Cass Elliot: differenze tra le versioni

Versione delle 18:46, 6 gen 2010

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{{T|lingua=inglese|argomento=biografie|data=aprile 2008}}

{{Artista musicale

|nome = Mama Cass

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Quando Tim Rose abbandonò la band, nel [[1964]], la Elliot ed Hendricks si unirono ai due musicisti di origine canadese [[Zal Yanovsky]] e [[Denny Doherty]] per dare vita alla nuova formazione dei ''[[The Mugwumps]]''. Il nuovo gruppo ebbe però vita breve, solo otto mesi, dopo che Cass decise di continuare la sua carriera musicale da solista. Nel frattempo l'altro membro dei ''The Mugwumps'', Yanovsky si unì a [[John Sebastian]] per fondare la band dei ''[[The Lovin' Spoonful]]'' mentre il suo ex-compagno di badn Doherty si unì ai ''[[The New Journeymen]]'' insieme a [[John Phillips]] e a sua moglie, [[Michelle Phillips|Michelle]]. Nel [[1965]], Doherty riuscì a convincere Phillips a far entrare nel gruppo anche Cass, che entrò ufficialmente nella band durante il loro tour nelle [[Isole Vergini]].

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A popular legend about Elliot is that her vocal range was improved by three notes after she was hit on the head by some copper tubing shortly before joining the group, while they were in the Virgin Islands. Elliot herself confirmed the story; in an interview with ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine in [[1968]] she said,

{{cquote|It’s true, I did get hit on the head by a pipe that fell down and my range was increased by three notes. They were tearing this club apart in the islands, revamping it, putting in a dance floor. Workmen dropped a thin metal plumbing pipe and it hit me on the head and knocked me to the ground. I had a concussion and went to the hospital. I had a bad headache for about two weeks and all of a sudden I was singing higher. It’s true. Honest to God.<ref>''Rolling Stone'' magazine, [[October 26]], [[1968]], No. 20</ref>}}

However, according to people who knew her well, this was not true - Elliot always had a standout singing voice. Her friends said that the pipe story was used as a more politically-correct explanation for why John had kept her out of the group for so long, because the real reason she was not accepted sooner was that John considered her to be too fat. <ref>[http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/casspipe.asp "Pipe Dream" [[Snopes.com]] debunking of pipe story]</ref>

==The Mamas and the Papas==

Now that The New Journeymen had two female members, it needed a new name. According to Doherty, Elliot had the inspiration for the band's new name. Doherty writes on his website:

{{cquote|We're all just lying around vegging out watching TV and discussing names for the group. The New Journeymen was not a handle that was going to hang on this outfit. John was pushing for The Magic Cyrcle. Eech, but none of us could come up with anything better, then we switch the channel and, hey, it's the Hell's Angels on this talk show... And the first thing we hear is: "Now hold on there, Hoss. Some people call our women cheap, but we just call them our Mamas." Cass jumped up: "Yeah! I want to be a Mama." And Michelle is going: "We're the Mamas! We're the Mamas!" OK. I look at John. He's looking at me going: "The Papas?" Problem solved. A toast! To The Mamas and the Papas. Well, after many, many toasts, Cass and John are passed out."<ref>[http://www.dennydoherty.com/dream11.html "Dream A Little Dream"] performance transcript from Denny Doherty's website, [http://www.dennydoherty.com/ DennyDoherty.com]</ref>}}

Doherty went on to say that the occasion marked the beginning of his affair with Michelle. Elliot was in love with Doherty, so was displeased when he told her about the affair. Doherty has said that Cass once proposed to him, but that he was so stoned at the time, he could not even respond.

