(Credits: Far Out / ABC Television)
Wed 4 March 2026 1:00, UK
Flicking back through the history books of rock and roll, one place jumps out as the place to be – particularly during the end of the 1960s, when free love was running wild, and musicians were penning endless hits to soundtrack this era of liberation, that place was none other than the sunny climate of California.
Whether it was the melodic hills of Laurel Canyon or the glamorous runways of Hollywood Boulevard, the sunshine state became a beacon of opportunity, and even during the Eagles’ cautionary tale of Hotel California, there was a subtle sense of allure that made this faraway land feel somewhat seductive.
But perhaps a song that encapsulated the feeling of Californian bliss better than the rest was The Mamas and the Papas’ aptly titled ‘California Dreamin’’. The harmonies felt like the cool breeze that sweeps through the coastal vista, while the opening guitar line and subsequent flute solo felt like the sort of haunting soundtrack for the seedy happenings of a late-night Los Angeles evening.
More than that, it showcased the collaborative liberation that existed within the Californian music scene at the time. Recorded in the same studio where The Beach Boys recorded Pet Sounds, United Western Recorders, the band found themselves in the eye of a creative storm, where iconic session musicians could be found regularly circulating.
On this track, The Mamas and the Papas recruited some of the most iconic, including Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel, Joe Osborn (bass) and PF Sloan. While Sloan acknowledged that the early foundations of the idea instantly displayed magic, it was his own contribution that took it into the realms of iconic.
He recalled, “The ‘California Dreamin” session was magical. John [Phillips] was very nervous. Nobody particularly liked the song, and to be honest with you, ‘California Dreamin” was maybe three or four chords. I added the ‘Walk – Don’t Run’ Ventures guitar riffs for that ‘da da da da da da’. That was all creative work inside the studio when I heard them singing on mic. I had recorded them with Barry McGuire on his second album, so I knew how good they were.”
It became the song that defined the band, and it also became the envy of musicians all over. Both The Carpenters and The Beach Boys recorded a version of this song, in a desperate attempt to match the band’s greatness, which seemed to have them charted on a trajectory of all-time greatness.
But what happened to The Mamas and the Papas?
Just two years after the release of this single, the band split up. While the song was followed with a string of hits, none of them quite hit the same heights as ‘California Dreamin” and suddenly one of the most exciting prospects in music ground to a halt.
It seemed as though that bright-eyed track saw the band flying a little too close to the Californian sun. Fraught tales of intra-band romantic, creative burnout, and heavy drug use drove a wedge between all members of the band, and so quickly after experiencing success, the individual members wanted nothing more to do with The Mamas and the Papas.
“It was endless,” Michelle told Goldmine, reflecting on her time within the band. “Believe me, everybody wanted out,” she concluded, “But we owed albums to Dunhill, and then Dunhill was sold to ABC, and then we owed albums to ABC. It was horrible because all we wanted was to get away from each other.”