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| Mama's Big Ones | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | October 1970 | |||
| Recorded | 1966-1970 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Label | Dunhill | |||
| Mama Cass chronology | ||||
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Mama's Big Ones is a compilation album of previously released material as noted below, by Cass Elliot.
Cass Elliot's solo tenure with Dunhill Records, inaugurated in the spring of 1968, had proven contentious, the label insisting the onetime member of the Mamas & Papas be billed as Mama Cass and that she resume recording in the soft rock vein which had afforded the Mamas & Papas' success. [1] [2] [3] Elliot would in 1971 claim that at Dunhill she had been "forced to be so bubble gum that I'd stick to the floor when I walked", [4] and in fact Elliot's solo singles had been progressively less successful, Dunhill president Jay Lasker commenting after Elliot's sixth solo single stalled at #42 in early 1970 "'New World Coming' has gotten great airplay because it came along and expressed hope in the midst of despair. Unfortunately, it isn't selling all that well, so we're going back to an old theme. The message here - at least to us - is that 'the message record has had it'. [Now] Mama Cass is going to do love songs." [5]
In fact it was announced in July 1970 that Elliot would depart Dunhill for RCA Records, the anthology Mama's Big Ones being issued in October 1970 as a final album owed by Elliot to Dunhill. [1] Mama's Big Ones featured nine of Elliot's ten Dunhill single releases - omitting 1968's "California Earthquake" - and adding the Mamas & Papas' hit "Words of Love" which featured Elliot as lead vocalist. Mama's Big Ones provided the album debut for the tracks "New World Coming", "A Song That Never Comes", "The Good Times Are Coming", "Don't Let the Good Life Pass You By" and "One Way Ticket" and "Ain’t Nobody Else Like You" which were all single releases (the last-named being the UK B-side of Elliot's version of "Easy Come Easy Go").
| No. | Title | Chart Position | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "It's Getting Better" (from Bubblegum, Lemonade, and... Something for Mama ) | US #30 Pop/#13 AC, UK #8 (5/1969) | |
| 2. | "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (from The Papas & The Mamas ) | US #12 Pop/#2 AC, UK #11 (6/1968) | |
| 3. | "Make Your Own Kind of Music" (from Make Your Own Kind of Music/It’s Getting Better ) | US #36 Pop/#6 AC (10/1969) | |
| 4. | "Words of Love" (with the Mamas & the Papas) (from The Mamas & the Papas )) | US #5, UK #12 (11/1966) | |
| 5. | "New World Coming" | US #42 Pop/#4 AC (1/1970) | |
| 6. | "Move in a Little Closer, Baby" (from Bubblegum, Lemonade, and... Something for Mama) | US #58 Pop/#32 AC (2/1969) | |
| 7. | "One Way Ticket" | ||
| 8. | "The Good Times Are Coming" | US #104 Pop/#19 AC (11/1970) | |
| 9. | "Easy Come, Easy Go" (from Bubblegum, Lemonade, and... Something for Mama) | ||
| 10. | "Don't Let the Good Life Pass You By" | US #110 Pop/#34 AC (11/1970) | |
| 11. | "Ain't Nobody Else like You" | ||
| 12. | "A Song That Never Comes" | US #99 Pop/#25 AC (7/1970) |
The album was released in October 1970 [6] [7] and peaked at the #194 spot on the Billboard Charts. [8]
The album was reissued by MCA in 1980 and again by MCA, on CD, in 1987.
The album can be seen hanging on the wall of the character Leah in the 1996 British film Beautiful Thing while she is listening to "One Way Ticket". "It’s Getting Better", "Make Your Own Kind of Music", "Dream a Little Dream of Me", and "Move in a Little Closer, Baby" are also featured in the film.
Songs from the album (namely "It’s Getting Better", "Make Your Own Kind of Music", and "New World Coming") were used on the American television series Lost .
"Don’t Let the Good Life Pass You By" was a backing track and the name of Season 3 episode 8 of the NBC fantasy comedy The Good Place
The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in Los Angeles, the group consisted of Americans John Phillips, Cass Elliot, and Michelle Phillips, and Canadian Denny Doherty. Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips, the songwriter, musician, and leader of the group, who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early 1960s.
Ellen Naomi Cohen, known professionally as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was also known as “Mama Cass”, though she herself reportedly hated the name. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, Elliot 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.
Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty was a Canadian musician. He was a founding member of the 1960s musical group the Mamas & the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips in 1963 and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in December 1965. The lyrics express the narrator's longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter in New York City. It is recorded in the key of C-sharp minor.
Jill Gibson is an American singer, songwriter, photographer, painter and sculptor. She is mostly known for her collaboration work with Jan & Dean and for having briefly been a member of the successful 1960s rock group the Mamas and the Papas. She was also one of the main photographers at the historic Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
Lester Louis Adler is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of iconic musical artists, including The Grass Roots, Jan & Dean, The Mamas & the Papas, and Carole King. King's album Tapestry, produced by Adler, won the 1972 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and has been called one of the greatest pop albums of all time.
People Like Us is the fifth and final studio album released by the American folk rock vocal group The Mamas and the Papas. Released in November 1971, the album came to be because the former members of the group were still under contract with Dunhill Records. The group had originally been signed to the label when it was run by their original producer Lou Adler, but by 1971, Dunhill's distributor, ABC Records, had purchased the label and discovered a clause in the group's original contract. According to their contract, the group had to produce one more album, or else be in breach of contract and subject to possible fines up to 1 million dollars. The album is considered a disappointment by fans and critics with some gems such as “Snowqueen of Texas” and “Lady Genevieve”. Nevertheless, it sold moderately well. It was produced by John Phillips. Michelle Phillips later wrote in the liner note of a Mamas & Papas CD compilation that the album "sounded like what it was, four people trying to avoid a lawsuit".This mostly had to do with the spark in the groups original content leaving as the group had parted ways and had pursued personal gains.
The Papas & The Mamas is the fourth studio album by the American folk rock vocal group the Mamas and the Papas, released in 1968.
"Dream a Little Dream of Me" is a 1931 song with music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt and lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was first recorded in February 1931 by Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra, soon followed by Wayne King and His Orchestra with vocals by Ernie Birchill. A popular standard, it has seen well over 400 recorded versions.
"Make Your Own Kind of Music" is a pop song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil which became a top 40 hit for Cass Elliot in 1969.
Bubblegum, Lemonade &... Something for Mama is the second solo album released by Cass Elliot under the billing "Mama Cass". It was recorded in 1969 and arranged and produced by Steve Barri. The album was originally released in June 1969, with only 11 tracks. It was released again in November 1969, under a new title and with a different album cover as Make Your Own Kind of Music/It’s Getting Better. "Make Your Own Kind of Music" had just become a hit and was added to the album.
Dream a Little Dream is the debut solo album by American singer Cass Elliot immediately following the breakup of The Mamas & the Papas, though she was still billed as "Mama Cass" for this release. Capitalizing on the success of her first solo song as the album's title, it was released in October 1968 by Dunhill Records. The album was re-released by MCA Japan in 2001.
Dave Mason & Cass Elliot was the only teaming of artists Dave Mason and Cass Elliot. The album was produced by both Mason and Elliot and recorded in 1970. The album was released by Mason's label, Blue Thumb Records.
"Twelve Thirty" a.k.a. "Twelve-Thirty ", is a song by the Mamas & the Papas.
"It's Getting Better" is a song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil that was a sunshine pop hit single in 1969 for Mama Cass.
The Big 3 was an American folk trio consisting of singer Cass Elliot (1941–1974), singer-songwriter-banjo player Tim Rose (1940–2002), and singer-guitarist Jim Hendricks.
"New World Coming" is a pop song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil which became a hit for Cass Elliot in early 1970.
"One Way Ticket" is a 1967 song co-written by American composer Stephen J. Lawrence, which became Helen Reddy's first single. The lyrics were written by Bruce Hart. It was introduced by Gloria Loring on her 1968 MGM Records album, Today, produced by Bob Morgan. Loring's original rendition was not, however, released as a single.
"Move in a Little Closer, Baby" is a pop song, first recorded by Harmony Grass as "Move in a Little Closer." The song became an international hit for Cass Elliot in the spring of 1969.
The Mamas & the Papas were a vocal group from Los Angeles, California that was active from 1966 to 1969. Their discography consists of a total of five albums and 17 singles, six of which made the Billboard top ten, and sold close to 40 million records worldwide. Monday, Monday hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1966 and California Dreamin' was the top song on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1966.