The Mamas & the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group who recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968, and were a defining force in the music scene of the Counterculture of the 1960s. The band reunited briefly in 1971 to record the album People Like Us but did not perform outside their recording studio at that time. The group was composed of John Phillips, Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot, and Michelle Phillips née Gilliam. Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips, the songwriter, musician, and leader of the group who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early sixties.

They released a total of five studio albums and seventeen singles over a four-year period, six of which made the Billboard top ten, and have sold close to 40 million records worldwide. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 for their contributions to the music industry.