The Mamas & The Papas were formed by husband and wife John and Michelle Phillips, formerly of The New Journeymen, and Denny Doherty, formerly of The Mugwumps. The last member to join was Cass Elliot, Doherty’s bandmate in The Mugwumps. The group considered calling itself The Magic Cyrcle before switching to The Mamas and the Papas as apparently inspired by the Hells Angels, whose female associates were called “mamas”.

They released a total of five studio albums and seventeen singles over a four-year period, six of which made the Billboard top ten, and sold close to 40 million records worldwide. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 for their contributions to the music industry.

The band’s first single, “Go Where You Wanna Go”, was released in 1965. The second single, “California Dreamin’”, was released later in 1965 and quickly peaked in the charts. The band’s album, If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears, was released in March 1966 and became the band’s only number 1 album on the Billboard 200. The third and final single from their debut was “Monday, Monday”, which became the band’s only US number 1 hit. The song brought the band international success.

In 1966 they recorded their second album The Mamas And The Papas. “I Saw Her Again” was the first single from the album before release. When the album was released in 1966, it peaked at number four in the US, continuing the band’s success. “Words of Love” was released as the second single and “Dancing in the Street” was released as the third and final single. Deliver came in the autumn of 1966. The album featured the singles “Look Through My Window”, “Dedicated To The One I Love” and “Creeque Alley”. Shortly afterward, a non-album single called “Glad to be Unhappy” was released. Mama Cass Elliot had a successful solo career becoming popular with hits such as “Make Your Own Kind of Music” and “It’s Getting Better”.

COLLECTED is a perfect overview of the multiple classic hits and tracks throughout the career of The Mamas & The Papas and complimented with several popular tracks by Mama Cass Elliot.