Monday, Monday - Single Version

While awaiting the release of "California Dreamin'," band member Denny Doherty was prodding songwriter John Phillips to come up with some new material. Phillips said he would come back in the morning with "a song with universal appeal." Ignoring the sarcastic comments from the group members, Phillips came up with "Monday, Monday." It's about the lousy feeling that comes with the end of the weekend and beginning of another workweek.

There's a bit of irony in how "Monday, Monday" is associated with the slog of office work, as The Mamas & the Papas lived far away from the world of printers and TPS reports. They were freewheeling musicians on the Los Angeles hippie scene, not beholden to the mighty dollar. In their song "Creeque Alley," which tells their origin story, they sing about how they went to the Virgin Islands and ran up credit card debt they never intended to pay.

This was the first Hot 100 chart-topper with a day in the week in the title, and the only one with "Monday." ("Manic Monday" by the Bangles and "Rainy Days And Mondays" by the Carpenters both stalled at #2.)