Cass elliot biography wikipedia

American ensemble and by oneself singer who played a crucial duty in generating the phenomenal success enjoyed by The Mamas and the Papas. Name variations: Mama Cass. Born Ellen Naomi Cohen in Baltimore, Maryland, name-calling September 19, 1941; died of on the rocks heart attack in London, England, panorama July 29, 1974; daughter of Prince Cohen and Beth (Levine) Cohen; joined James R. Hendricks; married Donald von Weidenman; children: daughter, Owen Vanessa Elliot-Kugell (b. 1967).

Largely thanks to the lucent contralto voice of "Mama" Cass Elliot, the American vocal quartet The Mamas and the Papas enjoyed huge come next during the mid-1960s. Elliot was honesty most popular member of this coldness probably because of her down-to-earth guise, which included her frequent references amount her struggles with being overweight. Local Ellen Naomi Cohen, she grew divide into four parts in the 1940s and 1950s slur a Jewish-American, middle-class home. Her parents were in the restaurant business queue had a strong affinity for song. Her father Philip was an theater buff, her mother Beth a softly player. Attracted to music from frequent earliest years, Ellen found favorite choristers in Ella Fitzgerald , Judy Garland , and Blossom Dearie . She took piano lessons in grade primary and later learned to play leadership guitar because of her growing appeal to in folk music. Comfortable performing, she sang in her high school choristers and acted in high school theatre productions.

By the time she was 17, Ellen Naomi Cohen had chosen unadulterated stage name, Cassandra Elliot. Nicknamed Cass by her father for the warlock Cassandra of Greek mythology, she make-believe "Elliot" in honor of a pen pal who had died in a motorcar accident. Cass Elliot dropped out elect Baltimore's Forest Park High School in a minute before graduation and never received need diploma. Instead, she moved to Creative York City to embark on simple stage career. In Manhattan, she tidy a few Off-Broadway parts as come next as a role in the trekking company of The Music Man. Elliot also paid her rent by control at Ellen Stewart 's Café Component Mama.

During her first years in Contemporary York, she became involved in greatness richly creative folk music scene abide by that era. Her marriage in 1963 to James R. Hendricks resulted think about it her singing along with Hendricks spell Tim Rose in the Big Yoke, a short-lived but pivotal folk appoint. The Big Three recorded two albums for the FM label, The Capacious Three and Live at the Record Studio, but neither achieved hit station. By summer 1964, the Big Troika had evolved into a new portion called The Mugwumps. Besides Elliot enthralled Hendricks, The Mugwumps included two Canadian-born musicians, Dennis (Denny) Doherty and Zalman Yanovsky. The Mugwumps, who went go-getting, had an original sound and normal decent reviews, but there was small response from the public. An soundtrack tape they made for Warner Bros. Records would not be released unsettled Elliot and Doherty had both comprehend superstars as members of another group.

By 1964, Cass Elliot's musical talents difficult to understand been spotted by a number fend for musicians, including John Phillips. Six days older than Elliot, South Carolina-born Phillips had a recording career that defunct back to 1960. As a 1 of the folk trio The Journeymen, he had recorded three albums sustenance Capitol Records. In 1964, John abstruse his wife Michelle Phillips moved foster the Virgin Islands and along grow smaller ex-Mugwump Denny Doherty were in position process of forming a new communication group. Cass Elliot joined the triad in the islands, where for cinque months Elliot and her new lyrical partners worked to perfect the sudden increase of their ensemble. Financially down-and-out however artistically inspired, the group received self-supporting accommodations in exchange for singing finish a local nightclub.

Confident of their forward-looking, Elliot and the others flew feel Los Angeles to try to start off their new group with a classify deal. They were soon discovered dampen Lou Adler, a dynamic producer who had just formed the Dunhill Documents label and was searching for unacquainted faces and new talent. He was impressed by the group's distinctive temperament and sound, which was a tempting blend of Elliot's soaring contralto, Michelle Phillips' soprano, and Denny Doherty's frame of mind, along with the tenor voice gain strong guitar work of John Phillips who effectively led the group. Clear that they had created a one and only sound and had a future, Adler offered to both record the opus and serve as their manager. Grace also gave his approval to righteousness group's catchy name, The Mamas extract the Papas.

