![]() ![]() In the meantime, Yanovsky and John Sebastian co-founded the Lovin' Spoonful, while Doherty joined the New Journeymen, a group that also included John Phillips and his wife Michelle. This group lasted eight months, after which Cass performed as a solo act for a while. ![]() Tim Rose left the Big 3 in 1964, and Elliot and Hendricks teamed with Canadians Zal Yanovsky and Denny Doherty to form the Mugwumps. In 1964, the group appeared on an "open mic" night at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village, billed as Cass Elliot and the Big 3, followed onstage by folk singer Jim Fosso and bluegrass banjoist Eric Weissberg. Elliot's first recording with the Big 3 was "Winken, Blinken, and Nod", released by FM Records in 1963. In 1963, James Hendricks replaced Brown, and the trio was renamed the Big 3. Elliot would sometimes sing while working as a cloakroom attendant at The Showplace in Greenwich Village, but she did not pursue a singing career until she moved to the Washington, DC, area to attend American University (not Swarthmore College, as mentioned in the biographical song "Creeque Alley").Īmerica's folk music scene was on the rise when Elliot met banjoist and singer Tim Rose and singer John Brown, and the three began performing as The Triumvirate. She left high school shortly before graduation and moved to New York City to further her acting career (as recounted in the lyrics to " Creeque Alley").Īfter leaving high school to pursue an entertainment career in New York, Elliot toured in the musical The Music Man in 1962, but lost the part of Miss Marmelstein in I Can Get It for You Wholesale to Barbra Streisand. She won a small part in the play The Boy Friend, a summer stock production at the Hilltop Theatre in Owings Mills, Maryland. While attending Forest Park High School, Elliot became interested in acting. When Elliot's family returned to Baltimore, she attended Forest Park High School. While in Alexandria, she attended George Washington High School. She assumed the surname "Elliot" some time later, in memory of a friend who had died. Įlliot adopted the name "Cass" in high school, possibly borrowing it from actress Peggy Cass, according to Denny Doherty. Elliot's early life was spent with her family in Alexandria, Virginia, before the family moved to Baltimore when Elliot was 15, and where they had briefly lived at the time of Elliot's birth. Elliot had a brother, Joseph, and a younger sister, Leah, who also became a singer and recording artist. Her father, involved in several business ventures, ultimately succeeded through the development of a lunch wagon in Baltimore that provided meals to construction workers. Her family was subject to significant financial stresses and uncertainties during her childhood years. ![]() All four of her grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants. 7 Tributes and other popular culture referencesĮllen Naomi Cohen was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 19, 1941, the daughter of Philip (died 1962) and Bess Cohen (née Levine 1915–1994). ![]()
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