So, what exactly is a “mugwump” anyway? The term finds its earliest origins in the Algonquin language and roughly translates to “important person” or “kingpin” and can also mean “war leader.” However, the term was brought within American politics as a term for political fence sitters, until it was formally adopted by a Revolutionary group of Republicans around 1880 who opposed political corruption within their own party and changed sides to support Grover Cleveland (to say the least, we could use some Mugwumps right now). But, possibly the most fabled Mugwumps in popular culture was the short lived folk-rock group based out of New York City in the summer of 1964. Made up of Denny Doherty, Cass Elliott, Zal Yanovsky, Jim Hendricks and, eventually, John Sebastian, The Mugwumps have been called a “super-group” by some accounts, but since none of the performers were yet household names, that term might be a bit misguided. More actuality, the group was of a collection of artists at the crossroads of fame who, for a moment in time, created music together before taking different pathways to stardom.
Despite their importance to the history of the 1960’s musical landscape, more people have probably heard of The Mugwumps than have actually listened to the music of The Mugwumps. Immortalized by their reference in the Mamas and the Papas’ 1967 hit “Creeque Alley,” The Mugwumps’ time together lasted only five short months between July and November 1964. With no video footage, few photographs and only a handful of recordings that were nearly never released, it’s a miracle that we ever were able to hear The Mugwumps at all.
So how did The Mugwumps come together. Well, simply put, all the players in the group were once in moderately successful folk bands playing within the same circuit that had dissolved at about the same time.
Denny Doherty’s musical journey started in Halifax, Nova Scotia around 1959 when he and high school chums Pat LaCroix and Richard Byrne started a folk band they called The Halifax III. Traveling across the country the groups put out a pair of albums and became “Canadian famous” before heading down to California where they gained the attention and respect of the folk groups south of the border. While on tour into the US, the group got an offer by New York folk outfit The Journeymen, featuring John Phillips and Scott McKenzie, to join them on the West Coast for an upcoming tour which would include a stop at Carnegie Hall. The Halifax III agreed and returned to Toronto, which was now their home base, to regroup for their New York adventure and added a fourth supporting member to the group, guitarist Zal Yanovsky. Now a quartet, the group set their sights on New York and new musical opportunities.
Meanwhile, Cass Elliot and Jim Hendricks had been in the Greenwich Village based folk trio The Big 3 along with Tim Rose since 1962. Earlier in 1963 Cass and Hendricks had gotten married in order to keep Jim out of the draft, but the marriage was apparently never consummated. Despite the friendship between Cass and Hendricks, the union created fiction within the group and Rose left to go solo. It was at this time that Cass caught a performance of The Halifax III and became infatuated with Denny Doherty. Striking up a friendship with the group, over time that infatuation would turn into what would be a tragic unfulfilled unrequited love affair.
Well, by 1964 interest in folk music was being replaced by the new sounds of the British Invasion and the arrival of The Beatles, and folk bands all over the nation seemed to be breaking up, including The Halifax III, The Big 3 and, coincidently, The Journeymen. Denny and Zal saw the change happening in the music industry and they started to experiment with a more rock sound in a group they called The Big Noize, but soon abandoned that idea when Cass suggested that they join her and Jim to start their own group. In July 1964 the Mugwumps were born.
Things seem to have moved rather fast for The Mugwumps, but as part of somewhat established groups the band members were connected within the New York music scene – especially Cass who seemed to know everyone due to her larger than life personality and easy ability to make favorable relationships. A month after they were formed the group were signed by Warner Brothers Records head honcho Arthur Mogul and brought into the studio. Over a fast paced two days the group recorded nine tracks, which was basically their entire repertoire. The majority of the numbers recorded were covers of folk, blues and pop favorites, including “Searchin’” and “You Can’t Judge a Book By Its Cover.” However, two original numbers written by Cass and Jim Hendricks were included – “Everybody’s Been Talkin;” and “Here It Is Another Day.”
While The Mugwumps have been thought of as being a part of the last days of the folk explosion, musically their sound had far evolved from that industry. Although some of the numbers definitely had a folk element to them, the music of The Mugwumps sounds far closer to 1960’s pop music. In particular, Zal Yankovsky pushed the line between folk and rock with his guitar licks. Furthermore, for a band that had basically been thrown together a month earlier, The Mugwumps sounded extremely polished, and all four members of the group showed a lot of expertise and comfort harmonizing together. The harmonies are not as intricate as some that would come later on in their careers, but the talent and professionalism within the group is evident within their sound. But what is the most evident when listening to The Mugwumps is that for the first time the listener can recognize the sound that would become part of the new wave of music that would dominate the final half of the sixties. Although you can get a hint of it with The Big 3, The Halifax III and The Journeymen, the sound coming out of The Mugwumps is the most familiar. A big part of it is the instantly recognizable voice of Denny Doherty on primarily lead vocals, and the distinct harmonies of Cass Elliott being imprinted on every song. Furthermore, Denny and Zal sing well together, and between his guitar work and harmonizing you can hear the beginnings of something coming from another direction.
