Future Mississauga resident topped the pop charts in 1966 with The Mamas & the Papas

Fifty-five years ago this summer, long before he knew he would land in Mississauga, Denny Doherty was rubbing elbows on the top of the pop music charts along with the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra.

As the lead singer of The Mamas & the Papas, Doherty’s sweet solos were heard coming from pocket transistors and car radios for the summer months as the song Monday, Monday earned its way to becoming an instant classic.

The Nova Scotia native met up with his future band mates John Phillips, Michelle Phillips and Cass Elliot just a few years before when they decided to take their folk sound into the pop realm, a move that would eventually earn them global recognition for a string of hits that were churned out in a relatively short period of time.

Leader and songwriter John Phillips said it only took him 20 minutes to write Monday, Monday which describes the disappointment of waking up after a great weekend to realize that life and relationships have changed.

“Denny’s voice made the song a hit,” said Phillips at the time. “He had the greatest voice I ever heard.”

Just a year before the band had scored a world-wide hit with California Dreaming which many believe contains one the greatest vocal performances in pop history supplied by Doherty.

But it was Monday, Monday that took The Mamas & the Papas to the top where it went to number #1 in both the U.S. and Canada and brought the vocal group a Grammy when the awards were handed out the next year.

When the group broke up, Doherty found himself in the theatre performing on Broadway and eventually undertaking a number of other entertainment related projects.

He landed in Mississauga in 1986 and, from his home base in Clarkson, he mounted an autobiographical stage play (Dream A Little Dream) and appeared in several television programs.

Younger people may remember him as the Harbour Master in the CBC children’s television show Theodore Tugboat where he also voiced many of the characters.

Doherty died in Mississauga at age 66 in 2007 and, although he is gone, his voice can still be heard. Through classic radio and Youtube videos Denny Doherty can be found, sounding fresh and sweet, just like it was that memorable summer 55 years ago.

(Photo: The Mamas & the Papas, from left, John Phillips, Michelle Phillips, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty)