Michelle Phillips & the Singing Stars of Knots

[ChrisSumnerMatheson]

I thought I'd start a thread for the singing stars of Knots Landing. I've heard pretty much all that can sing, sing and recently I'm back in the mood listening to Michelle Phillips.

I've been a fan of The Mamas and the Papas for a while, but I hadn't really heard much from them. Now I downloaded this great 2 disc Greatest Hits which is a much better overview of their career. It included one of Michelle's very rare solo tracks, then I looked around and found three more.

One thing that was pretty shocking to me, was the fact that Michelle was thrown out of the group and replaced! They even released their hit single "I Saw Her Again Last Night" with Michelle's replacement.

I also did some reading and see for their final album (which they were forced to record by the label) Michelle and Denny did most of the vocals as opposed to Cass (who was ill) and John (who did the production). RIght now I'm working on downloading that final album so I can hear more from her. I always thought because Cass did most of the singing that Michelle couldn't sing, but she actually sounds great.

Is anyone else a fan of hers?

Another singing Knots star I'm a fan of is Danielle Brisebois who played Mary Frances Sumner. I looked her up a while ago and she's a HUGE songwriter right now. She's written hit singles for Natasha Bedingfield, Kelly Clarkson and she did a track for Kylie, among others I'm forgetting. She also had two solo albums which are fantastic. Her lyrics are brilliant and I can't believe she hasn't had more success. Her second (and best) album was never released for some strange reason. Had it been, I'm sure it would've been a smash hit!

[AbbyKnowsBest]

I have enjoyed her voice for many years, as a huge Mamas and Papas fan.

[knotsguy]

Chris,
I've been a fan of the Mamas & Papas for years! I have Michelle's solo album which is quite good. Are you referring to the "radio version" of I Saw Her Again? The only version I've heard or have is with Michelle. She mentions in her book, as does John Phillips, that none of Jill Gibson's tracks were ever released. Michelle was originally on the cover of "The Mamas & Papas" album, but was edited out and Jill Gibson edited into the picture. However, the album that was released had Michelle on the cover as they had let her back in the group by the time it was released.

During the recording of their last album, "People Like Us" none of them was in the recording studio at the same time.

As for Michelle's singing, Time magazine once called her "the purest soprano in pop". In interviews I've seen with Michelle she's always maintained that she was never meant to be a solo artist.

[Billy Nolan]

As far as I know they re-released Michelle Phillip´s solo-album "Victim of Romance" from 1977 on CD one or two years ago...
She also did the background vocals on the new album of her daughter´s band "Wilson Phillips".

[Wicked Abby]

On what songs on the Mama's & Papa's album did Michelle sing solo, I have a greatest hits on CD I bought years ago, and didnt realise she had done any solo's?

I would love to listen to them, so can some1 tell me which 3 songs they are please?

[knotsguy]

Michelle really didn't do any solo songs for the Mamas & Papas. She did the intro for "Dedicated To the One I Love".
The solo songs that are being referred to here are from her solo album that had 3 songs included on a Mamas & Papas compliation CD. Creeque Alley was a 2-disc CD that had Michelle's solo songs on it.

[ChrisSumnerMatheson]

Wicked Abby, if you buy the final Mamas and the Papas album (People Like Us), you'll see Michelle sang lead in nearly all of the tracks. The lead single Step Out featured her and Denny on lead, then she was solo on I Wanna Be A Star. It's weird hearing it because the entire album is very Denny/Michelle heavy and Cass only sings lead on one track. That's unheard of for them.

I can't wait to get the Anthology with all their albums to see if she sings on some of their nonsingles from the other albums.

ETA:

After listening to People Like Us a dozen or so times, I'm really loving it. It's the forgotten album and the tracks generally aren't even included on the Greatest Hits packages, but it's a great new sound for them. More bluesy and mellow. It's nice hearing the harmonies on this sound. My favorite tracks are Shooting Star, Snowqueen of Texas, Step Out and People Like Us.

[Benny JR]

Michele Lee sings too, doesn't she?

[OnTheMarkTexas]

Right off the top of my head, these KNOTS actors also had or currently have singing careers:

Michelle Phillips
Michele Lee
Lisa Hartman (now Hartman-Black)
Julie Harris
Kim Lankford
Joseph Gian

I'm sure there are others, but at the moment, I'm at a loss...

[ChrisSumnerMatheson]

Michele Lee sings too, doesn't she?

Michele Lee has released two albums which have been released on a double cd. I haven't bought it yet, but I've heard two of her songs and she sounds good. She's also on some Broadway cds. Her sound is similar to that Burt Bacharach sound.