The Mamas & The Papas - Dancing Bear

[geneciampi]

This has always been one of my favorites, honestly.

[Carlosmization]

Sem dúvida, é a melhor música de todos os tempo. A hist´ria de vida tb contada através da música é emocionante. Não enjoo de ouvi esta música. Me traz Paz.

Parabéns!

[briwolfe1]

This ain't no "California Dreamin'".

[GeistFright]

@briwolfe1 No, sirree.

[claylehman]

This one seems to have been hidden by the protest songs of the 60's. A wonderful piece of music.

[stormey72]

This is one of my favorite groups , they were good singers.I loved the song to . Thanks,

[cjserrot]

One of my all time favorite songs of the Mamas and the Papas. Timeless...

[chopinrachliszt]

love the use of the oboe and bassoon in this song - OMG - sooooo beautiful!!

[Pal0mino35]

I wonder who can dislike this song... There are 7

[Pal0mino35]

I wonder who can dislike this song... There are 7

[hookahclouds]

"I'd rather be the gypsy who's camped at the edge of town."

[sancnsong]

Love this.. I'm pretty sure I'm the only teenager that listens to this HaHa. I'm the only one I've met anyway.

[awcheese]

@sancnsong You aren't alone. I'm 20 but i have been listening to the Mamas and Papas since I was ab 14 :D

[sancnsong]

@awcheese awesome. :) 

[TheCjerozuk]

@sancnsong i love them! ahaha

one of my favorite musical groups.

[sancnsong]

@TheCjerozuk Me too! HaHa. Although, it's nothing like the other music I listen to. :) Anywhoo, you have good taste in music if you like them, :)

[mrREDBIRDFAN]

@sancnsong You have good taste. Pretty much the first group that blended guys and gals vocals. It worked.

[sancnsong]

@mrREDBIRDFAN Thanks. :)

[SIGNALSTAT]

hell now days all people do is call a step in time to come clean your chimmley

[SeattleLA]

Denny said that this was his very favorite Mamas song.

[WazziGltd]

oops wrong "dancing bear"

[TheCjerozuk]

@WazziGltd ahahaha

[Ray4564]

another great song.

[2hamboigahs]

A dancing bear...yeah right! Whoever booked these guys for this gig oughta be shot!!! They're not into in it! its cheesy cant you tell by the looks on their faces?

Still cool to see them!

[Dwotal]

@2hamboigahs

They were lip syncing thats why it looks so cheesy.

[alabhaois]

@Dwotal Everyone lip-synched back then at live shows

[MrTweeto]

Treesin.

[Syzygy60]

john phillips wote these songsI don't want people to forget hom

[Syzygy60]

john phillips wote these songs

[yourdickis2limp]

@Syzygy60 before or after he fornacated with his daughters?

[GabrielDhalaman]

there´s magic here,not only beautiful music,a beauti ful hidden magic

[vakantieland4]

Somewhere I read that this performance was the first one after Michelle was "allowed back" in the group. She does not look very relaxed indeed.

[CurlyHairChris]

Very pretty song, unusual too ! Denny reminds me of John Lennon here.

[wendelinn]

I'll be playing this on Continental drift - 10radio.org - Friday Aug. 27, 5:30 to 7 pm in the UK and 9:30 to 11 am in California and BC. T see playlist go to wendelinn.

[kim0loves0chickfila]

wow their harmony is awesome

[Syzygy60]

he mostly talked of a drug dependancy,pretty boring after a while

[Syzygy60]

I read john phillips biography

[Syzygy60]

ok,i'll make some

[desatormentandome]

Just a guitar, a flute and a bunch of beautiful voices. Thanks for this moment of peace.

[MsStarsea]

Reminds me of Simon & Garfunkel's cover of "El Condor Pasa".

[laurosthetauros]

Amazing...

[LR959]

I love this song. The Mamas and The Papas were a bit before my time, but I was intro'd by my history teacher a few years back, and now I can't get enough!!

