The Late, Great Cass Elliot

Her vocals just floor me, and I think she's one of the all-time great female rock and roll singers. She also loved musical theater, and had Broadway aspirations at one point (but never looked the part of the ingenue). Anyway...that voice! My parents were fans of The Mamas and the Papas, and I remember belting out "Words of Love" to their LP when I was a little kid, trying to sound like her. Any other admirers?

I *love* Mama Cass! My folks listened to M&P's albums all the time when I was a kid 20 yrs ago. Not that there were so many--it's amazing that a group that was together for just a few short years with just a few full LP's have lasted through so many decades! I have a best-of CD in my car that I just love. Plus I'm a huge Beatles fan and they covered lots of their stuff--I love Cass' burlesque-y version of "I Call Your Name!" Also, being in radio for a living, I discovered that "Creeque Alley" was a great song to sing in the car for 15 minutes on the way to work in the mornings just to warm up my throat for talking all day. You know how it is when you just don't sound like yourself in the morning and need to cough out any lingering gunk...anyway...so that range was just enough to get the chords going, but not stressing them out and belting like some of her other stuff.

"Dream a Little Dream" is one of the most beautiful vocals, ever.

---

Updated On: 5/11/06 at 02:09 PM

You should try some of her solo recordings, available on her own "best of" collection, or on the "Beautiful Thing" soundtrack.

One Way Ticket
Make Your Own Kind Of Music
Welcome to the World
California Earthquake, etc.

Great, great stuff.

And of course, my personal childhood favorite: "Different" from the Sid & Marty Krofft movie "Pufnstuf!"

---

Burlesque is a great word to describe her singing and performance, the "bigness" of it. Just a joy to hear.

Something akin to Ethel Merman in that way, yet a different sound.

She's one of my all-time favorites, both alone and with the Mamas and the Papas.

---

>>Creeque Alley was a great song. (and California dreaming is becoming a reality).

Yeah, and have you heard the dance mix of California Dreamin'? I was in Ixtapa, Mexico last week on vacation and we kept meeting these cute guys and waiters everywhere we went. I said one of them, "have you heard this? It's a classic!" He said "yeah, every night at this club." I said...no...it's a M&P's song from the 60's...and he didn't know that. Ah, so young, the kids today...

And yes, they played a fair amount of American dance tunes in addition to Spanish dance music artists in the clubs there. Fun times.

---

Updated On: 5/11/06 at 03:40 PM

"Creeque Alley" is probably my favorite M&P song, followed closely by "Safe in My Garden" and "My Heart Stood Still."

---

They were all pretty screwed up. Michelle and Denny were probably the most sane, and even that's all relative. It's hard to believe they were together for such a short time. They were incredibly prolific.

---

Updated On: 5/11/06 at 04:21 PM

I never got to see it, either. I have the album, which is rather underwhelming.

---

Oh, yeah, I know she was as much of a drug taker as the rest of them. She seems to have reservations about her stance on LSD now, though (at least she did in her autobiography).

---

Michelle may have had a breathy voice, and certainly wasn't the "soloist" that Cass became, but there's no denying the magic when those four unique voices blended together.

Michelle's mellower and "meeker" sound worked in perfect combination with Cass's brighter, bolder sound.

*sigh*

As they say, the rest is history.

---

Agreed, Best!

:)

---