For many, the memorable element of the singing group The Mamas and the Papas was Cass Elliot’s clear contralto. Cass Elliot was born Ellen Naomi Cohen in Baltimore in 1941, attended Forest Park High School in Northwest Baltimore, and left high school six weeks before graduation to find her show business fortune in New York. She was 32 when she died of a heart attack in London after a brilliant run at the Palladium in late July 1974.

Her daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell, was 7 years old when her mother died, and has just published a memoir, "My Mama, Cass." We talk with her about it.

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472