Cass Elliot
Template:Gruppo Cass Elliot, all'anagrafe Ellen Naomi Cohen (Baltimora, 19 settembre 1941 – Londra, 29 luglio 1974), è stata una cantante inglese, meglio nota con lo pseudonimo di Mama Cass all'interno del quartetto pop The Mamas & the Papas. Dopo la rottura del gruppo, ebbe una soddisfacente carriera solista e rilasciò nove album. Elliot fu trovata morta nella sua stanza d'albergo a Londra, apparentemente per un attacco cardiaco, dopo due concerti di grande successo al Palladium.
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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 heart attack.[1]
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.[2] 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."[3] 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.[4]
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 (in the first Austin Powers movie), TISM, Jack Black, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Robin Williams, 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.[5] She was the subject of a 2004 stage production in Dublin,[6] The Songs of Mama Cass, with Kristin Kapelli performing main vocals. The Crosby, Stills & Nash 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 is featured prominently in several episodes of seasons 2 and 3 of Lost. Her recording of It's Getting Better was also featured in a season 4 episode of Lost. -->
Discografia solista
Album
- 1968: Dream a Little Dream - US #87
- 1969: Bubblegum, Lemonade, And... Something for Mama - US #91
- 1969: Make Your Own Kind of Music - US #169 (riedizione di Bubblegum, Lemonade... con l'aggiunta della title track)
- 1971: Mama's Big Ones (solo greatest hits) - US #194
- 1971: Dave Mason and Mama Cass - US #49
- 1972: Cass Elliot
- 1972: The Road Is No Place for a Lady
- 1973: Don't Call Me Mama Anymore
Singoli
- 1968: "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (Mama Cass with the Mamas & the Papas) - US #12 Pop/#2 AC, UK #11
- 1968: "California Earthquake" - US #67
- 1969: "Move in a Little Closer, Baby" - US #58 Pop/#32 AC
- 1969: "It's Getting Better" - US #30 Pop/#13 AC, UK #8
- 1969: "Make Your Own Kind of Music" - US #36 Pop/#6 AC
- 1970: "New World Coming" - US #42 Pop/#4 AC
- 1970: "A Song That Never Comes" - US #99 Pop/#25 AC
- 1970: "The Good Times Are Coming" - US #104 Pop/#19 AC
- 1970: "Don't Let the Good Life Pass You By" - US #110 Pop/#34 AC
Collegamenti esterni
- Sito ufficiale di Cass Elliot
- Tributo e biografia di Cass Elliot
- Immagine del certificato di morte di Cass Elliot
- Discografia di Cass Elliot
- (EN) Cass Elliot, su IMDb, IMDb.com.
- ^ Staff report (July 30, 1974). Cass Elliot, Pop Singer, Dies; Star of the Mamas and Papas; A Hearty Performer.
- ^ "Ham and Wheeze", Snopes article debunking "Ham Sandwich" death story
- ^ Staff report (August 6, 1974). Cass Elliot's Death Linked to Heart Attack; Notes on People. The New York Times
- ^ Wilkes, R. (2001) "Inside story: 9 Curzon Place", The Telegraph. Accessed 2 January 2008.
- ^ http://www.maritbergman.net/?page_id=2
- ^ Pop: Kristin Kapelli, The Sunday Times (London), 11 gennaio 2004. URL consultato il 30 ottobre 2007.