Go Where You Wanna Go: The Oral History of The Mamas and The Papas

by Matthew Greenwald

Go Where You Wanna Go collects the memories of band members John and Michelle Phillips, Cass Elliot, and Denny Doherty, along with recollections from friends, fellow musicians, industry insiders, and other eyewitnesses. In Greenwald's hands, the intertwining interviews tell the story of the band from its early days in downtown New York to its global success following the release of "California Dreamin'."

As the testimonials reveal, the band that harmonized together perfectly was loaded with conflicts. Michelle's brief affair with Denny enraged a jealous Cass, and led to John's temporarily kicking Michelle out of the band. Their trip to the top of the pop music ladder further eroded the band's unity, as its members found themselves living in separate mansions in California, finding it increasingly difficult to tour and perform together.

In addition to new interviews with Michelle and Denny, Go Where You Wanna Go includes material from an in-depth and never-before-published interview with the late Cass Elliot. Other people speaking out in the book include David Crosby and Graham Nash (introduced to each other by Cass), Ray Manzarek and drummer Hal Blaine, musician and record producer P. F. Sloan, photographer Guy Webster and Kingston Trio songwriter John Stewart, and dozens of others.

The tale of The Mamas & The Papas is the quintessential story of pop music in the 60s; holding on to the youthful dreams and love of music while caught in the whirl of sex, drugs, and million-dollar deals. Go Where You Wanna Go revisits-in the words of those who were there-that time when four talented people added an unforgettable new sound to America's music.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2002

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book taught me that it's very important to have a good editor so you won't accidentally use there/they're/their incorrectly two times on the same page. Whoops.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have I read this already? I just picked it up the other day and it seems mighty familiar...I definitely read too many of these oral histories. Having read John Phillips' autobio, Papa John, and Michelle Phillips' bio, They Made a Mama Out of Me, or whatever it was called--probably California Dreamin'--it is interesting to read what all the ancillary people had to say about the band. Also included is a Cass Eliot interview and lots of stuff from Denny, who seems like kind a jerk, especially in the way he treated Cass. Lots of gooey stuff about living in Laurel Canyon with the likes of David Crosby (nuff said) and all those Monterey Pop people. After reading Mackenzie Phillips book a few years ago, the one where she laid the bombshell about her father, that information kind of clouds my perception of old Papa John. Maybe I should talk about Mackenzie's book in its own review. Stay tuned.

Still reading...this book is badly in need of a doog editor. Denny's comments especially sound inane but would benefit from some tightening up of thought...

Still reading...keeps getting worse and worse. I have to stop. John Phillips wasnt so much a genius as an ass. Michelle seems vapid, loves to reminisce about all the drugs they too and how great they were. Denny sees himself doing standup. Cass comes off the best and it's only because she died before she could make a fool of herself. Ugh.

So I finished the book, then listened to some M&P greatest hits on the plane on the way to LA. Those WERE some great songs.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read even though I still find it sad that this group were just a meteor flashing across the sky. Great music great people. The music is ageless.

[Mara Schuessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

As others have noted, it appears that no one proofread this book before it went to publication: it is littered with misspellings and grammatical errors — significant errors which change the meaning of the sentences. Also, the disjointed preface by the author and rambling word-salad introduction by Andrew Loog Oldham made me want to give up on the book before it even started. However, perseverance pays off because this is actually a very interesting oral history and in some ways more informative than a traditional biography.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting to hear from the people involved in making The Mamas and The Papas. Would liekd to had had more contribution from Cass.

The publisher should be embarrassed by such a poor product. Was there ANY proofing and editing done?

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off kinda shaky, but then got better as things went along. By the end it gave us a pretty good picture of the Magic Circle. Just one thing: next time hire a proofreader, you guys! (it got to be a real circus in there sometimes). Oh yeah, and avoid the Andrew Loog Oldham intro like the plague of phonemes it is (no great mystery why the guy now hails from Colombia).

[Paula Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greenwald did a great job with assembling all of these interviews in a way that was chronological and that made sense to read. There were some typos, but it didn't detract much. The intro by Oldham was unreadable, but the inclusion of the John Stewart tribute and Lou Adler's John Phillips eulogy was great.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I like how the members and other people got to speak a la The Beatles Anthology. Great music too! So sad that three of the four are gone now.