"Creeque Alley" is an autobiographical hit single written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas in 1967, narrating the story about how the group was formed. The title of the song is derived from the place Creque or Crequi (pronounced "creaky") Alley,[1] home to a club in the Virgin Islands where the Mamas & the Papas spent time. The lyrics "Duffy's good vibrations, and our imaginations, can't go on indefinitely" refer, in part, to Hugh Duffy, the owner of the club on Creeque Alley. Duffy now owns Chez Shack in Vieques, Puerto Rico. The third song on the album The Mamas and the Papas Deliver, the song peaked at #5 on the U.S. Billboard pop singles chart the week of Memorial Day, 1967.[2]
The lyrics of the song mention, directly or indirectly, many artists and bands who were part of the music scene at the time including the other two members of The Mamas & the Papas - Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, earlier aka The Mugwumps; plus Zal Yanovsky and John Sebastian (of The Lovin' Spoonful), Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds), and Barry McGuire (of The New Christy Minstrels). Several locations important to The Mamas and The Papas story are also mentioned e.g. The Night Owl Cafe in Greenwich Village. The lyrics, "Greasin' on American Express cards" harks back to The Mamas and Papas time in the Virgin Islands when they were living off their American Express cards.[3] The title does not occur in the lyrics.
There are three mixes of the song, all with audible differences. The original single version has horns not heard on the album versions, and ends with Doherty singing an extra "becoming a reality." The mix that appears on the mono pressings of The Mamas and the Papas Deliver omits the horns completely. It has the extra "becoming a reality" but unlike on the single, Elliot can be heard singing a harmony with Doherty. The song as heard on stereo copies of The Mamas and the Papas Deliver, as well as almost all Mamas and Papas compilations, also omits the brass, and the extra "becoming a reality" is not heard, save for the "ty" syllable of "reality" (sung by both Doherty and Elliot.)
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| Studio albums |
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| Compilations |
Farewell to the First Golden Era (1967) • Golden Era, Vol. 2 (1968) • Hits of Gold (1969) • 16 Greatest Hits (1969) • 20 Golden Hits (1973) • Greatest Hits (1998)
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| Singles |
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