[RandyAKing]

One of my faves!

[nettozu]

hats off!! is the mamas and papas... rock on USA rock on

[rocktolovetolive]

absolutely agree with you pennywisea,

he had best voice ever, this song is one of the best ever, just becaouse denny

R.I.P. denny, cass, john

[Pennywisea]

seriously. Denny Doerty definitely "sing the birds out of the trees"

[phaniemorrison]

beatiful song!!!! I love it

[Richierich53]

Christopher60s, you have a great M&P page and post a lot of cool stuff, but where do you get your info? I know Jill in the book "Go Where You Wanna Go" claimed to "sing" the second album (in the shower? in the 4 concerts she did with the group?) but no one backs up her claim. Lou Adler said she maybe recorded 6, which were later re-recorded with Mich. I got info from someone with access to studio logs that Words of Love was recorded 4-26-66. Mich was fired 6-28-66, and back by 8-23-66.

[christopher60s]

Hey thanks :)

Jill sang all the songs from second album except "Dancing in The Street" and "Once was a time i thought". Jill claimed that.

[Richierich53]

I'm sorry, but I don't believe Jill Gibson. M&P producer Lou Adler contradicts her claims in the same book and said she only recorded about 6 songs with the group. Jill was only part of the group about 7 weeks. Michelle had already recorded half of the second album in April 66 before she was fired. Jill may very well be on some songs, but not 10. She says she "sang" 10 songs...maybe she meant when she did some concerts with them. No proof she recorded that many

[christopher60s]

But it's accuarate fact, and it's noticed that Jill and M&Ps had a lot of concerts together in Summer of 1966, it was July. They were in Dallas, NY, San Francisco and Phonenix.

[Richierich53]

It's not a proven fact. Just because Gibson said it does not make it true. What about Lou Adler, the M&P's producer? He was there in 1966 also and is quoted as saying Gibson's claim is not true. Adler determined what was on the final record and he said many of Gibson's recorded vocals were dropped. I believe him over Gibson.

[mredtheanalyst]

I wish it was 1966. :(

[christopher60s]

Jill Gibson was replaced by Michell in the summer of 1966, and the second M&Ps album was recorded with Jill (Not Michelle!). Later Michelle came back to the group and album with Jill was scratched. They re recorded album with Michelle. But you should know some facts: that "no" on Words Of Love is not said by Michelle it's said by Jill, Jill also left on Strange Young Girls and some other songs you can hear her clearly.

[thisislewisj8]

what you on about??

[xXxRav3rRawrBabyxXx]

Beautiful. :) <3

[bobmarleycripsy]

mama cass puts so much emotion into her singing, she is amazing.

[monkeybot1000]

Ho is he/she??

[Rcpengy123]

i have a friend that looks a whole lot like michelle

[Victorian9322]

Honestly, Mama Cass was prettier than the other girl!!!! I love Mama Cass!

[LueybeaBEAST]

@Victorian9322 i think that michelle and mama cass are both beautiful in different ways and both their voices are extremely soulful

[Richierich53]

Great song and video. Although Michelle performs it here, rumor has it that this is one of 3 or4 songs that have Jill Gibson vocals on them, recorded when Michelle was fired from the group for two months. Michelle had recorded half of their second album before she left, and then several songs when she came back, including re-recording some Gibson performances. But it is believed that a few Gibson vocals remained on their second album.

[highstrung78357]

Hmm...interesting comment I had no idea.

[freeperjim]

Jill Gibson is definitely on this track.

Jill was the ex-boyfriend of Jan Berry (Jan & Dean) and was the current squeeze of M&P's producer, Lou Adler. She certainly had a MUCH better voice than Michelle who was more beautiful although Jill was quite the hottie herself.

