Song:Make Your Own Kind Of Music
Album:The Best Of The Mamas & The Papas:20th Century Masters:The Millenium Collection
Of course The Mamas & The Papas were a very successful mid 60s pop group. But as they started to have internal conflict and as they came closer to splitting up, Dunhill Records owner Lou Adler started to think about the four as potential solo artists. Mama Cass Elliott had the most success. She was born Ellen Naomi Cohen Sept. 19, 1941 in Baltimore. Apparently she adopted the name Cass from actress Peggy Cass and the name Elliott from a deceased friend. Obviously with her big voice and her unusual look, Cass was a big part of the Mamas & The Papas success. Her first single in 1968 was Dream A Little Dream Of Me. It was supposed to be a Mamas & The Papas song but the group split up and Adler decided to release it as a Mama Cass solo single. It reached #12 on the pop charts and the album reached #87 on the album charts. Her 1969 follow up album Bubblegum, Lemonade, And...Something For Mama struggled so Dunhill released Make Your Own Kind Of Music as a single and then renamed and rereleased that album with Make Your Own Kind Of Music added on. The song was written by Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil and reached #36 on the pop charts. It seems odd to find it on a Mamas & The Papas comp. You might want to try the 1997 comp Dream A Little Dream: The Cass Elliott Collection. This was her final top 40 hit though she did have some success with an album she recorded with Dave Mason. Elliott continued to perform and started acting. Her obesity seems to have been a factor in her death of a heart attack on July 29, 1974 at age 32 after performing at the London Palladium. There were reports that she died while eating a ham sandwich but that was proven to be untrue. Mama Cass Elliott was another very good singer who died way too young. Here's Mama Cass Elliott performing Make Your Own Kind Of Music on the Hollywood Palace TV show in 1969.
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