[PDF] Remember the Fifth of November by Michael Fitzalan at Arts-Photography

Description

The greatest white female singer ever is how Boy George described pop icon Cass Elliot; the sixties diva who was at the epicentre of US popular culture and music during the Californian hippy movement. Hailed as Americas answer to the Beatles; the Mamas and the Papas hits such as California Dreamin and Monday Monday became the soundtrack of a generation. Casss uniquely emotive voice; charismatic wit and outsized multicoloured kaftans singled her out as a popstar who refused to conform to traditional female stereotypes. When she left the Mamas and the Papas; she immediately had a top ten hit with her debut single; Dream a Little Dream of Me and became the queen on Los Angeles society. Her Beverly Hills villa was the scene of legenday parties; becoming the second home of stars such as Jack Nicholson and Grace Slick; but there was a darker side to her fame - after years of continuous dieting and drug addiction; she died mysteriously in London at the age of 33. Including interviews with Casss friends and family; co-band members Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty; and many of the famous names who knew her; this is both an insightful biography of an extraordinary singer; and a fascinating glimpse into free-living; free-loving ideals of the sixties as the optimism of the flower-child generation was crushed by the Vietnam War. The product of over 100 interviews and four years of research across three continents; its a fantastic read that goes way beyond thorough . . . Fiegels fine; all-encompassing tome restores much of the great womans dignity - Mojo