Weeks after The Mugwumps went into the studio to record, they picked another future music icon. John Sebastian had been working as a session musician, primarily in blues projects, and was also part of a the short lived Even Dozen Jug Band which had also just disbanded, Upon hearing that Sebastian was looking for another project to be a part of, Cass invited him to join the Mugwumps and he started to gig with them. During their jam sessions, Sebastian made an immediate creative connection with Zal, and the two began writing music together. Unfortunately no recordings exist featuring John Sebastian with the group.
Warner Brothers Music released “I Don’t Want to Know,” backed with “I’ll Remember Tonight” as a single in September 1964 but it gained little attention and was considered a flop. As a result, the rest of the tracks recorded by The Mugwumps were shelved by the company and it looked like nothing would ever become of the tapes. The Mugwumps struggled on for a few more weeks, but by November the groups had pretty much dissolved. Part of the reason for their demise was the fact that the group had just ran out of money and had come to the end of all of their resources. But a more concrete reason is that while at a crossroads during their conception, the group was making new music and finding new opportunities on separate roads.
Zal Yanovsky and John Sebastian continued writing and performing together and by early 1965 had put together a brand new band, The Lovin’ Spoonful. Continuing to experiment with the blend of folk and rock, the group hit big that summer with their first single, “Do You Believe in Magic?” They’d go on to have another seven top ten hits over the next eighteen months. As the East Coast faction of the folk-rock industry that was coming out of California, The Lovin Spoonful became major players in American music.
Meanwhile Denny Doherty was asked by John Phillips to join him and his new wife Michelle as part of a revival of his former group which he was calling The New Journeymen. A throw back to the folk sound, which was now completely out of style, the three travelled to the Virgin Islands to find a new sort of sound which would combine John’s ability to create complex arrangements with a modern pop sound. Still in love with Denny, Cass Elliott eventually followed them down and eventually joined the group which became The Mamas and the Papas. With Denny and Cass as the primary voices of the group, The Mamas and the Papas’ first single, “California Dreamin’” was released in December 1965 and would hit the top of the Billboard charts in March 1966 and they’d dominate the pop scene until their tumultuous break up in 1970. The Mamas and the Papas would have six Billboard top ten hits and become one of the most famous and beloved bands of the era.
But what about those Mugwump tapes that were recorded in 1964? Well, with three out of four artists on those recordings being members of two of the biggest groups in the music industry, someone at Warner Brother’s music sought them out and dusted them off and in 1967 The Mugwumps’ debut album was finally released. Under the banner “A Historic Recording,” Warner Brothers hoped to capitalize on the individual members’ current success. Another single was released of “Searchin’” backed with “Here It Is Another Day,” but the release failed to get much attention beyond being a curiosity of the past.
But wait. What happened to Jim Hendricks? Through this entire saga, Jim Hendricks had always been a straight up surefire solid part of the narrative. Well, after Cass took off Denny, Jim continued in music, but without the same success as his co-Mugwumps. Relocating to California, he formed the rock band The Lamb of Childhood, which recorded a trio of singles for Dunhill but without any success and the band dissolved by 1967. A year later Jim and Cass finally had their marriage, which was never consummated, annulled. Hendricks continued writing music and had two notable successes in the 1960’s, penning “Summer Rain” which became a hit for Johnny Rivers, plus a song called “Long Lonesome Highway,” which became the closing theme song to the TV series “Then Came Bronson.” In the 1970’s Hendricks had relocated to Nashville, where he found religion and entered the contemporary Christian music business and has released over thirty solo albums. 84 years old at this writing, Jim Hendricks runs his own music label which he founded in 1998 called Maple Street Music.
The end of The Mugwumps ushered in a truly exciting period of music, but for that brief five months they were together Denny, Cass, Jim and Zal created some seriously sweet harmonies and forged the cornerstones of great things to come. But most fascinating about their recordings is listening to some of the biggest icons of the 60’s music industry at the cusp of stardom. Although The Mugwumps was little more than a footnote within their careers, the music they made together is worth seeking out as early treasures of the 1960’s soundscape.
