LAST ONES STANDING

With the Jan. 19 death of former Mamas and the Papas singer Denny Doherty at age 66 comes the sobering thought that only one of the group's original members -- Michelle Phillips -- remains alive.

For the record, Cass Elliot died in 1974 at age 32, and leader John Phillips passed away in 2001 at age 65.

An even sadder thought is there are other Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acts with only one surviving member from their classic lineups:

THE RAMONES: This hasn't been a good decade for the legendary punk band from Queens: Singer Joey died of lymphoma in 2001 (about a month shy of age 50), original bassist Dee Dee was found dead of an apparent heroin overdose in 2002 (age 49) and guitarist Johnny died of prostate cancer in 2004 (age 55).

From the original lineup, the last one standing is drummer Tommy, who after leaving the band circa 1978 is perhaps best known for producing The Replacements' Tim album. More recently, he joined latter-day Ramone C.J. and other rock notables, including Sonic Youth and The Strokes, in 2004 for a cancer benefit concert in New York.

THE TEMPTATIONS: Paul Williams committed suicide in 1973, two years after leaving the group. Long after they launched their respective solo careers, co-lead singers David Ruffin (drug overdose, age 50) and Eddie Kendricks (lung cancer, age 52) died in 1991 and 1992, respectively. Longtime bass singer Melvin Franklin died following a brain seizure in 1995 at age 52.

And so, the only one left from this great Motown vocal group's early hits lineup (which arguably was its best) is Otis Williams, who still keeps the Temps going, and with some success. Ear-Resistable, released in 2000, won a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Album.

Williams and company sang "My Girl" and "The Way You Do the Things You Do" last month at the Kennedy Center Honors in tribute to the writer of those tunes, Smokey Robinson, who was among the 2006 honorees.

JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: Hendrix was found dead of a drug overdose in 1970 at age 27. Noel Redding, the bassist in the group, died in 2003 at age 57.

That leaves drummer extraordinaire Mitch Mitchell, who will turn 60 this year. He is believed to be living in Europe and essentially retired from music; to hear a latter-day Mitchell performance, check out "Stupid Blues," which can be found on country artist Junior Brown's Long Walk Back album, released in 1998.

Of course, The Beatles are down to two classic members (sorry, Pete Best, you were booted before the world knew about the group), and the same goes for The Who and The Four Tops.

Here's to a healthy 2007 and beyond.