Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty (November 29 1940 –
January 19 2007) was a Canadian
singer and songwriter. He was most widely known as a founding
member of the 1960s musical group The Mamas & the
Papas.
Biography
Early career
Born November 29, 1940 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Denny started his musical career in 1956 in Halifax with a band called the Hepsters. With friends Richard Sheehan, Eddie
Thibodeau and Mike O'Connell they played at clubs in the Halifax area. They were together for about 2 years. Sheehan recalls they
drew crowds wherever they went due to Denny's incredible voice. In 1960, aged 19, Doherty
cofounded a folk group called The Colonials in Montreal, Quebec. When they got a record deal with Columbia Records, they changed their name to The Halifax Three. They had a minor hit, "The Man
Who Wouldn't Sing Along With Mitch", but ultimately broke up in 1963. Ironically, they
broke up at a hotel called "The Colonial".
In 1963, Doherty established a friendship with Cass Elliot when she was with a band
called "The Big Three". While on tour with "The Halifax Three," Doherty met John
Phillips and his new wife, model Michelle Gilliam.
A few months later, Doherty's band broke up and he and his accompanist, Zal Yanovsky,
were broke in New York City. Elliot heard of their troubles and convinced her manager to
hire them. So he and Yanovsky joined the Big Three (increasing the number of band members to four). Soon after adding even more
band members, they changed their name to "The Mugwumps." They soon broke up also due to
insolvency. The Mamas & Papas song "Creeque Alley" briefly outlines this history.
About this time, John Phillips' new band, "The New Journeymen," needed a replacement for tenor
Marshall Brickman. Brickman had left the folk trio to pursue a career in television
writing, and the group needed a quick replacement for their remaining tour dates. Doherty, then unemployed, filled the opening.
After the New Journeymen called it quits as a band in early 1965, Elliot was invited into
the formation of a new band, which became "The Magic Cyrcle". Six months later in September 1965, the group signed a recording
contract with Dunhill Records. Changing their name to The Mamas & the Papas,
the band soon began to record their debut album, If You Can Believe
Your Eyes and Ears.
Relationship with Michelle Phillips
In late 1965, Doherty and Michelle Phillips started an affair. They were able to keep it secret for a long time, during the
band's new-found success.
Their dalliances were discovered, and John and Michelle moved to their own residence (they had been sharing a house with
Doherty), and the band continued recording together. Eventually the band signed a statement in June 1966 with their record label's full support, kicking Michelle out of the band. She was quickly replaced by
Jill Gibson, girlfriend of the band's producer Lou Adler.
Gibson's stint as a "Mama" lasted two and a half months.
Due to fan demand and mostly to John, Michelle was allowed to rejoin the band in late August of 1966, while Gibson was given a
lump sum for her efforts. However, by the time of Michelle's return, the band had lost focus, momentum and direction. While
trying to create another album, Elliot left the group, bringing about the end of The Mamas & the Papas. The band finally
broke up in the summer of 1968.
After the break-up
Elliot and Doherty remained friends. After the band's break-up, Elliot had a hit solo show. She eventually asked Doherty to
marry her, but he declined. Doherty was stunned and saddened to hear of Elliot's passing in 1974 at
age 32. He and the other former members of the band attended her funeral.
In 1982, Doherty joined a reconstitution of the Mamas and the Papas consisting of John Phillips, his daughter Mackenzie Phillips and
Elaine Spanky McFarlane, which toured and performed old standards and new tunes
written by John Phillips.
Doherty produced a Broadway show called Dream a Little Dream which was a narrative of his perspective of the story of
The Mamas & the Papas. It was well received and garnered favorable reviews.
In 1993, Doherty played the part of Harbour Master, as well as the voiceovers of
the characters, in Theodore Tugboat, a CBC
Television children's show chronicling the "lives" of vessels in a busy harbour loosely based upon Halifax Harbour.
Denny Doherty died on January 19, 2007 at his home in
Mississauga, Ontario, from kidney failure following surgery on an abdominal aneurysm.[1]
Doherty had three children: a daughter, Jessica Woods, from a brief first marriage, and a daughter, Emberly, and son, John by
his 20-year marriage to his second wife, Jeannette, who died in 1998.
Denny Doherty appeared in the Canadian TV series
Trailer Park Boys, Season 7 Episode 10 (season's finale) as an FBI figure.
Filming was completed just shortly before his death in early 2007. The episode ended with "This episode is dedicated to the
memory of DENNY DOHERTY."
External links
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