Now spinning in the rock room is the Mamas and the Papas August 1967 single, “Straight Shooter,” the strutting flip side to “Twelve Thirty (Young Girls are Coming to the Canyon)”. The track first appeared as an album cut on the group’s February 1966 number one record, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears and then appeared a year later as a 7” release.

Like the LP it calls home, “Straight Shooter,” is a sonically groovy feel-good record yet with an underling lyrical theme of admonishment. While the Mamas and Papas vocals are the magic elixir, the instrumentation on the cut comes courtesy of the famed Wrecking Crew. The track is mid -1960’s pop perfection and begins with a P.F. Sloan riff that stands tall with the best licks of the era. Not surprisingly, Sloan was also the man responsible for the cognitive itch of licks like “Secret Agent Man,” and “Eve of Destruction.”

“Straight Shooter’s” central riff sits next to a “Day Tripper,” and takes a ride on the “Last Train to Clarksville.” One of the heavier cuts in the group’s lexicon, it combines the close-knit vocalizations of Doo Wop, the storytelling of a folk coffee house, and the ethos of the burgeoning California rock culture into a funk-folk masterpiece. 

Phillips’ songwriting is a flower pushing through the steamy concrete of L.A. music scene. His adept musicality and ability to wind up the perfect melody meshed perfectly with the belt tight groove of the Wrecking Crew. While session logs are scarce, chances are it was Hal Blaine on drums, Joe Osborn, bass, and Larry Knechtel on keys. The groove is effortlessly on point, but it’s when the vocals of John, Denny, Michelle, and Cass come in that the song hits the target.

Several intents can be found nestled inside of Phillips’s lyricism. It’s brilliant how he utilizes double entendre throughout a song supposedly about a lover’s faithfulness. Is the narrator a straight shooter because of his stern directness? Or is he making a threat because he’s an excellent shot?

The chorus sings out, “Baby, are you holding anything but me, cause I’m a real straight shooter if you know what I mean?” The line is a contextual crux that holds everything together. Is the subject of the song holding another lover, or are they holding drugs? The latter was an analysis that was later realized because of John Phillips well publicized personal issues. Whether intentional or not, it’s a brilliant and layered piece of rock and roll poetry.

I’ve been searching all night
Just to find what I’m looking for
Baby, baby, treat me right
Or I won’t come ’round your door

Michelle and Cass’s soft vocals smooth out Phillips’s sharp narrative with wordless backing vocals and soaring call and response phrases. The result is a catchy pop single elevated by complex layers of allegory and harmony.

The group obviously felt an affinity for the song as a high velocity version opened their legendary headlining spot at the Monterey Pop Festival in June of 1967. Following an extended introduction, the performance flowed effortlessly in a paisley package while carried by the drums of Eddie Ho (Hal Blane would later join them on a second kit).

In the intervening years since its release “Straight Shooter,” has gained an appreciation as a defining song for the Mamas and the Papas. It easily bridged the gap between rock, pop, and tight-knit vocal groups. The song was pulled from the quiver of the folk tradition and fired into the pop and rock charts on a driving back beat. Surprisingly, the song went unnoticed at the time, but that has since been remedied through rambling ruminations like this.