Creeque Alley - The Mamas & The Papas 1967 (with visual aids)
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
- This is Creeque Alley, a song by The Mamas and the Papas from their album Deliver in 1967. The song is autobiographical and tells the story of how The Mamas and the Papas came to be.
Using the Ed Sullivan Show performance as the background, I've added visual aids such as text, photos, and video clips to help explain what's going on in the song. There's a specific meaning to almost every edit I've added.
I've also used the original single version of the audio which has clearer vocals and horns. It's harder to come across this version but seems to be the most liked!
“The Mamas & the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group was composed of Americans John Phillips, Cass Elliot, and Michelle Phillips and Canadian Denny Doherty. Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips,[2] the songwriter, musician, and leader of the group, who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early 1960s.”
Each edit explained:
0:17 The New Journeymen. John and Michelle Phillips with Marshall Brickman before he was replaced by Denny.
0:23 The Halifax Three. Denny Doherty, Pat LaCroix, and Richard Byrne (Zal Yanovsky not shown)
0:28 Literally a picture of John Sebastian sitting in a coffeehouse
0:35 Roger McGuinn of the Byrds and Barry McGuire of The New Christy Minstrels, who were rising to fame with their hits Mr. Tambourine Man and Green Green respectively
0:48 South as in New York as they are Canadian
1:01 Actual photo of John Sebastian sitting at the Night Owl (a cafe in Greenwich village)
1:24 “No I didn’t” is referring to the fact that Cass Elliot never planned to go to Swarthmore but John just needed something to rhyme with sophomore. She actually briefly attended American University in DC and planned to go to Goucher College in Baltimore but never did
1:28 The New Jersey Turnpike which is what Cass would’ve used to get from Delaware to New York
1:35 Cass was in love with Denny since they met and she even proposed to him before the group split up
1:40 The Mugwumps. Zal Yanovsky, Jim Hendricks, Cass, and Denny (John Sebastian not shown)
1:56 They look solemn in most of these pictures and this line is about how The Mugwumps were not doing well and would inevitably break up.
2:09 The Lovin’ Spoonful. Zal Yanovsky, John Sebastian, Joe Butler, Steve Boone
2:11 The New Journeymen after Denny replaces Marshall Brickman
2:16 The Byrds on The Ed Sullivan Show and Barry McGuire on Hullabaloo. The Byrds continued to rise with songs like Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn! Turn! Turn!, and Barry McGuire with Eve of Destruction
2:26-2:58 Footage of New York taken from a documentary about The Mamas and the Papas
3:05 They spun a globe and where ever Michelle put her finger is where the group would go, which was St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Footage of Michelle at St. Thomas
3:11 Michelle actually stated that she saw a tiny dot on the beach that got closer and closer until she realized it was Cass, who had come to surprise them
3:15 Only footage I know of of Cass with the group at St. Thomas
3:17 They literally slept in tents on the beach
3:16 Duffy was a bar owner who helped the group out with gigs and other things
3:36 California Dreamin’ topped at #4 so it became a reality literally (they went to LA to record) and figuratively (they became very successful)
Hope that helps😊
Thanks for the incredible time that you gave this (ie. clips and putting them in context). I grew up listening to The Mamas and The Papas and loved every minute of their songs. I just turned my 21 year old son onto their songs too, with his downloading a couple onto his playlist of his favorite songs.
@@Au60schild thank you for your comment!! I love making these videos, and appreciative comments like this only makes me love it even more😊 that’s awesome that your son is getting into them too! I’ve known of them forever but only really started listening this past year, I wish I had listened at 21!!
Awesome recap...of the song and the Mama and the Papas history.
👌...Very comptehensive...
This damn song has been stuck in my head for the past 2 months since I first heard it. I was totally born 30 years too late. I would've been there.
Great story great song and happy times. I sure miss the late '60s and early 70s. Never ever will there be wonderful times and memories like that. The music is untouchable now.
Mama Cass May have Been Big... But She Was Beautiful...!!!
Wonderful...the best I've ever seen...the pictures were the icing on the cake....thanks
Fantastic voices in a great storyline for this song. They were really a great group. Without Cass they would be nothing.
I knew the history of the lyrics but man.... the visual aids you put in is GREAT. Must have taken you a while to do it. Thanks.
WOW! This is like a Mamas & The Papas documentary, only better. Great job.
