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Quick Facts
- NAME: Mama Cass
- OCCUPATION: Singer
- BIRTH DATE: September 19, 1941
- DEATH DATE: July 29, 1974
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Baltimore, Maryland
- PLACE OF DEATH: London, England
- Nickname: Mama Cass
- Originally: Ellen Naomi Cohen
Best Known For
"Mama Cass" Elliot was known for her heavyset figure, and was one of four members of the late 1960s pop sensation The Mamas and The Papas.
Cass Elliot. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 04:45, May 27, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/mama-cass-9542256
Cass Elliot [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/mama-cass-9542256, May 27
" Cass Elliot." 2012. Biography.com 27 May 2012, 04:45 http://www.biography.com/people/mama-cass-9542256
' Cass Elliot', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/mama-cass-9542256 [accessed May 27, 2012]
" Cass Elliot," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/mama-cass-9542256 (accessed May 27, 2012).
Cass Elliot [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 May 27]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/mama-cass-9542256.
Cass Elliot, http://www.biography.com/people/mama-cass-9542256 (last visited May 27, 2012).
Cass Elliot, http://www.biography.com/people/mama-cass-9542256 (last visited May 27, 2012).
Synopsis
Cass Elliot, or “Mama” Cass, was born on September 19, 1941, in Baltimore, Maryland. She became a folk singer in 1963. In 1965, she formed The Mamas and The Papas, becoming an overnight success. They produced hits such as “California Dreamin’” and “Monday, Monday.” The band broke up in 1968 and Elliot had some success as a solo act, but died suddenly at the age of 32 from heart failure.
Profile
Singer. Born Ellen Naomi Cohen, on September 19, 1941, in Baltimore, Maryland. After initially pursuing a career in acting, Elliot became a folk singer. In 1963, she gained notice as part of an innovative folk trio called The Big Three. She recorded two albums with bandmates Tim Rose and James Hendricks before the band began to fall apart, and she formed a new group, Cass Elliot and the Big Three, also featuring Hendricks, Denny Doherty, and Zal Yanovsky. That group, renamed The Mugwumps, played mainly out of a Washington, D.C. nightclub, The Shadows. The Mugwumps broke up in early 1965, after releasing only one single, and Elliot began working as a solo singer.
In mid-1965, Elliot began singing with former Mugwump Doherty and the two other members of his new band, The New Journeymen: John and Michelle Phillips. The foursome, known as The Mamas and the Papas, were an overnight success, releasing a hit debut single, "California Dreamin'," and album, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears by the end of 1965. The Mamas and the Papas stayed together until 1968, releasing five albums and a series of Top 10 singles, including "Monday, Monday," "I Saw Her Again," and "Dedicated to the One I Love" Various problems within the group, including romantic jealousy (Elliot was reportedly in love with Doherty; Doherty became involved with Michelle Phillips), drug abuse, alcoholism, and Elliot??s constant struggle with her weight, led to its eventual breakup in 1971.
Though all four members of The Mamas and the Papas attempted to start music careers outside the group, only Elliot met with any real success. The band's last hit, "Dream a Little Dream of Me," became a kind of theme song for Elliot and propelled "Mama Cass," as she had become known, into a solo career. All in all, she recorded seven solo albums, including Dream a Little Dream (1968), Make Your Own Kind of Music (1969), Mama's Big Ones (1970), Cass Elliot (1972), and Don't Call Me Mama Anymore (1973). She also recorded an album in 1970 with rock star Dave Mason. In addition, Elliot appeared in the 1970 film, Pufnstuf; starred in two prime time television specials in 1969 and 1973; served as a guest host of The Tonight Show; and performed on a number of other TV programs throughout the early 1970s, alongside such personalities as Julie Andrews, Johnny Cash, Red Skelton, Ed Sullivan, Tom Jones, and Carol Burnett.
On July 29, 1974, after a concert series at the London Palladium, Elliot was found dead in her hotel
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