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'Laurel Canyon': Mamas and the Papas singer on the 'very big highs and lows' of '60s music scene - USA TODAY
May 29, 2020 1 min, 14 secs

If you've ever wondered what it'd be like living next door to Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash, look no further than Epix docuseries "Laurel Canyon.".

Those were just a few of Michelle Phillips' famous neighbors in Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon in the late 1960s and early '70s, where she co-founded folk group The Mamas and the Papas with then-husband John Phillips, Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot. .

"Cass had an open-door policy – anybody could swing by her place any time," Phillips says.

The Mamas and the Papas members Michelle Phillips, left, and Cass Elliot, in a still from Epix documentary "Laurel Canyon." (Photo: Henry Diltz).

The musical renaissance that sprung out of this idyllic mountainside neighborhood is the subject of two-part docuseries "Laurel Canyon," premiering on Epix Sunday (9 EDT/PDT) and concluding June 7.

"What was so unique about Laurel Canyon at that time was just how many of the artists who were there became really influential musicians – it's the music of our lives even still to this day," director Alison Ellwood says.

("Even after all this time, it just makes me want to cry," Phillips says.) The singer gets similarly emotional talking about Elliot, fondly known as "Mama Cass," who died of heart failure in 1974 at just 32. 

The Mamas and the Papas were together for only 2½ years, but left an indelible mark on folk music in a short amount of time

"I would never have become a singer if it hadn't been for John," Phillips says

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