Leah Kunkel Leah Kunkel Leah Kunkel (born June 15, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter and entertainment law attorney. Leah Kunkel was born Leah Cohen on June 15, 1948 in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the younger sister of Cass Elliot from the folk rock vocal group The Mamas & the Papas. In 1968 she married American drummer and music producer Russ Kunkel. Following her sister's death in 1974, Kunkel was given custody of Cass Elliot's daughter, Owen. The couple also raised their son, Nathaniel, an Emmy Award winning sound engineer. After being signed to Dunhill records, Kunkel recorded her first record "Billy"
The Mamas & the Papas lost $150,000 in their first eighteen months. Phillips called a halt in August 1983 and the New Mamas and the Papas did not perform again until February 1985. They then resumed touring, with concerts in Europe, East Asia, and South America, as well as in Canada and the United States; at their height, they were playing up to 280 nights a year. John Phillips stayed off heroin, but remained addicted to alcohol, cocaine, and pills, as did his daughter. This affected the group's performance, as they were occasionally booed off stage. Doherty quit in 1987 and was replaced by Scott