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Written by Staff
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Friday, 19 January 2007 |
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Denny Doherty, best known as a member of the 1960s era musical group, The Mamas & Papas died today at the age of 66 following a short illness.
Born in Halifax Nova Scotia in 1940, Doherty sang in public for the first time at the age of 15 at a local indoor skating rink. At the age of nineteen he formed his first folk band initially called The Colonials but soon after signing their first contract with the New York-based Columbia Records, changed their name to The Halifax Three. The band broke up after recording just two albums.
Doherty then joined another band called The Big Three. One of the band mates was Cass Elliot. Doherty and Elliot eventually met John and Michelle Phillips. The four then went onto stardom as The Mamas & Papas recording such songs as 'California Dreamin', 'I Saw Her Again Last Night' and 'Monday Monday'. The group broke apart in 1968.
In 1975 Doherty played the lead in Andy Warhol and John Phillips' Broadway production of "Man on the Moon" and in 1978 he returned to Canada. He briefly reunited with former band mate John Phillips, formed The New Mamas and Papas and toured the United Staes and Europe in the early 80s. In 1996 Doherty was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
After returning to Halifax Doherty wrote about his life with The Mamas & The Papas and called it "Dream A Little Dream". The play ran in Halifax and then in Toronto. It finally made it as far as Off-Broadway in 2003. Doherty was also known since 1993 as the Harbour Master in the children's TV show, Theodore Tugboat.
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