The Mamas And The Papas - Straight Shooter [1965]

[claudiohagi]

Last Train to Claksville.... Monkeys. Plágio???

[72melmo]

This is my second fave Mamas and Papas song. Has anyone noticed that the music sounds eerily similar to Last train to Clarkesville?

[maculata12]

@72melmo i did.

[GratefulDiddy]

One of my favs also! Though I think Cass is everything and more that you all said here and I agree such a loss. But on this song, Straight Shooter it's not Cass Eliot but Michele Phillips that is singing the lead female. This was her "big" solo number, with Case doing back-up vocals.

[karrtt1234]

My favorite Mamas and Papas song !

[frizzlefrap]

mama cass had the voice of an angel ..... and the body of a brahma bull. wonder why she wanted to be so enormous? ..... probably would have had bariatric if she lived in present era!

[frizzlefrap]

haven't heard this song in about .... 40 years ..... awesome ...... magnificent harmony that only these 4 could arrange!

[frizzlefrap]

such a strong vocal group ... especially cass and denny!

[timenglish125]

fun song! good harmony!

[Kermitification77]

This song is priceless!

[superfluousness321]

Cass is omnipotent lol :)

[SeattleLA]

Best music cities of the 60s:

London

Los Angeles

San Francisco

I lived in two of these three, during the era, and it was better than anything before or since.

[GUIDOBRAT]

@SeattleLA ..you forgot NYC & Chicago (The Stones recorded a lot of their 60's classics @ both the Chess Studios in Chicago & RCA studios in Hollywood)

[GUIDOBRAT]

@SeattleLA ..yeah...I'm from NJ/NYC metro area...Rascals, The Left Banke, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, The Critters...etc...all hometown boys :)

[SeattleLA]

@GUIDOBRAT Hi. I am always trying to improve my music history. I have only been to New York once, at age 4, a long time ago. I think Aerosmith is from there

[GUIDOBRAT]

@SeattleLA ..that's cool....:) You're partly right about Aerosmith...:) Steven Tyler (who's real name is Steven Tallerico) is from NJ...but he moved up to Mass. and got together with guitarist Joe Perry... so Aerosmith's actual homebase is Boston...

[SeattleLA]

@GUIDOBRAT Like your photo....and Laugh-In!! And of course you had another event once, I think it was called Woodstock! Cheers.

[GUIDOBRAT]

@SeattleLA LOL..yeah...Ruth Buzzi..."Gladys Hornsby" on Laugh-In...lol...and yeah..Woodstock...up @ Yasgur's Farm in Upstate NY (I only lived a few miles away from the site back then, but my parent wouldnt let me go..lol) and dont forget "Monterey Pop Festival" two years earlier in Cali..!

[SeattleLA]

@GUIDOBRAT Yeah, I have met many people whose parents would not let them go to Woodstock. I think Monterey was the best. I watched Laugh- in, at ages 7-10 back in its day, nowadays I get most of the jokes better. One of my former customers, was the ex wife of Dick Martin.

[GUIDOBRAT]

@SeattleLA ..LOL..I loved Goldie Hawn on there...hahaha

[SeattleLA]

@GUIDOBRAT Ha, you and many others. It is amazing how may of the cast are still alive

[Divinecomedy77]

muy buena cancion i love mama cass 

[LiveVideoAZ]

Hell yeah!!! This gem is awesome....

Thanx for sharing this classic...Stay Gold

[KaptKan1]

A brief but wonderful time in music produced this great group and many, many others. It was a wonderful time to be young in many ways, and the music helped to make up for the many ways in which it was also a terrible time to be young.

There has never been such an explosion of creative musical talent like the 60s.

[freddiemesquit1]

Never realized before how much they sound like The Beatles in this tune. It's a great tune. John wrote this while on the road. He said that he wrote best while driving.

[sonyahannah]

@freddiemesquit1 They DO sound like the Beatles on this one, and the song ALWAYS reminds me of "Day Tripper" -- some of the irony, bits of the melody. Even the phrase "day tripper" can be drug slang, as are most of the "Straight Shooter" lyrics - love 'em both!

[CKDStrider]

Great job Chris! Thank you for putting it together and posting it.

