John Phillips

AKA:

Papa John

Birth Name:

John Edmund Andrew Phillips

Birth Date:

August 30, 1935

Birth Place:

Paris Island, South Carolina

Death Date:

March 18, 2001

Place of Death:

UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California

Age:

Cause of Death:

Heart Failure, end stage liver disease, cirrhosis and sepsis

Cemetery Name:

Forest Lawn Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Music

He is famous for his role in organizing the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, his incestuous relationship with his daughter Mackenzie, oh and I almost forgot - as a member and leader of the vocal group The Mamas and the Papas. And it was said that his destructive tendencies were too florid even for Keith Richards, who once kicked Phillips out of his house for being too out-of-control. Be that as it may, in addition to writing the majority of the group's compositions including "California Dreamin'", "Monday, Monday", "I Saw Her Again", "Creeque Alley", and "Dedicated to the One I Love", he also wrote "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" in 1967 for former Journeymen bandmate Scott McKenzie as well as the oft-covered "Me and My Uncle", which was a favorite in the repertoire of the Grateful Dead.

Interesting to Note

Phillips married his third wife, actress and model Geneviève Waïte on January 30, 1972. The couple had two children, Tamerlane and Bijou Phillips. Phillips and Waïte divorced in 1985. Phillips married his fourth wife, artist Farnaz Arassteh, on February 3, 1995. If you look at the photos below Farnaz name appears on the crypt but nearly a decade later his third wife Geneviève Waïte appears on the marble memorial. To date there has not been an explanation to the name change.

With Terry Melcher, Mike Love, and former Journeymen colleague Scott McKenzie, he co-wrote the number-one single for the Beach Boys, “Kokomo”. The song was used in the 1988 film Cocktail and was nominated for a Grammy Award (Best Song Written specifically for a Motion Picture or Television) and a Golden Globe Award for Best Song.

Phillips moved to London in 1973, where Mick Jagger encouraged him to record another solo album. It was to be released on Rolling Stones Records and funded by RSR distributor Atlantic Records. Jagger and Keith Richards produced and played on the album, as well as former Stone Mick Taylor and future Stone Ronnie Wood. The project was derailed by Phillips’s increasing use of cocaine and heroin, which he injected, by his own admission, “almost every fifteen minutes for two years”. In 2001, the tracks of the Half Stoned or The Lost Album album were released as Pay Pack & Follow a few months after Phillips’s death.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Forest Lawn Cemetery

69855 Ramon Road

Cathedral City, California, 92234

USA

North America

Map:

Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City, California

Grave Location:

Faith & Hope, Crypt 12E, Space A

Grave Location Description

Park on Memorial Drive, and walk through the gate to the left of the fountain. Go past the fountain, and turn left at Serenity Chapel. Turn right at the second walkway and look for the second panel on the left. From there go to the first row of crypts, fourth crypt up – Papa John Phillips is resting next to Gavin MacLeod of The Love Boat.

Grave Location GPS

33.815613, -116.441267

Visiting The Grave:

Photos:

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FAQ's

John Phillips was born on August 30, 1935.

John Phillips was born in Paris Island, South Carolina.

John Phillips died on March 18, 2001.

John Phillips died in UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.

John Phillips was 65.

The cause of death was Heart Failure, end stage liver disease, cirrhosis and sepsis.

John Phillips's grave is in Forest Lawn Cemetery

Videos Featuring John Phillips:

The Life, Death and Grave of John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas - Scott Michaels Dearly Departed

Mamas and the Papas - California Dreaming

John Phillips tells how The Mamas & the Papas were born!

Twelve Thirty by The Mamas and the Papas

Mamas & Papas' John & Michelle Phillips (separately) on Bob Costas, 1990

The Mamas and the Papas - Monday Monday

Papa John Phillips Live at QVC - San Francisco - August 25, 1994

The Mamas and The Papas - Creeque Alley (1967)

Watch YouTube video titled Michelle Phillips - great 5-min interview (1986)

John Phillips