have been busy.
Joe was more of a first call bass player, actually.
Joe was on all the M & P records.
@@janmc6219 He was the first to record the Carpenters when he bought the Magic Lamp label.
@@harvey1954 Correct, and he went on to play on a lot of their stuff. I'm very aware of Joe's discography. He was quite a player. Loved that he played with a pick. Gave him a signature sound.
Interesting. Coulda done without those horns. I think.
audio is out of phase....
I wonder if Cass was pregnant with Owen during this session.
any Beach Boys related stuff from roughly the same time period?
Where were all the drugs?
They were great but I don’t own any of their music because I just can’t accept John Phillips behaviour.
I don't own any either, never bought a thing they did.
But I have everything to ever sang, got it all free by copying! Love their music! John was a peice of shit however. I believe every word MacKenzie wrote in her book, which I did buy.
Sometimes you have to separate the artist from the art
Exactly, still glad we have this music even if he was a jerk, I blame him for the drugs he took, it scrambled his brain
What behavior!!!???
@duaneginn We don't know do we about his behaviour! It's McKensies word against his and he's gone, why didn't she talk up when he was alive...he can't defend himself now.
'Obscure', means he didn't know a thing about the music scene.
..here we are now in the studio bathroom. where clouds of smoke that doesn't smell like cigarettes billows out.... and that funny looking lil square thingy... that's acid... soon the band will be talking to Jesus.
volume is low. shame.
Funny how you can be touched by the musical gods and still be a derelict human being
Sound is out of phase.
A tiny bit. Cool avatar there, by the way. KC's LTIA.
Interesting behind the scenes putting together of a song. Wish they had chosen a better one though...never heard this and it's obvious why. (it's mediocre at best).
Pretty awful bass sound. Joe Osborn, I believe...
FANTASTIC bass sound. Listen and learn.
@@hepphepps8356 Nah - not so much. His sound was much better about 3/4 years down the road (Carpenters and other Cutting Crew gigs) when it had a little more low end and a little less top. This just sounds like a really crap solid-state amp with the high pot on 11. Not at all complimentary to the music, which is the primary role of the bass - to underpin, not overpower....
@@ytnsanw It's a muted bass. That hard thump you hear. Flat and short sound. Fits well with this genre.
@@ytnsanw
Wrecking Crew not Cutting Crew
This is just my opinion, but I don't think this group is going to do very well with the public. For one thing, they just seem very old fashioned to me. Second of all, their band name is just atrocious.
are you serious, or trying to be funny?!
Completely overrated and simplistic. Always were. Far better musicians and lyricists were around at that time.
Denny and Cass were outstanding
Superb audio