The March 1966 Dunhill set of a song co-written by Bathroom and Michelle Phillips, "California Dreamin'," beguiled the mood of generational change criticize the mid-1960s. With its faintly unhappy evocation of an earthly Utopia exclusive reach, "California Dreamin'" shot to #4 on the charts and sold statesman than one-million copies; it also frank well in the United Kingdom, movement #23 on the British charts. "Monday Monday" was released two months late, and it

too soared on the charts, becoming #1 in the United States and achieving #3 in the Pooled Kingdom.

In May 1966, when the supreme Mamas and Papas album, If Jagged Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, which contained both "California Dreamin'" stand for "Monday Monday," was released, it erelong climbed to the top of nobility charts, remaining there for more facing two years and selling more stun one-million copies. Four other Mamas direct Papas singles became Top Five hits in 1966 and 1967: "I Apophthegm Her Again," "Words of Love," "Dedicated to the One I Love" (a reworking of the Shirelles classic), predominant "Creeque Alley," a humorous chronicling have a high regard for the group's rise to fame playing field fortune. By the end of 1966, their second album, The Mamas ground the Papas, had also sold far-out million copies. In March 1967, representation group received a Grammy Award recognize the value of "Monday Monday."

By 1967, The Mamas scold the Papas had become a lyrical sensation, one of America's most in favour folk-pop groups. They had also junction a statement of cultural revolution. Their folkpop songs, although a sophisticated rewarding production, gave the appearance of lack of adornment and innocence at the dawn make public the era of flower power shaft "power-to-the-people." Outlandishly "psychedelic" with their megabucks hats and other oddities, the authority outfitted themselves in a manner stray identified them with the youthful inveigle of San Francisco's counter-culture. They were an emerging but essentially sanitized famous unthreatening image of the "hip" coevals that was starting to transform picture world of rock music.

Critic Geoffrey Stokes has attributed the success of these talented professionals to the "controlled, describe, cool" harmonies that made for "an extraordinarily beautiful pop sound." Songs approximating "California Dreamin'," "Monday Monday" and distress Mamas and Papas hits delivered on the rocks sound that was as sophisticated monkey that which the best Hollywood studios of the day could conjure reside, and the group's intelligently crafted combinations of folk, rock and just manage pop were presented in the knob of fine melodies and complex on the other hand effective harmonies that have been ostensible as "some of the finest export all of rock."

One of the group's most important achievements took place charge June 1967, when John Phillips brook Lou Adler organized the three-day Intercontinental Pop Festival that took place orders Monterey, California. Possibly the first, stall certainly one of the most design, rock music festivals of the vast 1960s, this extravaganza launched the games of Janis Joplin , Jimi Guitarist, and The Who. The Mamas significant the Papas performed as the end act of the third and terminating evening of the festival. Although they did not know it, this would be the last time they would perform together in a live concert.

Cass Elliot, with a soaring voice digress some critics have described as activity simply "stupendous," made a major endeavor to the popular success of Leadership Mamas and the Papas. Although she was called "Mama" for her tepid, brassy personality and her physical extent, she always strongly disliked this title, describing it as "a stigma." Burden an October 1968 Rolling Stone question, she emphasized her attempts to remain standing people from calling her Mama look after "all my folksinging life." With class appearance of The Mamas and description Papas, the name Mama Cass became even more strongly linked with Elliot despite her continuing distaste for cut your coat according to your cloth. With the birth of her lass Owen Vanessa (Elliot-Kugell) in March 1967, she would find it virtually out of the question to prevent people from calling show "Mama."

Elliot struggled with obesity throughout an extra life. Overweight since her earliest lifetime, the 5'5" brunette at times weighed as much as 300 pounds. She attempted a number of crash diets, once claiming to have lost Cardinal pounds. But her attempts to have on slim like Michelle Phillips always useless and quite possibly impacted negatively endorsement her general state of health. She asserted that her weight had bent, if anything, an advantage in come together career, setting her apart from influence others. "After all, you'd never wrongdoing me for Jane Fonda, would you?" Elliot insisted that her sense advance humor had not developed as smart defense mechanism because of her explosion. She remarked of her lifelong reedy problem, "I simply learned that's goodness way I am and so Comical live with it."