Elliot, known for her sense of humor and optimism, was considered by some to be the most charismatic member of the group. Her warm, distinctive voice was a large factor in their success. She is best remembered for her vocals on the group's ''[[Billboard magazine|Billboard]]'' hits "[[California Dreamin']]", "[[Monday Monday]]", and "Words of Love", and particularly for the solo "[[Dream a Little Dream of Me]]", which the group recorded in 1968 after learning about the death of [[Fabian Andre]], one of the men who co-wrote it, whom Michelle Phillips had met years earlier. Elliot's version is noteworthy for being a ballad, whereas almost all earlier recordings of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (including one by [[Nat King Cole]]) had been quick, up-tempo versions — the song having actually been written in [[1931]] as a dance tune for the nightclubs of the day.

They continued to record to meet the terms of their record contract until their final album was released in 1971. Elliot's voice is noticeably weak on that album, as she herself was physically weak from crash dieting.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

==Solo career==

After the breakup of The Mamas & the Papas, Elliot went on to have a successful solo singing career. Her most successful recording during this period was 1968's ''[[Dream a Little Dream of Me]]'' from [[Dream a Little Dream (Cass Elliot album)|her solo album of the same name]], released by [[Dunhill Records]] though it had originally been recorded for and released on the album ''The Papas & the Mamas Presented By The Mamas and the Papas'' earlier that year. She headlined briefly in [[Las Vegas Strip|Las Vegas]] at Caesar's Palace for the unusually lucrative pay of [[United States dollar|USD$]]40,000 per week, although her performances were not well reviewed.

She was a regular on TV talk shows and variety shows in the [[1970s]], including ''[[The Julie Andrews Hour]]'', ''[[The Mike Douglas Show]]'', ''[[The Andy Williams Show]]'', ''[[Hollywood Squares]]'', and ''[[The Carol Burnett Show]]''. She guest-hosted for Johnny Carson on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' and appeared on that show 13 other times. Elliot also was a guest panelist for a week in late 1973 on the hit game show ''[[Match Game|Match Game '73]]''. She appeared in the 1973 ''[[Saga of Sonora]]'', a TV music-comedy-Western special with stars of the day such as [[Jill St. John]], [[Vince Edwards]], [[Zero Mostel]], and [[Lesley Ann Warren]]. She also sang the jingle "Hurry on down to Hardee's, where the burgers are charco-broiled" for [[Hardee's]] fast-food adverts.

Throughout the early 1970s, Elliot continued her acting career as well. She had a featured role in the 1970 movie ''[[H.R. Pufnstuf#Film|Pufnstuf]]'' and made guest-star acting appearances on TV's ''[[The New Scooby-Doo Movies]]'', ''[[Young Dr. Kildare]]'', ''[[Love, American Style]]'', and ''[[The Red Skelton Show]]'', among others.

==Family and death==

Apart from her time with Denny Doherty, Elliot was married twice. The first marriage, to bandmate Jim Hendricks, began in [[1963]]. This was reportedly a purely platonic arrangement, however, to assist him in avoiding being drafted into the army during the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>[http://www.hotshotdigital.com/tribute/MamaCass.html Cass Elliott dies at age 32]</ref> The marriage reportedly was never consummated and was annulled in 1968.<ref>[http://www.laurelcanyonthebook.com/?cat=50 Meet the Mugwumps]</ref> In [[1971]], Elliot married journalist [[Baron]] Donald von Wiedenman<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,903034,00.html July 12, 1971 Time Magazine announcement of Elliot's marriage to von Wiedenman]</ref><ref>For a photo, see [http://www.casselliot.com/imagepage2.htm the Official Cass Elliot Website].</ref> Von Wiedenman was heir to a [[Bavaria|Bavarian]] [[barony]]. That marriage ended in divorce after a few months.

