The title of the song, which does not occur in the lyrics, is derived from Creque or Crequi (pronounced "creaky")[4] Alley,[5] home to a club in the Virgin Islands where the New Journeymen, John and Michelle Phillips' original group, spent time on vacation.[6] The lyric "Greasin' on American Express cards" refers to that time, during which they could only make ends meet by using their credit cards,[7] and the lyric "Duffy's good vibrations, and our imaginations, can't go on indefinitely" refers to Hugh Duffy, the owner of the club on Creeque Alley; Duffy later owned Chez Shack in Vieques, Puerto Rico.[8]
Lyrics: Name-droppingedit
The Phillips' lyrics mention, directly or indirectly, many artists and bands who were part of the folk music scene at the time, including fellow band members Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, 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 band's story are mentioned, such as the Night Owl Cafe in Greenwich Village. Michelle Phillips is referred to in the lyrics by her nickname Michi ("John and Michi were getting kind of itchy, just to leave the folk music behind"). John Phillips said that he wrote the song to tell their producer Lou Adler "who was who" in the band's history.[9]
Lyrics: Turn-aroundedit
The line that ends the first three verses is "And no one's getting fat, except Mama Cass". In the fourth verse, with the story of the genesis of the Mamas and the Papas nearing its denouement, Phillips changes the concluding line to "And everybody's getting fat except Mama Cass," with the word "fat" assuming the meaning of prosperous, alluding to the notion that the successes recently achieved by Cass' professional associates and friends had still eluded her. (During that Virgin Islands vacation, Cass became the last member to join the group when they were still known as the New Journeymen; the name change followed soon after.) The final line, "And California dreamin' is becoming a reality" is an apparent reference to their hit song "California Dreamin'", and marks the point at which the group achieved its breakthrough, leaving behind the lifestyle described in the rest of the song.
There are three mixes of the song, all with audible differences. The original single version includes a horn section that is 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. The extra “becoming a reality” is heard on some pressings but on others it is just the “-ty” syllable of “reality”. The song as heard on stereo copies of The Mamas and the Papas Deliver, as well as on almost all Mamas and Papas compilations, also omits the horns, and the extra "becoming a reality" is not heard either, save for the "-ty" syllable of "reality" (sung by both Doherty and Elliot.) The middle flute solo is mixed differently in each version.
creeque, alley, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, need, reorganization, comply, with, wikipedia, layout, guidelines, please, help, editing,. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia s layout guidelines Please help by editing the article to make improvements to the overall structure May 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Creeque Alley news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2016 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Creeque Alley is an autobiographical hit single written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas in late 1966 narrating the story of how the group was formed and its early years The third song on the album Deliver it peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard pop singles chart the week of Memorial Day 1967 becoming their last Top 10 hit 1 It made number 9 on the UK Singles Chart 2 and number 4 on the Australian and number 1 on the Canadian charts 3 Creeque Alley West German picture sleeveSingle by the Mamas amp the Papasfrom the album The Mamas amp The Papas DeliverB side Did You Ever Want to Cry ReleasedApril 1967RecordedLate 1966StudioWestern Recorders Hollywood CaliforniaGenreFolk popsunshine popLength3 45LabelDunhillSongwriter s John Phillips Michelle PhillipsProducer s Lou AdlerThe Mamas amp the Papas singles chronology Dedicated to the One I Love 1967 Creeque Alley 1967 Twelve Thirty Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon 1967 Contents 1 Background 1 1 Title reference 1 2 Lyrics Name dropping 1 3 Lyrics Turn around 2 Versions 3 Reception 4 Chart history 4 1 Weekly charts 4 2 Year end charts 5 References 6 External linksBackground editTitle reference edit The title of the song which does not occur in the lyrics is derived from Creque or Crequi pronounced creaky 4 Alley 5 home to a club in the Virgin Islands where the New Journeymen John and Michelle Phillips original group spent time on vacation 6 The lyric Greasin on American Express cards refers to that time during which they could only make ends meet by using their credit cards 7 and the lyric Duffy s good vibrations and our imaginations can t go on indefinitely refers to Hugh Duffy the owner