Last living member of Mamas & the Papas reveals the band’s dark history

Michelle Phillips, the only ex-Mamas & the Papas member still alive, has opened up about the dark history of the band that existed in the 1960s.

The folk-rock group made up of Michelle, John Phillips, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, was formed in 1965 and was famous for its hits “California Dreamin’” and “Monday, Monday”. In addition, it had a considerable amount of melodrama, which would contribute to its subsequent breakup in 1968.

In a recent interview on a wide range of topics for rolling stoneMichelle, 78, revealed new truths about the band’s dramatic love quadrilateral, her previous marriage to John and her alleged incestuous relationship with her daughter Mackenzie, whom she shared with her first wife, Susan Adams.

After meeting years before founding the band, John and Michelle got married. However, later, during the group’s active years, she had an affair with Doherty.

“John didn’t actually find us having sex, but he came downstairs and I was sitting on Denny’s bed in my nightgown, giving him candy,” Michelle explained. “He said, ‘You can do a lot of things to me, Mich, but you don’t fuck with me.'”

Meanwhile, John had affairs with various women. “He wrote that song ‘Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon,’” Michelle recalled. “I used to say to him, ‘Yeah, John, and you f*cked up all‘”.

The Mamas & the Papas (from left to right): Cass Elliot, Michelle Phillips, Denny Doherty and John Phillips

(AFP via Getty Images)

As the last member alive after Elliot’s untimely death in 1974, after John in 2001 and Doherty in 2007, Michelle revealed her plans to develop a biopic.

“Unfortunately, John is dead. So he can’t get in my way and neither can Denny,” he stated. “Once the wounds in the heart have healed, it becomes a wonderful story.”

She added, “We will make this film possible, against all odds.”

One of the most damning controversies to surface in the book High on Arrival of 2009 was that she alleged that her father, John, had raped her when she was 20 years old.

Mackenzie later wrote that this developed into a consensual incestuous relationship for 10 years.

“Frankly, I don’t think so,” Michelle admitted, then backtracked, saying, “I’m not going to say if it’s true or not, because I don’t think she knows if it’s true or not.”

(Getty Images for Film Independent)

In a statement to rolling stoneMackenzie wrote: “I stand for my truth as I always have and always will.”

“Besides, who the hell would make up a story like mine? With what purpose? Not exactly something to brag about on a resume, for God’s sake… [High on Arrival ] true, and it was up to me to tell that story. If I had to live it, I had the right to tell it.”

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Last living member of Mamas & the Papas reveals the band’s dark history