[Shamagogue]

Opening guitar sounds like.. Last Train to Clarksville!

[KaptKan1]

@Shamagogue Actually, it's the other way round...

[Geense1963]

The sound of this song reminds me of the Beatles, it looks a bit like the Beatles song "daytripper". Personally I consider this not the best song of the Mamas and Papas...

[nancybarok]

This is my fave M&P song. There is an amazing documentary about them by the same name. I highly recommend it if you are a fan!

[ElsaWiener]

The '80's gave us the entertaining Ramones from NYC, and all those great punk/new wave groups: The Clash, The Cars, Blondie, and the Queen of Rock, Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders, and many more great and very musically creative groups. There were some cute girl groups in the '80's!! I would not discount the '80's either....but I love the Hollies and their lyrical singable rock. There was a lot of that back in the '60's.

[TheMerlinOfAR]

Im not sure I know what he means

[Jackhuntington]

@TheMerlinOfAR Heroin. Pretty sure.

[mike4asianwoman]

Three Words Mama Cass Elliot!!Love you will see you someday.What a loss.

[Polybun]

@mike4asianwoman one word

heatattack

[GUIDOBRAT]

@mike4asianwoman ..absolutely !! loved Cass...one of the greatest voices of ALL time :)

[SeattleLA]

Such excellent footage.

I met and spoke with a man, last year, who was the first studio and tour drummer for the Mamas and the Papas, and I was able to get a lot of valuable history of the band.

[zo0z3172010]

POWER ****** FLOWER ****** =========== @

[plofus]

I just heard the sheet music for this song was on the piano at Sharon Tates house when she was murdered by the Manson family,I had not heard this one before.

[bwanna23]

That tambourine gets me every time.

[mattdot666]

Sounds very much like The Beatles - You Can't Do That. released the year before... the guitar riff and vocal harmony. I guess it was just popular at the time.

[CCurlysang]

@mattdot666 they actually were commissioned by the recording label to "write music like The Beatles earlier works" so you are pretty much right on! I love the Beatles, much like a lot of other people, so that's why this song for me is an amazing alternate view of their sound if they had two female voices.

[heididauwalter]

Who copied who, the Mamas and Papas or the Monkeys? Style I mean and orchestration.

[balkanigerle]

You Americans, you were great before. And it's a great song of mamas & papas. Thank you for posting! (a central european old girl...:-)

[B52sguy]

You people are mostly in your 20's and eatly 30's. You have no idea except what you read in the tabloids, or other print garbage. This was a group that was typical of the mid 60's and, as such, kept true to their beliefs.

How many of you people can name the singer who was seriously considered for the role Denny played in this group? Maybe 2, if that.

Read some true musical history from people who shared the experience.

Joseph F

[ThePaddyjoejr1]

Mackenzie Phillips is So very Beautiful & HOT!

[nestorguti2176]

@ThePaddyjoejr1  Where is mackenzie phillips in this video?

[Zeppo11]

@nestorguti2176 Mackenzie isn't in the video. She is the daughter to John Phillips, not a member of the group.

[phil1958uk]

This track as a similarity to the Monkees.

[sboubalouta]

EA really ruined this

[landrykkb]

Can't you all just stop reading between the lines and enjoy the song for what it is?It has an ambiguity and mystique because John Phillips never specifically revealed what it's about.

[Desiree50]

was the man in 213 with the white hat Casses husband?

[paperroute50]

they did a show there and I have a photo of Michelle dressed in that long dress jumping on a trampoline in in Hawaii.

[pbrucpaul]

I remember this one really well; terrific harmony. A good Bass and rhythm are  the only things really missing.

[FarrellAndFarrellFan]

Very cool to see all of the rare videos ! :-)

[spayspay]

Is this song about cocaine or heroin?

[courtcol]

@spayspay yep,,, heroin,,,,, john phillips drug of choice during the mid-late 60's--

[BettinaBalser]

@courtcol No. Phillips didn't start with the heroin until he met and married his third wife, Genevieve Waite. This song was written in 1965, several years prior to his meeting Gen.

