Troubled Facts About “Papa” John Phillips, The Unhinged Band Leader
He may have been the driving force behind the Mamas & the Papas—but when he wasn’t writing sunny flower-child anthems, John Phillips was intent on destroying himself and everyone in his orbit.
1. He Was A Complicated Man
It’s ironic that one of the co-founders of a band called the Mamas & the Papas ended up being a terrible papa.
It’s also too bad that behind the band’s era-defining, ear-pleasing harmonies, Phillips caused mindblowing amounts of discord and chaos.
To make matters more confusing, one minute Phillips was his charming and talented self, and the next he was careening through cash, substances, relationships, and his career.
If you’re already feeling the whiplash, strap in cause you ain’t seen nothin’ yet…
2. His Father Was A Wild Man
Sure you can chalk up John Phillips’ outlaw persona to his coming of age in the counterculture era, but his wild streak runs all the way back to the Wild West. During WWI, Phillips’ father Claude “saw more boudoirs than battlefields,” and on the ship home, he went on a drinking and card-playing binge that would change his life in unexpected ways…
3. His Father Married A Teenager
A boozy card game, a literal roll of the dice, and all of a sudden Claude had won the deed to a saloon in eastern Oklahoma. Claude wasn’t too excited about his big win until someone mentioned that the town was full of gorgeous Cherokee women.
Just like that, Claude, a ladies man like his future son, was stepping off the train in Okmulgee and settling down with a 16-year-old.
4. He Had An Ominous Start
John Phillips’ knack for catching people off guard started before he was even born. He was a “surprise!” baby who arrived when his siblings were 12 and 10, and his mother was the ripe old age of 31.
He was born on August 30, 1935, in South Carolina, the same week the Labor Day Hurricane destroyed the eastern seaboard.
Phillips later called the storm “a ferociously destructive omen of Hurricane John’s later path”.
