Dedicated To The One I Love – The Mamas & Papas | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#2); 1967
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In the 12 months after California Dreamin’ entered the Hot 100, the Mamas & The Papas placed three more sides in the Top 10; all of them written by Papa John Phillips. The quartet’s first single release of 1967 – Dedicated To The One I Love – also sounded like a tailor-made Mamas and Papas song.
In fact, it was an R&B number that dated back to December of 1957 when it was first released by the 5 Royales. Although the Royales’ Dedicated died in the marketplace, it was duly noted by the Shirelles, whose first single appeared just two months later.
In June, 1959 the New Jersey girls released their own rendition of Dedicated. It, too, disappeared; spending just four weeks on the Hot 100. After the Shirelles’ smash Will You Love Me Tomorrow, Dedicated was re-released.
This time it reached #3. In March 1967, six months to the week after the Shirelles’ version peaked, the Mamas & The Papas hit #2 with their rendition.
This content and the Song Meaning article was created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2025 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Florence Greenberg
- Stan Greenberg
Lyrics Written by:
- Lowman Pauling
- Ralph Bass
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).