The Ed Sullivan Show was an invaluable resource to artists of the late 1940s to early 1970s, widening their audience by giving them a national platform to promote their music and, in the case of the Mamas & the Papas’ performance from 1967, engage in a bit of on-screen protest. Their decision to “stick it to the man” was part of a growing anti-establishment attitude most perpetuated by “hippies,” a social sect of which the Mamas & the Papas were certainly a part.
Videos by American Songwriter
In a way, the band’s decision to silently defy Ed Sullivan Show expectations mid-performance made the 1967 appearance all the more memorable, cementing their status not only as significant figures of late ‘60s pop music but general attitude as well.
The Mamas & The Papas’ Puzzling On-Screen Protest
The Mamas & the Papas visited the Ed Sullivan Show multiple times, but one of their most easily recognizable appearances came in 1967, as the group was promoting their latest record, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears. The folk-rock group released their debut studio album in February 1966, and that record included notable hits like “Monday, Monday,” “Go Where You Wanna Go,” and, of course, “California Dreamin.’” Unsurprisingly, the group performed the last hit on the television program. But there was one problem.
As was typically the case in that era of television, artists performing on variety shows would lip-synch to the album version of their song instead of playing it live. Despite being standard practice, the request rubbed the Mamas & the Papas the wrong way. So, when the time came for their on-screen appearance, they engaged in their own form of peaceful protest. For Michelle Phillips, that meant visibly eating a banana in the middle of the song—mid-phrase or -breath, Phillips would take a huge bite out of her snack as everyone else “sang.”
Phillips continued the gag, politely turning her head away from the camera when her musical entrance coincided with a particularly large bite of banana. At one point, she starts to sing into the banana instead of the mic. While she was the only one to eat while on-stage (one could only imagine the fatphobic commentary if it were Mama Cass Elliot who had the mid-song snack), her husband, John Phillips, exchanged a brief conversation with her, further emphasizing to the watching audience that they were not, in fact, playing live at all.
Michelle Phillips Had a Different Explanation For Her Daughter Decades Later
The idea that Michelle Phillips would actively protest the Ed Sullivan Show’s lip-synching policy undoubtedly perpetuated the anti-establishment attitude that was pervasive throughout the late 1960s. But decades later, while speaking to her daughter, Chynna Phillips Baldwin, on the phone, the Mamas & the Papas singer had a different explanation. “It was so random, as you put it,” the folk-rock icon told her daughter. “We were just lip-syncing to the song, and then I looked over, and there was this plate of fruit. There was a banana there, so I just reached over and started peeling it and ate it.”
As “random” as Phillips’ banana snack might have been, there is something still pseudo-rebellious about being so flippant on national television that you would willingly start eating a piece of fruit (and missing visible vocal cues) while the cameras are rolling. Perhaps Phillips didn’t realize just how defiant her actions would come across to viewers at home. Or, maybe she was doing the old parenting trick where you try to convince your kids you weren’t that rebellious.
In either case, Phillips’ spontaneous nosh made for an incredibly memorable Mamas & the Papas performance, which we suppose is all any musical act could want stepping off the Ed Sullivan stage.
Photo by CBS via Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.