The Mamas & the Papas were a vocal group from Los Angeles, California that was active from 1966 to 1969. Their discography consists of a total of five albums and 17 singles, six of which made the Billboard top ten, and sold close to 40 million records worldwide.[1] "Monday, Monday" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1966 and "California Dreamin'" was the top song on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1966.
| The Mamas & the Papas discography | |
|---|---|
 The Mamas & the Papas in 1967 | |
| Studio albums | 5 |
| EPs | 5 |
| Live albums | 5 |
| Compilation albums | 23 |
| Singles | 17 |
| Video albums | 6 |
| Music videos | 6 |
The Mamas & the Papas' recordings were released on Dunhill Records until 1967, when the company was sold and the label became ABC-Dunhill.[2] Around 1973, ABC-Dunhill discarded all multi-track session recordings and mono masters because they were deemed obsolete and too expensive to store.[3] The original recordings of the Mamas & the Papas, and of labelmates such as Three Dog Night, are therefore lost, and it has been necessary to create digital versions from the stereo album masters, often second- or third-generation tapes. This is why the sound quality of Mamas and Papas' reissues does not match the best from the 1960s. In 2012, Sundazed Records located a mono master of If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears in the UK and released it on 180-gram vinyl and a limited edition of 500 compact discs.[4] Three years later an extensive search of label archives worldwide turned up all the mono singles and mono LP masters from which the 50th Anniversary 2-CD set was made a year later and reissued for Record Store Day in 2018.[5]
The singles "California Dreamin'", "Dream a Little Dream of Me", and "Monday, Monday" have been certified as 3× platinum, platinum, and gold by the RIAA, respectively.[6]
Albums
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [7] |
CAN [8] |
GER [9] |
UK [10] | |||
| If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears |
|
1 | — | — | 3 | |
| The Mamas & the Papas |
|
4 | 10 | 14 | 24 |
|
| Deliver |
|
2 | 3 | 30 | 4 |
|
| The Papas & the Mamas |
|
15 | — | — | — | |
| People Like Us |
|
84 | 55 | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||
Live albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Historic Performances at the Monterey International Pop Festival |
|
| Greatest Hits: Live in 1982 |
|
| Live in Concert |
|
| California Dreamin' |
|
| Live! |
|
Select compilation albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [7] |
AUS [14] |
BEL (FL) [15] |
NL [16] |
UK [10] | |||
| Farewell to the First Golden Era |
|
5 | — | — | — | — |
|
| Golden Era Vol. 2 |
|
53 | — | — | — | — | |
| Hits of Gold |
|
— | — | — | — | 7 | |
| 16 of Their Greatest Hits |
|
61 | 13 | — | — | — | |
| A Gathering of Flowers |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| 20 Golden Hits |
|
186 | — | — | — | — | |
| The Best of the Mamas and the Papas |
|
— | — | — | — | 6 | |
| The ABC Collection |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| The Hit Singles Collection |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| The ★ Collection |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| Creeque Alley: The History of the Mamas and the Papas |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| California Dreamin': The Very Best of the Mamas and the Papas |
|
— | — | 45 | 33 | 14 | |
| California Dreamin': The Greatest Hits of the Mamas and the Papas |
|
— | — | — | — | 30 | |
| Greatest Hits |
|
123 | — | — | — | — | |
| Before They Were the Mamas & the Papas... The Magic Circle |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Mamas & the Papas |
|
— | — | — | — | — |
|
| All the Leaves Are Brown: The Golden Era Collection |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| Complete Anthology (4-disc box set) |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| Gold |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| California Dreamin': The Best of the Mamas and the Papas |
|
— | — | — | — | 21 | |
| Icon |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| The Complete Singles (50th Anniversary Collection) |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| Ultimate Anthology |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||
Video albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Straight Shooter |
|
| The Very Best of the Mamas and the Papas |
|
| California Dreamin': The Songs of the Mamas and the Papas |
|
| The Mamas & the Papas & Other '60s Greats |
|
| Legends of the Canyon |
|
| The Ed Sullivan Show Presents: The Mamas & the Papas |
|
| The Ed Sullivan Show Presents: California Dreaming' - The Songs of the Mamas & the Papas |
|
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [19] |
AUS [14] |
BEL (FL) [15] |
BEL (WA) [20] |
CAN [21] |
GER [9] |
NL [16] |
NZ [22] |
SA [23] |
UK [10] | ||||
