Wow.  In the past few days, we baby boomers have lost some iconic figures.  Glen Frey.  David Bowie.  All folks whose music I enjoyed profusely.  Of course, Alan Rickman- a non-musician- died almost simultaneously to those two.   And, today, Maurice White (of Earth, Wind, and Fire) succumbed to his Parkinson’s Disease.

But, living in Alexandria, Virginia means that we have our own departed music legacies.  Many of you know this town as the city that gave you “Remember the Titans”.  And, before the city desegregated the schools, the “white” high school was George Washington High School.  (Which is now a middle school for the town.)

But, way back when, this high school was the one that provided the education for some music luminaries that made my days shine- long before I migrated to the Southern regions.

Like Jim Morrison.  The Mamas and the Papas (or at least ½ of them).  Philip Blondheim. (I promise- you know who Blondheim is.  Wait ’till I get there…)

Back when I was 10 years old, Jim had graduated from the George Washington High School.  Of course, he was a military brat, traversing the school systems of these United States for years.   But, after leaving GW, he graduated from UCLA and plied his musical talents as the leader of the Doors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw40NMa_0RM

And, his tunes were among those that permeated the air waves of WNEW, the (first) alternative rock station, which kept me mesmerized while residing in the New York area.  (This also provided the cultivation of the music talents of my friend, Mike Greene, who now entertains the stages of Europe with his blues and jazz renditions.)

But, there also was another Alexandria resident who graduated at the same time-  Ellen Cohen.  Ellen received her bat mitzvah at Agudas Achim, the synagogue I joined when I moved to Northern Virginia from Charlottesville.   Oh, wait.  You don’t know who she is? You see, Ellen adopted the moniker Cass when she was at GW.  She hoped to be on Broadway after she graduated (the same year as Jim), but lost out to another ‘unknown’ at the time- Barbra Streisand.

That didn’t stop Ellen.  Nope, she joined up with James Hendricks (and later married him) to form a band with Zal Yanovsky.  (Zal left this band to form the Lovin’ Spoonful with John Sebastian shortly thereafter).  But, as her band folded,  Ellen joined up with another GW alum, John Phillips (and his new wife, Michelle).

That was the start of the Mamas and the Papas.   Their hit song, “California Dreamin’”, developed from their experiences with the Annapolis (MD) Winter.  It also stopped being just a dream- they all moved out to the West Coast.  Unfortunately, Mama Cass Eliot died at the age of 32 of a heart attack (while spending the night in Harry Nilsson’s [another rock star’s] apartment).

But, it gets curiouser.  You see, John Phillips wrote a great song many of us baby boomers recall with fondness, “San Francisco/Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair”.   John wrote that song for his GW buddy, Philip Blondheim.  Who?  Oh, sure, you don’t recognize that name either.  John called his buddy, Philip,  “Scott” because he looked like a scottie (you know- the dog species).  Then, John added the last name McKenzie to his buddy’s moniker, in honor of his daughter.  John produced the San Francisco song for Scott McKenzie and played guitar on the recording.

By the way, ‘Scott’ actually became a member of the Mamas and the Papas in the 1980s for a short stint.  Long after Cass met her demise.  And, that union is how another of my favorite songs came to be.  Phillips and McKenzie co-wrote “Kokomo” (with Mike Love and Terry Melcher)- the 1988 hit song for the Beach Boys!

Amazing how this all came together from a small group of GW high school acquaitances.  Too bad that they were long gone from the Alexandria area by the time Fleetwood Mac managed to open the short-lived restaurant and music venue on the Alexandria waterfront in 1994 (aptly named “Fleetwood”).   Who knows what additional tunes would have evolved?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEi7GPkxfsE

Oh, and sorry Facebook fibbers.  Mick is alive and well.