Cass Elliot Cass Elliot Cass Elliot (born Ellen Naomi Cohen; September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), also known as Mama Cass, was an American singer and actress, best known as a member of the Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, she released five solo albums. In 1998 she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas & the Papas. Ellen Naomi Cohen was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Philip Cohen (d: 1962) and his wife Bess (née Levine, 1915–1994). Both her parents were the children of Jewish
Michelle Phillips vocalist of the 1990s pop trio Wilson Phillips. After her marriage to John Phillips at age eighteen, the couple relocated to New York City, where they began writing songs together. There, Phillips was a founding member of the Mamas & the Papas, helping to form the vocal group in 1965. She co-wrote some of the band's hits, including "California Dreamin'", which appears on their debut album "If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears" (1966). Recording of the Mamas and the Papas' second album (eponymously titled "The Mamas and the Papas" (1966) and sometimes referred to as "Cass, John, Michelle,