Cass Elliott

Throughout March 2023, a series of videos featuring a song called Make Your Own kind of Music by Cass Elliot became popular on TikTok. The song was one of Cass Elliot's solo pieces from 1969 but who was she?
Cass Elliot was born Ellen Naomi Cohen on September 19, 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland to the descendants of Russian Jewish immigrants. She grew up in the Washington D.C. Area. During her senior year of high school, she appeared in the summer production of "The Boyfriend" at Owing's Her Mills Playhouse, in which she played a French nurse in "Nice is better. Nice is better," she sang. Hoping to go to college to pursue her career, Kath made progress in the performing arts and made waves in New York, competing with Barbra Streisand for the role of Miss Mermelstein in 1962. Embarked on her acting career.
According to Denny Doherty, Elliot took the name "Cass" in high school and may have borrowed it from actress Peggy Cass. Either way, she was “Cass” not "Cassandra". She later adopted her surname Elliott in memory of her late friend. Elliott attended George Washington High School with Jim Morrison of the Doors.

The American folk music scene was on the rise when Elliot met banjo player/vocalist Tim Rose and vocalist John Brown, and the three began performing as a triumvirate. In 1963, James Hendricks replaced Brown and the trio was renamed The Big 3. Elliott’s first recording with the Big 3 was in 1963 when he released “Winken, Blinken," on FM Records. They were followed by folk singer Jim Fosso and bluegrass banjo player Eric Weisberg.
Tim Rose left the Big 3 in 1964, and Elliot and Hendrix joined forces with Canadians Zal Janowski and Denny Doherty to form The Magwumps. The group lasted eight months, after which Kath performed as a solo act for a while. Meanwhile, Yanofsky and John Sebastian formed Lovin’ Spoonful together, and Doherty joined The New Journeymen, a group that included John Phillips and his wife Michelle. Persuaded Phillips to participate. Michelle did this while a member of the group and her were vacationing in the Virgin Islands. This group later on became the Mamas and the Papa's who are well known for their hit song California Dreaming which was released in 1965 and was a cover of the song that was initially recorded by Barry McGuire. During her time with the Mamas and the Papas, Cass Elliot was called Mama Cass. In actuality, she hated being called “Mama" Cass. In addition, her nickname annoyed her as many people mistakenly assumed that Cass was her last name. Cass also had a daughter during her time with the Mamas and the Papas called Owen. She also recorded a cover of the 1931 song Dream a Little Dream of Me. After the Mamas and the Papas' record contract expired in 1971, the members went their separate ways which allowed for solo acts to happen as well as an easier chance of guest star appearances on TV shows. For Cass Elliot, she guest starred appeared in a 1973 episode of the New Scooby Doo Movies, a Scooby Doo series full to brim with guest stars and guest intellectual properties. For those curious as to which episode Cass is in, she is in season 2, episode 7's The Haunted Candy Factory.

Cass' greatest struggle was her weight which not only affected her weight but also her love life. These issues, especially the size of her figure, affected Cass Elliot all her life. This culminated in her untimely death from heart failure at the age of 32 years in flat 12 of 9 Curzon Square, an apartment building in Mayfair, London, England. She didn't choke on a ham sandwich (a rumour that sounds and reads as fat shaming). The flat she died in would later become the scene of Keith Moon of The Who's death in 1978. Cass' body was repatriated to the United States where she was cremated. Her ashes are interred in Mount Sinai Memorial Park which is also the final resting place of Mr. Potato Head's actor Don Rickles. Cass' daughter Owen (so called as Cass wanted someone who wouldn't leave her) was taken in by one of Cass' sisters and in the wake of her mother's song becoming popular on TikTok, she too has been spotted on the app carrying her mother's legacy.