DENNY DOHERTY - MAMAS AND THE PAPAS SINGER DOHERTY DIES

DENNY DOHERTY, a member of folk-rock quartet the MAMAS AND THE PAPAS, has died. He was 66. The singer-songwriter died on Friday (19JAN07) at his home in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, after a short illness. Doherty was suffering from kidney problems following surgery last month (DEC06) and had been put on dialysis. Doherty teamed with JOHN PHILLIPS, the group's chief songwriter, his wife, MICHELLE, and another female vocalist, CASS ELLIOTT, to form the famous band. He led the group onto the charts with hits including CALIFORNIA DREAMIN', DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME and DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE. He started his music career in Montreal in 1960 as the co-founder of the COLONIALS, which later became the HALIFAX THREE. In the mid-1960s, Time magazine called the Mamas and the Papas one of the top two bands in the US and in 1998 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Doherty is survived by his three children, JOHN, EMBERLY and JESSICA.