Biographie
Denny Doherty was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He began his musical journey there as part of a local rock band called The Hepsters, while working at a pawn shop. At age 15, he started singing publicly after accepting a dare to perform "Love Letters In The Sand" at a skating rink converted into a dance hall. In 1959, he formed his first folk trio, The Colonials, which later became The Halifax Three. The group signed a recording contract in New York, releasing two albums before disbanding. Doherty then joined Cass Elliot's group, The Big Three, which evolved into The Mugwumps, one of the first folk-rock bands. Later, Cass and Denny teamed up with John and Michelle Phillips of The New Journeymen to form The Mamas and The Papas.
In 1965, the group moved to Los Angeles and, over the next four years, produced numerous hit albums and singles featuring Doherty and Elliot's lead vocals, including "California Dreamin'," "Monday Monday," and "I Saw Her Again." After the group disbanded, Doherty recorded two solo albums and worked on a third that was never released. One of these albums featured background vocals from former Mamas Michelle and Cass on the 1974 release Waiting For A Song.
In 1975, Doherty starred in Andy Warhol and John Phillips' Broadway production Man on the Moon, and he was cast in The Irish Art Centre's Juno and the Paycock. He returned to Canada in 1978 and hosted the television show "Denny's Sho." During the 1980s, he reunited with John Phillips in The New Mamas and Papas, touring across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Back in Canada, Doherty appeared in stage productions such as North Mountain Breakdown, Needfire, Paul Ledoux's Fire, and The Secret Garden. His film and TV credits include Pit Pony and The Harbourmaster in Theodore Tugboat.
Doherty was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1996, with The Mamas and The Papas entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001. In later years, he shared his experiences with The Mamas and The Papas in Dream A Little Dream, which was performed in Halifax, Toronto, and Off-Broadway in 2003.
Doherty was briefly married to Linda Woodward in the early 1970s, with whom he had a daughter, Jessica. He later lived near Toronto with his other two children, Emberly and John, whose mother Jeannette was married to Doherty for twenty years until her death in 1998. Denny Doherty passed away on January 19, 2007, due to kidney complications. (www.dennydoherty.com)
