John Phillips had checkered, sometimes sordid, life

In 1967, the Mamas & the Papas had a hit with a song that detailed, with bittersweet harmonies, the checkered history of the band. The song, written by the group’s John Phillips and his wife, Michelle, was called “Creeque Alley.” If the song were to be updated today, it might have to be retitled “Creep Alley.” With the claims by John’s daughter, Mackenzie, that she had an incestuous relationship with her father, the story of Phillips and his group — in music, models of California dreams and California dreamin’ — takes on a darker hue

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