[Richierich53]

I would disagree that Jill had a better voice. She was on only a few M&P songs, and never by herself. If you search Jill Gibson on YouTube, you will find a solo song by her called "1,2,3" I'm sorry, but it is bad. She was not a good singer. You can also find solo recordings by Michelle on You Tube ..."No Love Today, Aching Kind, There She Goes".... let alone the classics she was featured on out front with the M&Ps...like Got a Feeling and Dedicated to the One I Love. Michelle sang much better.

[CharmedPrue140]

Yeah I believe it's correct, but then again Jill nor Michelle could tell what was on the final mix of the album. Jill recorded "about 3 or 4" songs according to the Mamas & Papas book. Michelle, as you said, recorded half the songs which is about 5, so that means Jill recorded the remainder of the tracks, but when Michelle returned, I assume they dubbed the tracks over. I could be wrong.

[lasvegasjh]

this is some seriously drug induced song writing! But you gotta love them

[WilburyVision]

I thought I know most of the M&P's songs, but for some reason this isn't well known in the UK. It was never on any of their compilation albums. Weird absence, because it's pretty ambitious.

[johnsmusicbox]

Even weirder, considering that it was a single, Dunhill 4113 in the US (top US chart position, #51 Billboard Hot 100, #36 Cashbox, not sure if it charted in the UK though...).

[sskkaattmmaanndduu]

esta rola esta chingona

[marlo9dreambrando]

does anybody know the chords for this? pleaaassseee... :)

[FromHolbergsTime]

An evocative favorite from this much-remembered Sixties group. Their harmonies strike fundamental chords even now. I've always loved how this song seemed to drift between fantasy and dream. It is like entering a musical forest and becoming enchanted with the surroundings one encounters. The opening and closing segments almost sound like Stravinsky in the manner of woodwinds and flutes, capturing the flavor of a Gypsy festival within hearing distance of a magical waterfall in the deep woods.

[courtcol]

you got that relationship all wrong!!! but that is what alot people want to think-- in love--- dont think so!!!! I agree denny was the best choice possible, at that time...

[B52sguy]

Scott McKensie of "San Francisco was almost picked by John Phillips instead of Denny. Scotts voice couldn't hit the high notes with John, so Denny was chosen after all auditions for the group.

This is such a beautiful song. Rememner laying on the bed and listening to it and just dreaming..

JF

[frumble10]

this song is so eerie...but it's AWESOME!!

[kelly901488]

yeah i think so too.

[khippieforlife]

I love Mama Cass She was my fav out of the whole group.

[ranchoboyeros]

wonderful song!Mama Cass was one of the greatest songs ever

[vixceous]

their best song i think

[californiaguitarist]

It bugs me though that this is only like half of the actual song.

[garyifny]

This is a lovely little song--one of my favorites from them that you rarely hear.

[paperroute50]

Love 'MICHELLE'S' voice on this.

[haib7]

michelle looks very ' out of it here'.

[vixceous]

thats cause shes high as hell

[elephanthulfe]

Громаден талант Джона Филлипса, но, к сожалению, до конца не реализован.

Это судьба многих гениев.

[kinggirl07]

i wish there were still songs like this. so natural yet beautiful. all u need is harmony and a guitar. but now everyone uses computers and dubs things. (not hating on todays music though)

[chewycakes]

@kinggirl07 Look up the fleet foxes. They're new, good , and fit your criteria. They're very heavily influenced by the mamas & the papas.

[slave290]

@kinggirl07:

Its out there. Just keep looking.

And there was plenty of crap music back then, BELIEVE ME. Don't be a victim of the 'Halcyon Days of Yesteryear'.

[tjthump]

The skinny girl and the fat girl are beautiful and hot.

[pauliewood]

Michelle Phillips does a great job lip synching this song in "live" tv performaces, as in this clip, but it is Jill Gibson's voice that recorded this song with the group in summer of 1966. Michelle was fired from the group during the period that second album was recorded, only to return to record two songs out of the twelve released.

[dopefloat4]

beautiful! ...

