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Folk-rockers the Mamas & the Papas — made up of John Phillips, Michelle Phillips , Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot — provided the musical backdrop to the late 1960s with hit songs like "California Dreamin'" and "Monday, Monday." Yet the groovy era didn't save the group from behind-the-scenes upheaval that included affairs and heartbreak , break-ups and reunions , substance abuse and epic parties. As Michelle recalled to Vanity Fair of their time together from 1965 to '68, "It was two and a half years of total melodrama."

Mama Cass Elliot was not allowed to join the band at first because of her weight

The drama started for the Mamas & the Papas before they were even a group. John, who'd left his first wife to marry Michelle, was

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