Mamas and Papas - California Dreamin'

 

Michelle Phillips (born Holly Michelle Gilliam; June 4, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. A native of California, she met and married John Phillips in San Francisco as a teenager, and went on to co-found the vocal group The Mamas & the Papas in 1965. The band rose to fame with their popular singles California Dreamin' and Creeque Alley, both of which Phillips co-wrote. They released five studio albums before their dissolution in 1970. Phillips is the last surviving original member of the group.

 

 

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN (LIVE)

 

Mamas & The Papas - California Dreamin - (TV Stereo Remaster - 1965)

 

The Mamas and the Papas original members Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty perform California Dreamin'. Two of the four founders of The Mamas and the Papas sang their greatest hit live with backup band and vocalists in 2002 concert. Band leader John Phillips and the other original female vocalist Mama Cass Elliot died in 2001 and 1974, respectively. Denny Doherty later died in 2007, leaving Michelle Phillips as the only remaining survivor. The mother of Wilson Phillip's Cynna Phillips turns 74 years old in 2018 and currently resides in Long Beach, CA.

Watch Cal Vid video of mother and daughter together on-stage performing California Dreamin' during the Wilson Phillips concert in Los Angeles https://youtu.be/LX3ynCE8ac0

Then-husband and wife songwriters John Phillips and Michelle Phillips composed the song for Los Angeles-based The Mamas and the Papas. California Dreamin' is No. 89 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The lyrics of the song express the longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter in New York City. California Dreamin' became a signpost of the California Myth and the arrival of the counterculture era.

 

 

 

California Dreamin'
All the leaves are brown
(All the leaves are brown)
And the sky is gray.
(And the sky is gray).
I've been for a walk
(I've been for a walk)
On a winter's day.
(On a winter's day).

I'd be safe and warm
(I'd be safe and warm)
if I was in L.A.
(If I was in L.A.)
California dreamin'
(California dreamin') on such a winter's day.

Stopped in to a church I passed along the way.
Well I got down on my knees
(got down on my knees)
And I pretend to pray.
(I pretend to pray).
You know the preacher likes the cold.
(preacher likes the cold).
He knows I'm gonna stay.
(knows I'm gonna stay).
California dreamin'
(California dreamin') on such a winter's day.

(Bridge)

All the leaves are brown
(All the leaves are brown)
And the sky is gray.
(And the sky is gray).
I've been for a walk
(I've been for a walk)
On a winter's day.
(On a winter's day).

If I didn't tell her
(If I didn't tell her)
I could leave today.
(I could leave today).
California dreamin' (California dreamin')on such a winter's day,
California dreamin' on such a winter's day,
California dreamin' on such a winter's day.