Creeque Alley

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)

1967 single by the Mamas & the Papas

"Creeque Alley"

West German picture sleeve

Single by the Mamas & the Papas
from the album  The Mamas & The Papas Deliver
B-side| "Did You Ever Want to Cry"
Released| April 1967
Recorded| Late 1966
Studio| Western Recorders, Hollywood, California
Genre|

* Folk pop
* sunshine pop

Length| 3:45
Label| Dunhill
Songwriter(s)| John Phillips, Michelle Phillips
Producer(s)| Lou Adler
The Mamas & the Papas singles chronology
| "Dedicated to the One I Love"
(1967)  | "Creeque Alley"
(1967)  | "Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)"
(1967)

|
|

"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]

## Background[edit]

### Title 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 afterward.) 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[edit]

This 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[edit]

Cash Box called the single a "driving, pulsing, groovin’ ditty."[10] Record World called it "infectious."[11]

## Chart history[edit]

### Weekly charts[edit]

Weekly chart performance for "Creeque Alley"  | Chart (1967)  | Peak
position

|

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] | 88

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 79, no. 22\. Nielsen Company. 1967. p. 20. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
2. ^ a b "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 1967-08-01. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
3. ^ a b "Archived copy". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2016-05-26.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. ^ Laredo, Joseph F. (1998). The Mamas and the Papas: Greatest Hits (CD liner). MCA Records, Inc. p. 5.
5. ^ Charles Washington Baird (1885). History of the Huguenot Emigration to America. p. 209\. ISBN 9781548722708. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
6. ^ "How It All Got Started". California Dreamin' with the Mamas and the Papas. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
7. ^ "Creeque Alley". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
8. ^ "Hidden Secrets on the Island of Vieques". Travelandleisure.com. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
9. ^ 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.
10. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 29, 1967. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
11. ^ "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. April 29, 1967. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
12. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Creeque Alley". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
13. ^ [1] [dead link]
14. ^ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (M)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
15. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 \- ISBN 0-89820-089-X
16. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 6/10/67". Tropicalglen.com. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
17. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles of 1967". Archived from the original on 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
18. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
19. ^ "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[edit]

* creequealley.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

* v
* t
* e

The Mamas & the Papas

* Denny Doherty
* Cass Elliot
* John Phillips
* Michelle Phillips

* Lisa Brescia
* Jill Gibson
* Laurie Beebe Lewis
* Deb Lyons
* Spanky McFarlane
* Barry McGuire
* Scott McKenzie
* Mackenzie Phillips

Studio albums|

* If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (1966)
* The Mamas & the Papas (1966)
* Deliver (1967)
* The Papas & the Mamas (1968)
* People Like Us (1971)

Compilations|

* Greatest Hits (1998)
* All the Leaves Are Brown (2001)

Singles|

* "Go Where You Wanna Go" (1965)
* "California Dreamin'" (1965)
* "Monday, Monday" (1966)
* "I Saw Her Again" (1966)
* "Words of Love" (1966)
* "Dancing in the Street" (1966)
* "Look Through My Window" (1966)
* "Dedicated to the One I Love" (1967)
* "Creeque Alley" (1967)
* "My Girl" (1967)
* "Glad to Be Unhappy" (1967)
* "Twelve Thirty" (1967)
* "Safe in My Garden" (1968)
* "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (1968)
* "Do You Wanna Dance" (1968)

Related|

* Discography
* Chynna Phillips
* Mackenzie Phillips
* Bijou Phillips
* Wilson Phillips
* The Beach Boys
* Geneviève Waïte
* The Journeymen

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group
* MusicBrainz work

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template