In 1966, The Mamas & The Papas recorded a song half the band hated. It then sold 160,000 copies in one day

John Phillips wrote ‘Monday, Monday’ after The Mamas & the Papas found success with ‘California Dreamin’’. Michelle Phillips and Cass Elliot hated the new song, and Denny Doherty also sided against it, leaving John alone in supporting it. The disagreement shows how a band’s internal politics can shape decisions about its music, even when a song later becomes one of its best-known hits.

The band sang it for producer and label co-owner Lou Adler, who backed the track. ‘Monday, Monday’ was released in 1966 and, according to the article’s headline, sold 160,000 copies in one day. The article also describes how its initially reassuring harmonies frame a more uncertain lyric, with Doherty’s lead vocal and a brief false ending adding a less sunny edge.