James Hendricks

James Hendricks (sometimes billed as Jim Hendricks) passed through several folk and folk-rock groups in the 1960s, some of which would produce important figures of the folk-rock movement, although Hendricks himself never achieved the fame of his most celebrated colleagues. In the early '60s he formed one-third of The Big Three, a folk trio also including Tim Rose and a pre-Mamas And The Papas Cass Elliot. When Rose left to pursue a solo career and carve a niche as a cult folk-rock singer/songwriter, Hendricks and Elliot teamed up with Zal Yanovsky and Denny Doherty to form the short-lived Mugwumps. The Mugwumps did some recordings that were among the first in the United States to grope toward the folk-rock style, but soon split up. Doherty and Elliot soon found fame as one-half of The Mamas And The Papas and Yanovsky joined The Lovin' Spoonful. Hendricks and Elliot did co-write the two original songs to appear on The Mugwumps' album (issued posthumously in 1967), including "Here It Is Another Day," a fine folk-rock ballad that would have stood a chance of being a hit if it had gotten the right exposure. Hendricks and Elliot, incidentally, were married during The Big Three/Mugwumps era, although this was done so that Hendricks could evade the military draft.

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