John Phillips

Best known as the leader of the pop group The Mamas & the Papas, John Phillips is the author of the autobiography Papa John (1986), which chronicles his sexual exploits and drug abuse.

Phillips grew up in Alexandria, graduating from George Washington High School in 1953, and marrying his high school sweetheart, Susie Adams (the first of four marriages). This house in the Del Ray neighborhood was where he lived with his parents from 1939 to 1956.

In addition to recording with The Mamas & the Papas, Phillips also released records with The Journeymen and solo projects. As primary songwriter and musical arranger, he is known for such enduring hits as “California Dreamin’,” “Monday, Monday,” “I Saw Her Again” and “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair).” He promoted and performed at the Monterrey International Pop Music Festival, the first major pop-rock music event, and wrote the soundtrack for the movie The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Phillips was convicted of drug trafficking in 1981, and had a liver transplant in 1992 (which did not stop his heavy drinking). He was accused of conducting a ten-year incestuous relationship with his eldest daughter, the actor Mackenzie Phillips, as well as getting her addicted to narcotics.

In 1998, The Mamas & the Papas were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Phillips is considered a major figure of the American hippie counterculture.