Max Stalling~I-35
...but happy St. Paddy's Day anyway! :)
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John Phillips had written the song back in 1963, but it was not until Barry McGuire introduced the future Mamas & Papas to producer Lou Adler in 1965 that they got a chance to record it – as background singers for McGuire’s version. Adler was one of the great geniuses of the business, and he let them record their own version with Bud Shank on alto flute, P. F. Sloan on guitar and the Wrecking Crew musicians in attendance. Shanks’ flute solo and Sloan’s guitar intro constitute two of the greatest moments in the history of popular music.
The group had their own unique mix of harmony and counterpoint, and Adler knew how to make the most of them. It’s a simple tune in D minor, but incredibly beautiful and absolutely unforgettable. It’s still my all time favorite song and performance. When Cass Elliot’s voice rises above the others at 2:19, it’s sheer magic and worthy of a handkerchief.
The song got air play on West Coast radio stations in the late summer of 1965 and very slowly moved east, market by market. I first heard the song on WIBG in Philadelphia on a snowy Saturday morning in December. I got cold chills – and it wasn’t from the snow. In early 1966 the song broke all over again, but this time nationally, and it began a steady climb on the charts. This week it peaked at #4. It was a “sleeper”, and in the end it was the top selling single of 1966.