A tenor, he was a founding member of the 1960s musical group the Mamas & the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Doherty and three friends, Richard Sheehan, Eddie Thibodeau, and Mike O'Connell, began their musical career in 1956 with a band called the Hepsters.

In 1960, still in Halifax, Doherty, aged 19, along with Pat LaCroix and Richard Byrne, began a folk group, called the Colonials.

While on tour with the Halifax III, Doherty met John Phillips and his wife, model Michelle Gilliam.

About this time, Phillips's new band, the New Journeymen, needed a replacement for tenor Marshall Brickman, who had left the group to pursue a career in television writing.

When the affair was discovered, John and Michelle moved to their own residence (they had been sharing a house with Doherty), and the band continued recording together.

Eventually the group signed a statement in June 1966 with their record label's full support, firing Michelle from the band.

Due to fan demand, Michelle was allowed to rejoin in August 1966, while Gibson was given a lump sum for her efforts.

After a string of hit singles, many television appearances, a successful third studio album (The Mamas and the Papas Deliver in March 1967), and the group's appearance at the Monterey International Pop Festival (which had been organized by John Phillips and Lou Adler) in June 1967, an ill-fated trip to England in October 1967 fragmented the already damaged group dynamic.

Elliot quit after a stinging insult from John Phillips (although she returned to complete her parts for the group's fourth album, The Papas and the Mamas, which was finally released in May 1968).

Doherty was stunned and saddened and attended the funeral several days later in early August, along with John and Michelle Phillips.

[7] In 2004, Doherty appeared on Sharon, Lois & Bram's 25th Anniversary Concert special, 25 Years of Skinnamarink, that aired on CBC on January 1, 2004.