My Mama, Cass

A Memoir

By: Owen Elliot-Kugell

Narrated by: Owen Elliot-Kugell

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 the 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 to 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 time: 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 the 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 famous friends, fans, and colleagues 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Owen Elliot-Kugell (P)2024 Hachette Books

Critic reviews

“My Mama, Cass is a daughter’s search for the mother she lost. In these pages, Owen Elliot-Kugell reconstructs who Ellen Naomi Cohen really was, which is not an easy task, as the woman who became Cass Elliot was a very complex person: unimaginably talented, independent, loving, warm, and completely dedicated to her one and only child. She brings her mother back to life for herself and for Cass’s millions of fans. The spotlight is back on my friend, and it’s great to see her again.”—Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas

An Incredible Read

A most fascinating snd heartfelt memoir. A must read for anyone who is a fan of Cass Elliot and The Mamas and The Papas.

Heartwarming history of a true rock and roll legend

I love the music and lore of the Laurel Canyon era. It was wonderful to hear the stories of how some of that music happened, and the life and history of such an amazing musician, storyteller, and human.

Love!

I loved all the stories about Cass, Owen and all the 60s rock stars. I enjoyed this book so much!

Pure delight for any Mama Cass fan.

Such a wonderful tribute from her daughter Owen. Really takes us back to that magical time in the 60s.. I loved every minute of this listening experience . I learned so . much from this book - Felt like I went through the cathartic experience with Owen from Joy to tragedy to present .
I highly recommend this listen !!!✌🏽❤️

Loved this..

She is so great at telling her story and all the memories. She’s really funny too. Great “read” highly recommend!!

Couldn’t be happier I listened!

I can’t tell you how wonderful this memoir is. Cass Elliot has brought me so much joy. Learning more about the real story has been excellent. Learning more about her story from her daughter has been delicious. I bet Owen is so much fun to have coffee with.

This book was an absolute joy

There couldn’t have been a better person to tell - and narrate - Cass’ story. And it was a bit uncanny how much she sounds like her mother.

Not only did I learn so much about Cass - well beyond Mama- but I felt like I was hearing it from dear friend. Heck, I just want to hang out with Owen now.

She should consider narrating other books!

An Unexpected Jewel

This popped up as a book recommendation I might like. I was just a kid-11 when Mama Cass died, so I didn’t know much about her. But I always enjoyed listening to her music and it brought back good memories from my childhood. This book was written by Cass’s daughter Owen who was only 7 years old when she died. She was trying to research and understand who her mother really was and tell her story and clear up some urban legends that weren’t really true. It starts off with some beautiful family history of the strong women she came from. Then there are many stories that were told to Owen, by the people important in Cass’s life or through documented interviews. This part took me a little longer to finish because it sparked the interest to go look at pictures or videos of her mom performing on the internet. There’s a great act with Dick Van Dyke on one of her shows that was worth looking up. I wanted to capture the beautiful person that Cass really was too. Her voice was so smooth and strong, she was funny and so talented! She went through a lot in the music industry to make it like she did. It’s interesting to hear her daughter’s recollections of her mother and the relationship they had. I’m glad I listened to the story in Owen’s voice. She did a very good job articulating it. I felt like this was a very well written book and enjoyed everything about it! I know her Mama Cass would be so proud!

Interesting double-bio

It’s a biography not just of Cass, but also of her daughter (which makes sense, since her daughter wrote it). I definitely learned a lot about Cass that I didn’t know even though I’d read other biographies about and by her bandmates of the Mamas & the Papas. She was so instrumental in a lot of great musicians meeting each other, and she was so active in the public eye and on television after the band split up!!

And I learned a lot about the author too. (There are several chapters on her own life after Cass’s death. I had no idea that Owen had recorded with Wilson Phillips, or even that Wilson Phillips had done more than one album!)

Overall an interesting book, even with a couple of the memories/stories being told multiple times in various chapters, and even though the phrase “dressed to the nines” appears FOUR times over the course of the book, and even though she also once uses the word “woefully” when she means “willfully” (all of which makes me wonder: where is her editor, asleep??). Those issues, while nagging at my attention, do not make the book bad, because it’s otherwise quite interesting.

If you’re interested in Cass Elliot, this is very much worth a listen. I’m so inspired by these stories that now I want to scour the internet for all the Cass footage I can find.

Thank you for sharing

Absolutely worth the read! Thank you for sharing your stories and your mother with us!