| "Go Where You Wanna Go" | 1965 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears | |
| "California Dreamin'" | 4 | 87 | — | — | 3 | 31 | — | 14 | — | 9 |
| ||
| "Monday, Monday" | 1966 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| |
| "I Saw Her Again" | 5 | 9 | — | 47 | 1 | 21 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 11 | The Mamas & the Papas | ||
| "Look Through My Window" | 24 | 67 | — | — | 5 | — | — | 18 | — | 53[a] | Deliver | ||
| "Words of Love" | 5 | 6 | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | 47 | The Mamas & the Papas | ||
| "Dancing in the Street" | 73 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Dedicated to the One I Love" | 1967 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 26 | 15 | 10 | 2 | 2 | Deliver | |
| "Creeque Alley" | 5 | 4 | — | 26 | 1 | — | — | 16 | 19 | 9 | |||
| "Twelve Thirty" | 20 | 20 | — | — | 14 | — | — | 11 | 16 | 51[a] | The Papas & the Mamas | ||
| "Glad to Be Unhappy" | 26 | 55 | — | — | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | Golden Era Vol. 2 | ||
| "Dancing Bear" | 51 | — | — | — | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | The Mamas & the Papas | ||
| "Safe in My Garden" | 1968 | 53 | 86 | — | — | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | The Papas & the Mamas | |
| "Dream a Little Dream of Me" | 12 | 1 | — | — | 7 | 5 | — | — | 8 | 11[b] |
| ||
| "For the Love of Ivy" | 81 | — | — | — | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Do You Wanna Dance" | 76 | — | — | — | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears | ||
| "Step Out" | 1972 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | People Like Us | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ "The Mamas and the Papas", Last.fm. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "Bobby [Roberts] and Lou [Adler], some time earlier, had come to us and begged us to give them a two-year extension on our contract...based on that we agreed to the extension, and we woke up two days later to read in the trades that Dunhill had been sold. Maybe for business reasons, whatever, we could not be told. At any rate we were sold, and it was a real nasty piece of business. Bobby, Lou, and Jay [Lasker] picked up a million apiece – we got nothing. We would one day look back and see that it was the beginning of the end for our recording, really. ABC did not understand us at all". Michelle Phillips, California Dreamin' , pp. 128–129.
- ^ "ABC-Paramount Records Story". Bsnpubs.com. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^ "The Mamas and the Papas: If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears". Sundazed.com. Retrieved on 15 April 2012.
- ^ (liner notes of the aforementioned CD)
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA.
- ^ a b "The Mamas & the Papas Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ RPM chart positions:
- The Mamas & the Papas: "RPM 25 Top LPs" (PDF). RPM. 7 (3). March 18, 1967. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- Deliver: "RPM 25 Top LPs" (PDF). RPM. 7 (18). July 1, 1967. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- People Like Us: "RPM 100 Albums" (PDF). RPM. 16 (19). December 25, 1971. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ a b "Discographie von The Mamas & the Papas". Offizielle Deutsche Charts (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Mamas & The Papas". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ "American album certifications – The Mamas and the Papas – If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ^ "American album certifications – The Mamas and the Papas – The Mamas and the Papas". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ^ "American album certifications – The Mamas and the Papas – The Mamas & The Papas Deliver". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 190. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ a b "Discografie The Mamas & the Papas". Ultratop Vlaanderen (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ a b "Discografie The Mamas & the Papas". Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ "American album certifications – The Mamas and the Papas – Farewell to the First Golden Era". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ "The Mamas & the Papas Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ "Discographie The Mamas & the Papas". Ultratop Wallonie (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ "Results: RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
- ^ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
- ^ "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts (M)". Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
- ^ a b c "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
- ^ "Mamas & The Papas". Official Charts. Official Chart Company. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
External links
edit- The Mamas & the Papas discography at AllMusic
- The Mamas & the Papas discography discography at Discogs