[WildchildoftheEarth]

I'm just 20 yrs. old, but the Mamas and Paps is one of my favourite bands... Their music makes me dream of better times. Love and Peace...

[Artsettimavn]

This is my favourite song of theirs, but the times weren't good then either. We were in the middle of a very unpopular war--Vietnam--and all my friends were being DRAFTED and sent there. The hippie movement of which these guys were a part was a reaction to that, and a protest for peace. But at least the boomers did something about it and staged protests and sit-ins, and got in the face of authority to tell them it was wrong.

[john8750]

Your right.

The 60's was great.

Wish we were still there.

[maiconrcorrea]

Seu Madruga!

[petermoli]

eso si es musica!!!!

[susan462]

that was amazing thanks for posting..

[charltonian]

Fantastic! One of my fave Mamas and Papas songs. John says pity he never really finished the song! True. But what was done is so perfect!

[alexyhcrana]

didn't expect to see this song on here

[MrZol]

take any member away from this band and you lose the mama's and papa's sound.

[alexyhcrana]

are you sure? John Philips didn't seem to think so, he would just super impose someone else that looks close enough.

[Sshelly34213]

My fave Mamas and Papas song ^_^ Thanks for posting!

[PennyLane897]

Lovly voices

[PennyLane897]

I will always wonder what John sings in the background while their singing the round

[Staszu13]

I forgot how wonderful Denny's voice was.

[wsm0001]

"dancing Bear" was indeed one of the lovliest, most haunting songs the M's & P's recorded. But I am very surprised at the quality of this video; just wonderful!

[tweasha]

my sister introduced me to this song years ago, she had it on an old cassette tape,i didnt know it was the mamas and papas at the time , where do you get all this footage from, its just brill

[ghostgal30e]

Outstanding 5***** G.G.

[beckycelebration]

I wouldn't want to be a chimney sweep,

all black from head to foot

from climbing in them chimneys

and cleaning out that soot

with a broom and ladder and nail

the darkened walls i scale

and far..and high..

I see a patch of sky

[beckycelebration]

I'd rather be the gypsy who's camped aat the edge of town the one who has the dancing bear that follows him around and he lifts his big foot up puts his big foot down then bows..then twirls.. then dances round and round i found i was a cabin boy last night as i did dream bound aboard a magic ship for a land i'd never seen

[beckycelebration]

and the moon she filled our sails and the stars they steered our course and on..our bow.. there was a golden horse the queen eats fruit and candy the bishop nuts and cheese and when i am a grown man i'll taste just what i please the honey from the bee the shellfish from the sea the earth, the wind, a girl someone to share these things with me

[imbetterthanyour]

they look like robots

[sporty04]

Man could Denny sing.  This rocks!

[Sshelly34213]

aw Denny's voice is so pretty

[oceandiver75]

I love the music of The Mamas and the Papas. This song is one of my favorites. What a voice Denny had. John was a great songwriter.

[athome323]

Where can you read about the inspiration or story behind this (and other) songs?

[Guthrie777]

This is my favorite song by the Mamas and the Papas.

[fromthesidelines]

John later commented that he could never find a proper ending to the song- he was always disappointed that he couldn't finish it to his satifaction...

[Sshelly34213]

imo that's what makes the song so great, its like the limitless expansion of dreams and imagination, it could go on forever.

[pinkbubblegumpie]

Denny had such a beautiful voice.

[ilovemarciabrady]

Aww to bad it's not the whole song.

Oh well still groovy though!

[tmtrcclby]

Thank you! This is one of my favorite songs of all time.

[MTDunn2]

Thank you for posting this. Again, the clarity is perfect. This is such a rare performance, and is one of my favorite Mamas and Papas songs. Now find the full-length version of 12:30 from the Sullivan show.

[ZimmermanFan1]

Thanks for the upload. I've been trying to find this for ages! Lovely Song.

[ZimmermanFan1]

Thanks for uploading! I've been looking for this for ages. Lovely song, Peace