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'Mama' Cass dies
LONDON M - "Mama" Cass Elliot, one of
America's top pop singers, died Monday in a
London apartment, police reported. She was
33.
Her agent attributed her death to choking
on food lodged in her throat.
Cass, who stood 5-foot-5 and weighed 238
pounds, had been appearing at the London Pal-
ladium. Her show closed Saturday, and friends
said she was staying in a flat in London's fash-
ionable Mayfair district before setting off on a
British tour.
The plump singer rose to fame as a member of
The Mamas and the Papas group, which entertained
audiences with songs of peace and love.
In an interview with the London Times published only
a day before her death, she said: "I could eat Chinese
food all the time. I've lost 80 pounds in the past year.
I'm not really on a diet, but my one rule is don't eat
anything white, because they're all fattening things."
"Mama" Cass was the most famous of The Mamas
and The Papas, which soared to fame with the hits
"Monday, Monday" and 'California Dreamin'." The
others were Michelle Gilliam and her then-husband,
John Phillips, and Denny Doherty.
When the singing group broke up in 1968, Elliot
launched a career as a solo singer, appearing first
at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas at a salary reported
at $40,000. She became a familiar figure on television
variety shows and specials, singing modern blues melo-
dies and sometimes joking about her bulk.
She once remarked- about her weight: "I didn't de-
velop a sense of humor as a defense for being heavy.
I've always had a weight problem. I simply learned
that's the way I am and so I live with it."
She denied that being heavy handicapped her career.
"On the contrary, it's helpful. It sets me apart from
the others. After all, you'd never mistake me for Jane
Fonda, would you?"
James Taylor
Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor
drown in sea of crowd antics
By MARNIE HEYN and
DAVID WARREN
James Taylor, boy wonder of
the folk set a few years ago,
made a return visit to the De-
troit area last Tuesday and
Wednesday. With him at Pine
Knob was the immensely talent-
ed Linda Ronstadt. The s h o w
they put on was on the whole,
a very uninspired performance.
Ronstadt was first. Although
she sang with the sweet, full,
expressive voice that has made
her famous, the crowd was too
busv to listen.
What with their trying to score
dope and beer, make time with
members of the opposite sex,
and show off their clothes in the
fading light, Ronstadt might as
well have been singing in a
empty train station. Her choice
of material was good, but the
promoters who planned the
show put her on stage too ear-
ly, and those of us who were
tryingdtohear had our senses
filled with the usual peripheral
noise that has made Detroit con-
certs infamous.
After a break James Taylor
came out and sang all of his old
songs. The air was filled with
cat-calls, requests, and an oc-
casional firecracker.
Taylor came out with a folk
guitar, modified for an electric
pickup, and amplifier. Rather
than soothing the crowd it just
made them talk louder and
make more noise. More import-
antly, however, was that Tay-
lor's new electric sound de-
tracted from the music. It
sounded like noise,
Another phenomenon on t h e
debit side of the quality of the
evening was the zoo aspect of
Becareful with fire:
There are babes
inthe woods.
the crowd. It is distracting
enough to a performer to be hit
in the face constantly with flash-
es and electronic strobes; when
cherry bombs start zinging
through the air, the distraction
becomes a palpable hazard.
To date, no one has conducted
any rigorous investigation into
the psychological reasons that
fans feel compelled to scream
out discographies between num-
bers; one woman shrieked "Fire
and Rain! Fire and Rain" after
each and every tune, and her
groans of orgasmic rapture
when Taylor finally did the song
drowned out most of the first
verse. And why do people cheer
uproariously when they recog-
nize a song?
A few years ago, when Tay-
lor was new and different, his
songs were filled with pain, love,
and an insight into the human
existence. Since he married
Carly Simon, however, his mu-
sic is filled with the milk of
human kindness, and about as
much insight into humanity as
tunes written by John Phillip
Sousa. It isn't that he hasn't
changed, it is that he has be-
come redundant. The words are
new, and meaningless, and the
music is more electric, but it is
essentially the same stuff that
he has been doing for years.
ANN ARBOR CIVIC THEATRE is
accepting resumes for set, cos-
tume, and lighting designers for
the 1974-75 season. Please submit
in writing by August 6 to Alida
Silverman, 2683 Esch, AA; or call
971-3513.
/00 I've come
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THE SUMMER REPERTORY THEATRE presents
FIVE ABREAST GOING ABROAD:
A Celebration of the Women We Are
An Oriqinal Theatre Piece Created & Assembled by a
Women's Workshop for Both Women and Men
TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKENDS
AUG. 1, 2, 3 & AUG. 8, 9, 10 (Matinee 2 P.M.)
$1.25 8:00 P.M.
DONATION EAST QUAD AUD.
FOR RESERVATIONS, INFORMATION, GROUP
RATES CALL 763-1172 DAILY 5-7 P.M.
-ANN ARBOR'S ALTERNATIVE THEATRE-
STEVE'S LUNCH
1313 SO. UNIVERSITY
Home Cooking Is Our Specialty
Breakfast All Day Specials This Week
3 eggs, Hash Browns, Beef Stroganoff
T & l - Chinese Pepper Steak
Toast & Jely-$1 .05 Home-made Beef Stew
Goulash
Ham or Bacon or Eag Rolls
Sausage with 3 eggs, HomereSups (Bee
Hash Browns, Toast and Barley, clam Chowder. etc.)
Chili, Vegetable Tempuro
Jelly--$1.40 (served after 2 p.m.J
Fried Rice with Sausages
3 eggs, Rib Eye Steak, and Vegetables
Hash Browns, Spaghetti in Wine Sauce
Toast & Jelly-$1.90 Beef Curry Rice
FAST AND FRIENDLY SERVICE BY MR. AND MRS. LEE
MON.-FRI.: 8-8
lSAT.: 8:30-8
SUN.: 9-2
1313 SO UNIVERSITY
STEVE'S LUNCH
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