[courtcol]

@BettinaBalser I would bet a dime to a donut that you were not there doing this time--- and I was !!!!!! you people got to realize that all the folks that were around the music scene on the west coast are N O T dead------just cause you read something does not make it true !!!!!! have a great day---- and keep the rumors going-- even though there is not ANY truth in them they are entertaining I guess---------if you dont believe this song was written about heroin--- you are hopeless

[BettinaBalser]

@spayspay Neither. It was about a drug apparently more powerful than both of them combined, a woman named Holly Michelle Gilliam.

[Shroomeryslearyfan]

@BettinaBalser It's obviously about heroin. "Baby what you're holdin', half of that belongs to me. Cause I'm a real straight shooter if you know what I mean."

[BettinaBalser]

@Shroomeryslearyfan I disagree. This was written in 1965, long before Phillips started his heroin addiction. During his time with Michelle, he focused primarily on pot and psychedelics, as Michelle disapproved mightily of heroin and those who used it.

[Desiree50]

@BettinaBalser But i agree about one thing Michelle was not into heroin she just enjoyed acid trips

[courtcol]

@Shroomeryslearyfan -- you cant tell these pop wanna be's anything---- it is really pathethic,, what some of theseidiots write about people they have never met in their lives !!!!!!!!

[Desiree50]

@BettinaBalser Michelle was a pig when she was married to John.She cheated with so many men esp Denny right under Johns nose.Then she had the nerve to invite Gene Clark who she was doing to a Mamas and Papas concert giving him dead ceneter seats.Shall i go on.LOLLLLL

[landrykkb]

@Desiree50 I think she might have even had something going on with Gram Parsons too,or that was at least suggested in her California Dreamin' biography in 1986,the same year John Phillips released his Papa John one.Some of the stories didn't synchronize between both regarding Mama Cass' death.

[spayspay]

@BettinaBalser It has to be about shooting up heroin or cocaine. "Baby what you're holdin'. Half of that belongs to me. Cause I'm a real straight shooter if you know what I mean."

[Desiree50]

CASS WAS SO PRETTY,SO SAD SHE HAD TO LEAVE SO EARLY.REST IN PEACE MAMA

[landrykkb]

@Desiree50 I once was scared of her as a kid,but I'd have so married her!

[Desiree50]

landrykkb aww your were prob scared cause she was large but she was so beautiful and seemed so funny. may she RIP.

[landrykkb]

@Desiree50 Needless to say,I laugh about that now and ask myself why.It had nothing to do with her being large so much as that image of her in Pufnstuf as a witch.I remember watching that when I had absolutely no idea who she was at all.

[mamalovestv]

He may have been flawed as a human being but John knew how to write good songs!

[landrykkb]

@mamalovestv Then again,all artists are or were flawed human beings!To me,that's what makes them larger than life!

[lorrigrrl]

One of my all-time favorites done by this band. Michelle was always my favorite in the band, and imho, her vocals 'made' this song.  It's great to hear it again. Definately one of those bands where you have to wonder,...will there ever be another like them?

[892lgy7382]

@lorrigrrl Cass was the main female singer of the group. I've got nothing against Michelle, and I think she's a good soprano, but Cass' vocals "made'' the songs.

[MattHatter]

@892lgy7382 Very true. The main female vocal was always Cass and the main male vocal was always Denny. John and Michelle's vocals would then frame or support them.

[892lgy7382]

@MattHatter and John wrote most of the songs.

[MattHatter]

@892lgy7382 True

[freddiemesquit1]

@MattHatter Exactly.  When Denny came aboard, they said that finally they had a "real" singer.

[jennifersman]

at 1:32, man, Michelle Phillips was a fox!

[kreeper57]

Great song-but the cover by Mandy & the Girlfriends was even better!

[christopher60s]

@kreeper57 Nah, i don't think so... M&Ps are M&Ps :)) No one can make better music than them!

[landrykkb]

@kreeper57 I never even knew anybody covered this.

[kreeper57]

@landrykkb It's off a comp disc called "Girls in the Garage-Vol 3" from a German Girl Garage band called Mandy & the Girlfriends. I think it's great!

[acdctnt73]

@kreeper57 Mandy and who ? Mamas and Papas rock !!

