Pop Culture Tribute: "Mama" Cass Elliott

You know, I've felt uninspired by current pop culture for the past week or so. Given this, I've decided to start a new series on this blog to celebrate the greatness of those who came "BB" (Before Britney)--who's now boring. So, I'll start with my favorite voice EVER: Mama Cass. I'm somewhat obsessed about the Mamas and the Papas. Everybody knows that Denny, John, and Cass were the talent and Michelle...well...she was pretty. But what an amazing, messed up bunch of four friends they were. This first video is from the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Enjoy--and check out what they're wearing!
I love the fact that when you listen to the women's parts all you hear is Cass. She was just that kinda woman (I think...not having known her personally). The next video is what inspired the whole tribute. What could be better than Mama Cass? Mama Cass and John Denver! He actually wrote this song and then it was famously recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary. I just love the simpleness of it and the striking harmony. Man, I hear this and think I was born about 20 years too late. I would have loved to watch this happen live.

And finally, I think this is Cass at her best. Great kind of haunting, melodic song, Cass up there unhindered by stupid, untalented Michelle, and a fur-fringed, lame (read la-may, not 'lame') muumuu. God it just doesn't get any better.

I'm not sure what it is that I love so much about Cass. Her voice is undeniable but in a really "folk" way--she's not Celine Dion. But she does epitomize an era that I wish I could have seen myself. AND, I think there's something mystical about her. She broke all kinds of rules that no one every thought she could--she was 300 pounds, singing live in muumuus at a time when women were "really" either like June Cleaver or like the little waifish hippies that gathered at Woodstock. But from what I've read, Cass made no apologies: she sang, she did drugs, she was a single mother, she was the charismatic draw for this group--people loved her--and yet she was a tragic figure. Today everyone thinks she died eating--of course, how else would a fat woman die. And yet, my favorite part of all of these videos is that you see her for what she was, but her voice is what you pay attention to. It's what she's remembered for. And that's the way it should be. The Mamas and the Papas would never have been had it not been for Cass. And that's awesome.