Milestones, Aug. 12, 1974

Died. "Mama" Cass Elliot, 33, gargantuan, silvery-voiced pop-rock singer; after choking on a ham sandwich; in London. Born Ellen Naomi Cohen in Baltimore, Mama Cass sang with a few unmemorable Greenwich Village folk groups in the early 1960s before contributing her gutsy contralto to the Mamas and the Papas, the quartet that created such euphonious superhits as Monday, Monday and California Dreamin'. When the group broke up in 1968, the Earth Motherly (5 ft. 5 in., as much as 250 Ibs.) Elliot embarked on a successful solo career. More than 300 people, including such luminaries as Carol Burnett, Peter Lawford and...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!