[rickelmonoggin]

@kreeper57 I agree- I especially like M&TGs (possibly unintentional) variations in pace throughout the song!

[LarryRickenbacker]

I'd have chosen this number for a single; it's very AM radio friendly with it's guitar riff and catchy style. IMO "Monday, Monday" isn't as logical a single, as it isn't as ..snappy. YMMMV.

[mrsoul856]

Where did they preform in Philly?

[RandomX856]

This song makes me want to do drugs

[RandomX856]

i love this song and this band!!! RIP Cass, John, and Denny. You guys rocked!

[rocker70sman]

I never heard they had some video of them in the virgin islands or all these rare footage. How sweet it is to be watching this. I get close to those remarkable people everyday. R.I.P Cass and denny. Love you Mas and pas till the day i die

[paperroute50]

that footage in in Hawaii, not the VI

[christopher60s]

Really? Where did you heard this? I know M&Ps had concert in Hawaii, when John discriminated Vietnam war there. I think back then police wanted to arrest him... But i'm not shure. If you know more about it it would be glad to know :)

[unclebobunclebob]

@christopher60s what does "discriminated Vietnam war" mean? Are you trying to say "protested"?

[christopher60s]

Yes, protested. Sorry, my mistake :)

[paperroute50]

For one thing the group did not look like that back in 1965 but there is footage of them water skiing there that was shown when Michelle was on her book tour. I think Hawaii but definately not VI.

[landrykkb]

@rocker70sman Most of that footage was seen in their 1988 documentary Straight Shooter.

[coreytx33]

Comments should be about the video or music. Going on and on about tabloid news is a disgrace to the rest of the group that worked very hard to make these songs.

Take the comments about John Phillips to some women's/victims rights forum where you can all feel sorry for Mackenzie and what a victim she was and what a pervert John was.

[christophergenovese]

@coreytx33 agreed.

[coreytx33]

I never voiced my opinion of John Phillips or anyone for that matter. For you to say the best thing to be would be to say nothing, well you should take your own advice. That was sarcasm and if you can't see it, that's your problem.

[mitchum9]

Another great song by the Dark Prince of Hollywood.

Wonderful footage.

Thanks

[0121Bigboy]

laceydays u know nothing shut up go back to sleep

[0121Bigboy]

best song john phillips wrote and as 4 is daughter hes no perv u are a liar hes a star fantastic group love to michelle u were a babe

[laceydays]

bigboy- she is not a liar, and john was a pervert, so fuck you

[B52sguy]

Do any of you people know what this song is REALLY about.

Put it this way, it's one half third person.

JF

[MarshallGreen808]

If by "one half third person" you mean scoring heroin then.. yes, it is.

[sbarr10]

Does anybody know who the two extra people are on the boat with the Mamas & Papas starting at about :45 ?

[djdick73]

Am unsure about the girl, but the guy is Rodney Bingenheimer, I am reasonably certain. It's in the "Mayor of Sunset Strip" movie.

[jennifersman]

@sbarr10 it's from one of their TV appearences, probably American Bandstand, they were probably just audience members put there for atmosphere

[tucsonia]

This is my favorite M and P song. It has a lightness of being that doesn't exist nowadays, it makes me sad to even think about it....

[OmHaver]

The intro reminds me "day tripper" style, of the Beatles, wich they were surely the great influence of the fantastic american group.

[PuttyNathan]

I'm pretty sure thats what they were going for with the intro.

Great song, amazing band.

[sbarr10]

Not only a great song christopher60s but you created a fantastic relevant video to go with the song. I give it a 10.

[vakantieland4]

Hello my hero,

You did a great, great job again! Thank you.

[GoyoTex]

I wish there was a group today doing music even close to as good as this.

[landrykkb]

@GoyoTex They were all such an odd quartet on paper,but their harmonies were second to nobody,and I mean NOBODY!

[MKUltra3]

compared to the losers performing today, these artists look aliens from another, superior dimension

[HankLandMan]

The video is great but the audio has some issues. It's popping. Perhaps you should upload it again.

[mauvetys]

Great video montage with pics.

We enter into the 60's time! :))