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My Mama, Cass: A Memoir

My Mama, Cass: A Memoir

by Owen Elliot-Kugell

Da Capo ·2024 ·276 pages ·Memoir
Maybe Someday
Maybe Someday
I Index
32/99
Bottom of the Pile

8/99

Critics

Near the Top

56/99

Readers

n/a

Scholars

2/99

Rating

15/99

Volume

33/99

Rating

79/99

Volume

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About This Book

A long-awaited, myth-busting, and deeply affecting memoir by the daughter of legendary rock star "Mama Cass" Elliot To the rest of the world, Cass Elliot was a rock star; A charismatic, wisecracking singer from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted band, The Mamas & The Papas; A legend of Laurel Canyon, decked out in her custom-made Muumuus, glittering designer jewelry, blessed with a powerful, instantly identifiable singing voice which helped define the sound of the 1960s counterculture movement. But to Owen Elliot-Kugell, she was just Mom. In the nearly 50 years since Cass Elliot's untimely death at the age of 32, rumors and myths have swirled about, shading nearly every aspect of her life. In her long-awaited memoir, Owen Elliot-Kugell shares the groundbreaking story of her mom as only a daughter can tell it. In My Mama, Cass , Owen pulls back the curtains of her mother's life from the sold-out theaters and behind the closed doors of her infamous California abode. Born Ellen Naomi Cohen, the woman who was known to the world as Cass Elliot was decades ahead of her an independently minded, outspoken woman who broke through a male-dominated business, a forward-thinking feminist, and a single parent who embraced motherhood from the moment Owen entered the world. From the closely guarded secret of Owen's paternity to Cass's lifelong struggles with self-esteem and weight to rumors surrounding her mother's death, Owen illuminates the complex truths of her mother's life, sharing interviews with high-profile figures who orbited Cass, as well as never-before-heard tales of her mother and this legendary period of American history. Featuring intimate family and archival photos as well as interviews and memories from high-profile figures who loved and respected Cass, this book is both a love story and a mystery, a tale of self-discovery and a daughter's devotion. At its core, My Mama, Cass is a beautifully crafted testament befitting of Cass Elliot's enduring cultural impact and legacy, written by the person who knew and loved her best.


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Reviews

"A unique perspective from the daughter of a rock star."

Dr. Dave Szatmary· Library Journal Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Unfortunately, the narrative's loose ends lend it an unfinished feel, and while Elliot-Kugell promises that "questions asked in" her mother's lifetime "receive their answers in mine," the answers are anticlimactic or incomplete."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

"Much of the narrative is rather by the numbers, and the prose is largely workmanlike ..."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Bottom of the Pile

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