Elliot gave birth to a daughter, Owen Vanessa Elliot, on [[April 26]], [[1967]]. She never publicly identified the father, but many years later, Michelle Phillips helped Owen locate her biological father. <ref>''California Dreamgirl,'' Vanity Fair magazine article quoting Michelle Phillips and Owen Elliot, Dec. 2007.</ref> Owen grew up to become a singer as well and toured with former Beach Boy [[Al Jardine]].<ref>[http://www.superseventies.com/faq_beachboys.html Beach Boys FAQ]</ref>

At the height of her solo career in 1974, Elliot performed two sold-out concerts at the [[London Palladium]]. She telephoned Michelle Phillips after the final concert, utterly elated that she had received standing ovations each night. She then retired for the evening, and died in her sleep of a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]].<ref name="nyt-report">Staff report (July 30, 1974). Cass Elliot, Pop Singer, Dies; Star of the Mamas and Papas; A Hearty Performer.</ref>

An [[urban legend]] arose that Elliot died choking on a ham sandwich. Speaking to the press shortly after her body was discovered, the police noted that a partly eaten sandwich had been found in her room and speculated that she may have choked while eating it. When the coroner's autopsy was performed, no food was found in her trachea and the cause of death was determined to have been heart failure and that she had died in her sleep. But by then, the specious Fatal Ham Sandwich story was already making the rounds and the real cause of death was rarely discussed.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/mamacass.htm "Ham and Wheeze"], [[Snopes]] article debunking "Ham Sandwich" death story</ref> ''The New York Times'' did report on August 6, 1974, that "Dr. Keith Simpson, a British pathologist, and Gavin Thurston, a London coroner, issued a report yesterday that ruled out the theory that "Mama" Cass Elliot choked to death on a ham sandwich."<ref name="nyt-heart">Staff report (August 6, 1974). Cass Elliot's Death Linked to Heart Attack; Notes on People. ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref> In an odd coincidence, Elliot died in the same flat, No.12 at 9 Curzon Place, [[Mayfair]] that [[The Who]] drummer [[Keith Moon]] would die in, a little over four years later.<ref>Wilkes, R. (2001) "[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2001/02/17/tpinsid17.xml Inside story: 9 Curzon Place]", ''The Telegraph''. Accessed 2 January 2008.</ref>

At Elliot's death, her sister, [[Leah Kunkel]], received custody of Cass' daughter Owen, then just seven years old. Kunkel is also a singer and charted in [[1984]] as a member of the [[Coyote Sisters]] on the single "Straight From The Heart (Into Your Life)." Kunkel was interviewed by [[VH1]] in [[1997]] and discussed her famous sister for the "Mamas & Papas" episode of the network's documentary series ''[[Behind The Music]].''

==Tributes, barbs and popular culture references==

Since her death, Mama Cass in general, and specifically the circumstances surrounding her death, have been the butt of jokes in comedy routines, movies, and songs, by performers such as [[Frank Zappa]], [[Adam Sandler]], [[Denis Leary]], [[Mike Myers (actor)|Mike Myers]] (in the first [[Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery|Austin Powers movie]]), [[TISM]], [[Jack Black]], [["Weird Al" Yankovic]], [[Robin Williams]], [[Foetus (band)|Foetus]] and others.

There also have been tributes to her in the years since her death. The song "Mama, I Remember You Now" by the Swedish artist [[Marit Bergman]] is a tribute to Mama Cass.<ref>http://www.maritbergman.net/?page_id=2</ref> She was the subject of a 2004 stage production in Dublin,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article990330.ece| title=Pop: Kristin Kapelli | publisher=The Sunday Times (London)|date=2004-01-11|accessdate=2007-10-30}}</ref> ''The Songs of Mama Cass'', with Kristin Kapelli performing main vocals. The [[Crosby, Stills & Nash]] ''[[Greatest Hits (CSN album)|Greatest Hits]]'' album released in 2005 was dedicated to Cass Elliot. The British film ''[[Beautiful Thing]]'' heavily features her recordings, and the memory of Cass plays a role in the life of one character.

Reaching a new generation of fans, Elliot's recording of ''[[Make Your Own Kind of Music (song)|Make Your Own Kind of Music]]'' is featured prominently in several episodes of seasons [[Lost (season 2)|2]] and [[Lost (season 3)|3]] of ''[[Lost (TV series)|Lost]].'' Her recording of ''[[It's Getting Better]]'' was also featured in [[Meet Kevin Johnson|a season 4 episode]] of ''Lost''. -->

== Discografia solista ==