Rock-Pop Singer. She was a singer for the Folk-Rock/Sunshine Pop vocal group "The Mamas and the Papas" during the mid to late 1960s. Born Ellen Naomi Cohen in Baltimore, Maryland, she was the oldest of three children in a family of Russian-Jewish descent and grew up in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area (Alexandria, Virginia and Baltimore). During her senior year in high school, she performed in a summer stock of "The Boyfriend" at the Owings Mills Playhouse, a performance that compelled her to forego college in pursuit of an acting career. She began with the play version of "The Music Man" and, in early 1963, she formed a folk singing group called "The Triumvirate," later changed to "The Big 3." "The Big 3" produced two albums and made appearances on "The Tonight Show," "Hootenanny," and "The Danny Kaye Show." In 1964, the name was changed to "Cass Elliott and the Big Three" (with two new members replacing others who had left the group). The four soon became "The Mugwumps," lasting until late 1964, when she joined John Phillips and Michelle Phillips & Denny Doherty of the group "The New Journeymen." In 1965, they changed their name to "The Mamas and The Papas," and from 1965 to 1968, produced 5 number-one hits, including "Dream a Little Dream of Me" which became Cass's theme song during her short-lived solo period. Another notable hit solo song was: "Make Your Own Kind of Music." She had two primetime television specials in 1969 and 1973, and a score of television appearances during this time. In 1974, she traveled to London, England, to perform in the Palladium to sell-out audiences, but died of a sudden heart attack towards the end of her tour. A partially-eaten ham sandwich next to her bed led to the incorrect rumor that she had choked to death on the sandwich. In 1998, Mama Cass Elliot was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Mamas and the Papas. In 2000, The Mamas and the Papas were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
Rock-Pop Singer. She was a singer for the Folk-Rock/Sunshine Pop vocal group "The Mamas and the Papas" during the mid to late 1960s. Born Ellen Naomi Cohen in Baltimore, Maryland, she was the oldest of three children in a family of Russian-Jewish descent and grew up in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area (Alexandria, Virginia and Baltimore). During her senior year in high school, she performed in a summer stock of "The Boyfriend" at the Owings Mills Playhouse, a performance that compelled her to forego college in pursuit of an acting career. She began with the play version of "The Music Man" and, in early 1963, she formed a folk singing group called "The Triumvirate," later changed to "The Big 3." "The Big 3" produced two albums and made appearances on "The Tonight Show," "Hootenanny," and "The Danny Kaye Show." In 1964, the name was changed to "Cass Elliott and the Big Three" (with two new members replacing others who had left the group). The four soon became "The Mugwumps," lasting until late 1964, when she joined John Phillips and Michelle Phillips & Denny Doherty of the group "The New Journeymen." In 1965, they changed their name to "The Mamas and The Papas," and from 1965 to 1968, produced 5 number-one hits, including "Dream a Little Dream of Me" which became Cass's theme song during her short-lived solo period. Another notable hit solo song was: "Make Your Own Kind of Music." She had two primetime television specials in 1969 and 1973, and a score of television appearances during this time. In 1974, she traveled to London, England, to perform in the Palladium to sell-out audiences, but died of a sudden heart attack towards the end of her tour. A partially-eaten ham sandwich next to her bed led to the incorrect rumor that she had choked to death on the sandwich. In 1998, Mama Cass Elliot was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Mamas and the Papas. In 2000, The Mamas and the Papas were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson
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Ellen Naomi Cohen
"Cass Elliot"
September 19, 1941 July 29, 1974
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