I'm on a California vibe today. The amount of musical acts that could accompany a vibe like that is innumerable. The Doors. The Beach Boys. Moby Grape. Jefferson Airplane. Love. The Seeds. But for some reason, my California vibe took me straight to the vocal chords of John Phillips, who ironically isn't even from California. 

John Phillips, lead singer and main composer behind The Mamas and the Papas, released his debut solo album in 1970. Officially titled John Phillips: the Wolf King of L.A., the album is a cult classic. With song titles like "Topanga" and "Malibu People," the album as a whole is an ethereal glimpse into Phillips' life in Los Angeles during that time.

I did some light Internet reading about John, and discovered something I never knew before. That song "San Francisco," basically the theme of the Haight-Ashbury scene, was written by him. As cheesy as that song is, it's pretty wonderful to listen to on a California vibe feeling day. 

John Edmund Andrew Phillips was born on August 30, 1935, in Parris Island, South Carolina. John was raised in Virginia, where he formed a doo-wop group with friends as a teenager. For a second, John thought he'd be a military man and signed himself up for the Naval Academy. That didn't work out, and college wasn't something he wanted either. Instead, John married his first wife, Susan Adams, and had two children: Jeffrey and Laura Mackenzie. 

In the 60's, John moved to New York to fulfill his dream of becoming a musician. He formed his first band, the Journeyman, with Scott McKenzie and Dick Weissman. John's fate performing under the Journeyman in Greenwich Village would be sealed when he met Michelle, soon to be second wife, and Denny Doherty of the Mugwumps, who would introduce him to Cass Elliot. The foursome played with the idea of calling themselves The Magic Circle, but then settled on The Mamas and the Papas. 

In the Journeyman, and before that, John had been immersed in the folk music world. Doherty had more of a folk rock background, with drums and bass. John wasn't prepared to abandon classical folk, and would eventually return to it with his solo work when the Mamas and the Papas disbanded in 1969. 

Wolf King of L.A. was originally released by Dunhill Records. Varese Sarabande, a division of Universal Music, re-released the album in 2006 with eight bonus tracks, but only on CD. 

The end.