Ellen Naomi Cohen, known professionally as Cass Elliot, was an American singer. She was also known as "Mama Cass", a name she reportedly disliked. Elliot was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, she released five solo albums. Elliot received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary (R&R) Performance for "Monday, Monday" (1967). In 1998, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas & the Papas.
Elliot with Johnny Cash in 1969
Elliot in a publicity photograph for Don't Call Me Mama Anymore (1973)
From left to right: Elliot, Diahann Carroll and Jack Lemmon in 1973
9 Curzon Square, where Elliot died
The Lovin' Spoonful is an American folk-rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964. The band was among the most popular groups in the United States for a short period in the mid-1960s and their music and image influenced many of the contemporary rock acts of their era. Beginning in July 1965 with their debut single "Do You Believe in Magic", the band had seven consecutive singles reach the Top Ten of the U.S. charts in the eighteen months that followed, including the number-two hits "Daydream" and "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" and the chart-topping "Summer in the City".
The Lovin' Spoonful rehearsed for weeks in early 1965 in the basement of Greenwich Village's Hotel Albert (pictured 2023).
The Lovin' Spoonful performing live, 1965
A trade ad for "Nashville Cats", the Lovin' Spoonful's seventh and final single to reach the US Top Ten