of the club on Creeque Alley Duffy later owned Chez Shack in Vieques Puerto Rico 8 Lyrics Name dropping edit The Phillips lyrics mention directly or indirectly many artists and bands who were part of the folk music scene at the time including fellow band members Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty 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 band s story are mentioned such as the Night Owl Cafe in Greenwich Village Michelle Phillips is referred to in the lyrics by her nickname Michi John and Michi were getting kind of itchy just to leave the folk music behind John Phillips said that he wrote the song to tell their producer Lou Adler who was who in the band s history 9 Lyrics Turn around edit The line that ends the first three verses is And no one s getting fat except Mama Cass In the fourth verse with the story of the genesis of the Mamas and the Papas nearing its denouement Phillips changes the concluding line to And everybody s getting fat except Mama Cass with the word fat assuming the meaning of prosperous alluding to the notion that the successes recently achieved by Cass professional associates and friends had still eluded her During that Virgin Islands vacation Cass became the last member to join the group when they were still known as the New Journeymen the name change followed soon after The final line And California dreamin is becoming a reality is an apparent reference to their hit song California Dreamin and marks the point at which the group achieved its breakthrough leaving behind the lifestyle described in the rest of the song Versions editThis section possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed September 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message There are three mixes of the song all with audible differences The original single version includes a horn section that is 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 The extra becoming a reality is heard on some pressings but on others it is just the ty syllable of reality The song as heard on stereo copies of The Mamas and the Papas Deliver as well as on almost all Mamas and Papas compilations also omits the horns and the extra becoming a reality is not heard either save for the ty syllable of reality sung by both Doherty and Elliot The middle flute solo is mixed differently in each version Reception editCash Box called the single a driving pulsing groovin ditty 10 Record World called it infectious 11 Chart history editWeekly charts edit Weekly chart performance for Creeque Alley Chart 1967 Peakposition Australia Go Set 4 Canada RPM Top Singles 3 1 Ireland IRMA 12 14 New Zealand Listener 13 16 South Africa Springbok 14 19 UK 2 9 US Billboard Hot 100 15 5 US Cash Box Top 100 16 5 Year end charts edit Year end chart performance for Creeque Alley Chart 1967 Position Canada 17 74 US Joel Whitburn s Pop Annual 18 60 US Cash Box 19 88References edit Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Vol 79 no 22 Nielsen Company 1967 p 20 Retrieved 30 May 2011 a b Official Charts Company Officialcharts com 1967 08 01 Retrieved 2019 07 11 a b Archived copy Library and Archives Canada Archived from the original on 2016 09 19 Retrieved 2016 05 26 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Laredo Joseph F 1998 The Mamas and thee Papas Greatest Hits CD liner MCA Records Inc p 5 Charles Washington Baird 1885 History of the Huguenot Emigration to America p 209 ISBN 9781548722708 Retrieved 2016 09 30 How It All Got Started California Dreamin with the Mamas and the Papas Retrieved 2014 02 14 Creeque Alley Songfacts com Retrieved 2009 03 14 Hidden Secrets on the Island of Vieques Travelandleisure com Retrieved 2014 02 14 Gilliland John 1969 Show 33 Revolt of the Fat Angel American musicians respond to the British invaders Part 1 audio Pop Chronicles University of North Texas Libraries CashBox Record Reviews PDF Cash Box April 29 1967 p 22 Retrieved 2022 01 12 Single Picks of the Week PDF Record World April 29 1967 p 1 Retrieved 2023 07 11 The Irish Charts Search Results Creeque Alley Irish Singles Chart Retrieved April 15 2019 1 dead link South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 1989 Acts M Rock co za Retrieved September 8 2018 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 1955 1990 ISBN 0 89820 089 X Cash Box Top 100 6 10 67 Tropicalglen com Retrieved September 6 2023 RPM Top 100 Singles of 1967 Archived from the original on 2016 08 12 Retrieved 2019 07 17 Whitburn Joel 1999 Pop Annual Menomonee Falls Wisconsin Record Research Inc ISBN 0 89820 142 X Cash Box Year End Charts Top 100 Pop Singles December 23 1967 Archived from the original on September 30 2018 Retrieved July 17 2019 External links editcreequealley com a line by line analysis of Creeque Alley by The Mamas and The Papas Creeque Alley at AllMusic Everything 2 page ADVANCE LYRICS FOR NEW SONG Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Creeque Alley amp oldid 1222582024, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