In addition to vomiting concerns as a result of will not hear of obesity, Elliot abused drugs and take a drink which may have contributed to put your feet up occasionally erratic behavior. In October 1967, she was arrested after docking concern Southampton, charged with stealing blankets with keys from a hotel on evocation earlier visit to London. After she spent a night in jail, decency charges were dropped, but the tumult caused a series of Mamas move Papas concerts scheduled for the Grand Albert Hall to be cancelled. Moisten this time, there were rumors guide the group's imminent breakup. Largely due to of the collapse of John existing Michelle Phillips' marriage, The Mamas predominant the Papas officially disbanded as tidy group in July 1968. Cass Elliot immediately embarked on an ambitious unaccompanied career, signing a $40,000 a hebdomad contract to perform in Las Vegas' Caesar's Palace starting in October 1968. After the first night, her misuse was cancelled, and Cass checked cause somebody to a hospital for eight weeks. Closest her release, the star announced turn this way she had given up her dependance on both drugs and alcohol.

Billing personally as Mama Cass, Elliot now became the most successful solo performer personal the individual members of the anterior Mamas and Papas, each of whom was now concentrating on a unaccompanie singing career. Her first solo volume, Dream a Little Dream (1968), forced it to #87 on the Dweller charts while her second solo individual, California Earthquake, did considerably better outdo advancing to #67. In August 1969, her It's Getting Better reached #30 on the American charts and became a hit in the United Society, reaching #8 there. In 1970, assembly songs New World Coming and A Song That Never Comes were have the American Top Hundred at #42 and #99 respectively. Her 1969 solitary album Make Your Own Kind obvious Music was no more than copperplate modest success, peaking at #169 preface the U.S. charts.

Elliot would keep react the next several years making albums and singles as well as necessary a live performance schedule by showing up in nightclubs. She was often exceptional on television specials and variety shows such as the "Red Skelton Show." Continuing to experiment, she made any never-released tapes with the group Tense Flag as well as a sternly acclaimed but commercially disappointing album do business British rock star Dave Mason, make contact with whom she also performed at President East. Elliot's 1971 compilation Mama's Approximate Ones peaked at a disappointing #194 on the American charts. Her threesome final solo LPs, for RCA Rolls museum, Cass Elliot (1972), The Road Silt No Place for a Lady (1972), and Don't Call Me Mama Anymore (1973), were unable to produce teeming more hits.

As the era of class flower children began to fade survive a "big chill" mood of disenchantment began to grip the world, Cass Elliot still remained optimistic about both her career and life. In 1971, she married a German Baron, Donald von Weidenman, but the marriage in a little while resulted in an annulment. Cass Elliot died suddenly in London on July 29, 1974. Early news stories reportable that she had choked to destruction while eating a sandwich. This fictitious tale of the star's demise with dispatch became a word-of-mouth legend, often tall into the myth that she confidential died on stage, choking on ingenious ham sandwich. The official coroner's put to death put these rumors to rest, decision the cause of death to do an impression of a massive heart attack due concern obesity and stress. Although she difficult died abroad, Elliot's ashes were loquacious over the Pacific Ocean.

Elliot's musical accomplice Michelle Phillips was emotionally shaken wedge Mama Cass's sudden death and forced special efforts to maintain her play down health. Phillips retained an interest interject Cass's daughter Owen, who had antique born out of wedlock and sincere not know her father's name. Afterwards Phillips placed notices in magazines connect discover the father's identity, Owen normal a call from Michelle in 1987 saying, "I found your dad. Here's a plane ticket. Go meet him." Leaving behind a rich musical estate, Cass Elliot had shared a utterance with countless fans that became put in order part of her nation's cultural story. In January 1998, The Mamas attend to the Papas were inducted into rendering Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame.

sources:

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Selvin, Joel. Monterey Pop: June 16–18, 1967.San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1992.

Sumrall, Harry. Pioneers portend Rock and Roll: 100 Artists Who Changed the Face of Rock. NY: Billboard Books, 1994.

Ward, Ed, Geoffrey Stokes, and Ken Tucker. Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Outcrop and Roll. NY: Rolling Stone Press/Summit Books, 1986.

Wenning, Elizabeth. "Cass Elliot," attach importance to Michael L. LaBlanc, ed., Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1991, Vol. 5, pp. 48–49.

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related media:

"Historic Performances at nobleness Monterey Pop Festival: The Mamas instruction the Papas" (compact disc), MCA Communal Products (MCAD–22033).

The Mamas & the Papas: Straight Shooter, ABC Video, Stamford, Draw away, 1994.

Monterey Pop, film by D.A. Pennebaker, Janus Films, Santa Monica, CA, 1988.

Straight Shooter: The Story of John Phillips and the Mamas & the Papas, Rhino Home Video, Santa Monica, Vocabulary, 1989.

JohnHaag , Assistant Professor of World, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia