Denny Doherty of the Mamas and Papas dead at 66

TORONTO, Jan 20 (Reuters) Denny Doherty, a member of the 1960s folk-rock group, the Mamas and the Papas, which was known for such hits as ''California Dreamin''' and ''Monday, Monday'', has died at age 66.

His sister, Frances Arnold, said the singer-songwriter died yesterday in Mississauga, Ontario, just west of Toronto, after a short illness, Canadian Press reported.

Doherty was the only Canadian in the Mamas and the Papas along with Americans John Phillips, the group's chief songwriter, Phillips' wife Michelle, and singer Cass Elliot.

In 1998, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Doherty was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1996.

Doherty, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, co-founded a folk group called the Colonials in Montreal in 1960 and later drifted into the New York folk scene, where he met Elliot. He joined her in a band, the Mugwumps, along with another Canadian, Zal Yanovsky, later of the Luvin' Spoonful.

Doherty, Elliot and John and Michelle Philips formed the Mamas and the Papas in 1965 after signing a recording contract with Dunhill Records. Between 1965 and 1968 they were a big part of a California pop scene that included such bands as the Byrds and the Beach Boys.

In 1966 ''California Dreamin''' became the first of a succession of hits that included ''Monday, Monday'', ''Go Where You Wanna Go'', and ''Dedicated to the One I Love'' that were characterized by soaring harmonies with Dohertry signing tenor.

The band sold an estimated 20 million albums but relationships among its members was undermined by jealousy and drug use.

Doherty co-wrote the songs ''I Saw Her Again Last Night'' and ''Got a Feelin'''.

The Mamas and the Papas disbanded in 1968 following John and Michelle Phillips' divorce. The group reformed briefly in 1971.

Doherty made a solo album in 1974, and in the 1990s he had a major role in the children's TV series ''Theodore Tugboat'', in which he voiced all the characters and played the Harbourmaster.

The 30-year-old Elliot suffered a fatal heart attack in 1974. John Phillips died in 2001 at 65.

Michelle Phillips is now the only surviving member of the band.

REUTERS MQA BST0655