according to the band 's biography on Allmusic.com . The band 's lead male singer , Denny Doherty , later had an affair with Michelle ; she was forced out of the group for a time . The fourth member , Cass Elliot , had an unrequited crush on Doherty , the biography noted . After the Mamas & the Papas ' success with such singles as `` California Dreamin ' '' and the No. 1 hit `` Monday , Monday , '' the Phillipses bought a Bel Air mansion from which they ruled over the Los Angeles music scene . In his 1986 memoir , `` Papa John , '' John Phillips , who died in 2001 , remembered hosting parties for the Beatles when they visited town . John Phillips , the band 's primary songwriter , was at least six years older than the others and did not shy from the task of addressing the group 's pain and confusion in song . In such songs as `` Got a Feelin ' , '' `` I Saw Her Again Last Night '' and `` Trip , Stumble and Fall , '' he cast a cold eye on
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- 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 . '' Michelle Phillips , Denny Doherty and John Phillips , here in 1998 , were members of the Mamas & the Papas . 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 . The story was already tangled , a motley love - and drug-soaked tale of excess set to the group 's distinctive four-part harmonies . Phillips left his first wife , Mackenzie 's mother , Susan Adams , for 18-year-old Michelle , whom he 'd met in a San Francisco club while touring in the early '60s ,