Great video! Love the pictures! Especially the color pic of The Mugwumps on stage! That's one I had never seen before! Thanks for this!
I am fan of mamas and papas forever 👍👍❤
Being forced to sing a song mocking you. While the other lady Michelle smiles every time mama cass is mentioned
She claimed that she loved it but it’s written all over her face how she really felt😞 especially if you know the contentious relationship Cass and John had. I don’t think Michelle was making fun though, I think smiling and looking at Cass was her way of trying to be there for her
When John showed the lyrics to michelle, she told him she would never sing that. They showed it to Cass and she love it.
Of course, Ed sullivand was much later...maybe she got tired of it, and also being call "mama cass".
@@benoitbiron3632 part of me suspects that she just said she loved it because she didn’t want to show John any sign of weakness!
i doubt she’d hate it, the lyrics refer to her being pregnant and no one knowing else then the band. it’s an inside joke, not a dig at her weight
Yeah. Michelle was always a crunddt. She slept with Denny when Cass was head over heels in love with him. Cass begged her not to ,saying she could have ANY guy- why Denny? Michelle answered “ because I CAN”. Supposedly. I wasn’t there.
Mama Cass was the best period. She is the reason this group had so much success. Love you Cass ❤❤ RIP beautiful angel 😇😇
Those were the days!
Awesome video and great explanations of what the lyrics referred to.
Mama Cass was so wonderful. We love you rip sweet angel ❤
this is amazing
Superb
Everything about this is brilliant. Thank you.
Thanks so much!!
Thank you for pointing out who Mama Cass is 🤣😍
@@ChadElk88 haha just in case!😝
Hard to believe it’s been fifty years ago today….I hope she’s with her friend Sharon in the great unknown…..
I Love them just love them
Love the added visuals.
My favorite Mamaa and Papas song. Thanks for sharing the video.
Nice job. Thanks for the effort.
I like mama cass she's a cool lady! She has a sweet personality and how sad how people treated her because of her size! I hope she is happy !
He who dwells within the body is eternal and can never be slain.
Brilliant
Read somewhere that John didn’t want Cass in the group because of her size. He was rude AF to her despite her incredible voice.
This is true. He claimed her voice didn’t fit the “sound” he had envisioned for the group, but in reality it was because of her weight. They both had strong personalities and clashed a lot during their time together as The M&Ps.
HOW THIS SONG MAKES ME SO MUCH OF BEING YOUNG. Robbie PHILADELPHIA PA FISHTOWN
He who dwells within the body is eternal and can never be slain. Gita
Fab song! Cass,DIRECTLY DISSED UPON IT! WHAT A STRONG LADY! 🥰🌹🌹🌹SEE MICHELLE SMIRKING THROUGH IT I COULD SLAP HER ACROSS HER FACE FOR THE ULTIMATE DISRESPECT Of My CASS! AFTER ALL THE BAND WOULDVE BEEN SHIT WITHOUT HER!
Maybe you need to take some acting classes. That was not a smirk, it was a friendly casual affirming smile. And it was immature of you and there was no need for you yelling your comment.
Cass and Michelle were great friends. Stop your nonsense.
Wow…..great vocals with no auto tune….weird 🤔
I hate that line about cass
Ah, But Miss Cass was so comfortable in her own skin that you could see that she was not offended, and that is more important than the opinions of society at large. Look at her face as she sings that line. Her condition medical or otherwise is none of our business, unless she would want to air out whatever laundry would need airing out that would be her business. So, get a life!
I've heard it said that the line refers to the fact that Cass was the only one making money.
Imagine how crap these would have been without cass elliot
Cass and Denny were the great vocal talents. John was the great songwriter. Michelle added some female beauty (and she wasn't bad as a singer but not as good as Cass).
I have a cd of the Mamas & the Papas: live in 1982. They sound terrible. Cass (no longer alive) had been replaced by Spanky McFarlane (not half as good) and Denny's voice wasn't as good as it used to be. Michelle (divorced from John so she didn't want to participate) was replaced by Mackenzie Phillips. She did a good job, but she couldn't compensate for the others.
Музика тисячоліття
Actually, Joan and Mitchy refers to Roberta Joan Anderson…a/k/a Joni Mitchell and her first husband Chuck Mitchell
@@jodyhoevel6393 no the words are “John and Mitchie” referring to John and Michelle Phillips. This is an autobiographical song of sorts.