 When "Mama" Cass Elliott died in 1974 at the age of thirty-two, initial reports suggested she choked while eating a sandwich in bed. The sweet-voiced belter for the Mamas and the Papas had been enjoying a successful solo career at the time, with hits such as "It's Getting Better" and the vaudevillian throwback "Dream a Little Dream of Me." At almost 240 pounds, she had always struggled with her weight; fans could easily believe her death was associated with eating. Reports were soon embellished with details. Like Jimi Hendrix, Cass had supposedly asphyxiated on her own vomit. And the sandwich, like the singer's showier instincts, was ham. Some believed she died from a heroin overdose; others said she had been carrying John Lennon's baby at the time. In the end, the truth was less lurid. Mama Cass died of massive heart failure, probably as a result of her weight problem and the occasional crash diets she tried. Though a sandwich may well have been found at her bedside, an autopsy revealed no evidence of food in her trachea.
JAMES SULLIVAN
(Posted Oct. 12, 2004)
 Rock's Wildest Myths Main Page
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