The Music Shelf

All the Leaves Are Brown
Scott G. Shea
Backbeat Books
c/o Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group
www.halleonard.com
9781493072118, $32.95, HC, 422pp

https://www.amazon.com/All-Leaves-Are-Brown-Together/dp/1493072110

Synopsis: Few songs have captured the contradictions and ambiguities of the=
1960s as memorably as "California Dreamin'," the iconic folk music single = that catapulted the Mamas & the Papas into rock and roll history. With the = publication of "All the Leaves Are Brown: How the Mamas & the Papas Came To= gether and Broke Apart", author and documentary producer Scott Shea details=
how John Phillips, Denny Doherty, Michelle Phillips, and "Mama Cass" Ellio=
t became standard-bearers for California counterculture, following their tr= ansformation from folk music wannabes to rock sensations and chronicling th=
e tumultuous events that followed their unexpected success.

Shea gives a definitive account of the group's short time together, from th= eir hitmaking approach with legendary producer Lou Adler to John's unique s= ongwriting to tours and friendships with other musicians riding the folk-ro=
ck wave. He also explores the emotional vicissitudes that came with being i=
n the Mamas & the Papas, from Cass's unrequited love for Denny, his affair = with Michelle, and the ebb and flow of dysfunction in John and Michelle's m= arriage.

And he explains how it all came to a crashing end with John's brainchild, t=
he Monterey Pop Festival, which should have launched the group even further=
into the musical stratosphere, but only served to be their undoing. Drawin=
g on new interviews with former bandmates, session musicians, family member=
s, and many others, "All the Leaves Are Brown" is a layered, revelatory tal=
e of overnight stardom and its many pitfalls.

Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a ten=
page Epilogue, a four page Bibliography, and a thirty-one page Index, "All=
the Leaves Are Brown: How the Mamas & the Papas Came Together and Broke Ap= art" is the definitive and fascinating history of the Mamas & the Papas -- = and a 'must read' choice for their legions of fans. While highly recommende=
d as a core addition to personal, community, and academic library 20th Cent= ury American Music History and Rock Band Biography collections, it should b=
e noted for personal reading lists that "All the Leaves Are Brown: How the = Mamas & the Papas Came Together and Broke Apart" is also available in a dig= ital book format (Kindle, $28.18).

Editorial Note: Scott G. Shea (https://scottsheaauthor.com) is a longtime r= adio producer who currently works on the show Seize the Day with Gus Lloyd =
on SiriusXM. He has produced five original audio documentaries that have ai= red nationally.

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