A half century after her tragic early death at age 32, Mama Cass Elliot remains a legendary figure in popular music. In the 1960s she rose to national and international prominence as one of the singers in the popular folk-rock group The Mamas and the Papas.
When that group disbanded, she bounced back with a successful solo career. Her best-known solo number, "Make Your Own Kind of Music," became a standard, assuring her place in music history. In 1998 Elliot was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas and the Papas.
On July 29, the 50th anniversary of Elliot's passing, Oasis will present a Mama Cass Tribute Cabaret, an evening of song hosted by Ruby Vixen and Leigh Crow. In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Vixen spoke of what Mama Cass means to her.
"To me she is both the possibilities and reality of living as an entertainer who happens to be a fat woman," Vixen said. "When Cass was on stage, she was impossible to ignore, perfectly larger than life, completely free and so herself. Honestly, seeing video of her when I was a kid was a revelation."
Music inspiration
Vixen recalled growing up with a musician dad who shared his love of music with her. She had always wanted to be onstage, but the message from society was clear: being fat and being onstage were incongruous.
"Mama Cass' popularity shatters that myth," she said. "At the same time, she was subjected to the forces of sexism and fatphobia. In our current age of Ozempic, it's hard to feel that humans have made progress towards simply accepting the fact that talented, gorgeous, impossible to ignore fat women, and people of all genders, belong on stage. That is to say, sometimes it feels like we need her now more than ever."
Vixen said that Cass' music lives on because of the beauty of her voice. According to Vixen, Cass recorded some truly wonderful songs and made them her own. Vixen also noted that Cass has a sizable following in the LGBT community, due largely to her outsider image which attracted people on the fringes of society.
"A huge portion of the counterculture hippie movement of the '60s was on the LGBTQ+ spectrum," Vixen said. "Music is something that connects people from across all boundaries, and many queer kids are attracted to her spectacular vision and gorgeous voice. Not to mention she could really wear clothes. She looked so comfortable and beautiful in the wildest outfits. I see her style as psychedelic drag."
Guest talents
Attendees of the Mama Cass Tribute Cabaret can expect to see and hear a really fun one-night only experience with a carefully curated array of the Bay Area's most fabulous voices. Vixen promises a lot of laughs, and even a few happy tears. She suggests bringing a hankie because the show is going to get emotional.
Some of the other performers include Snaxx, who also serves as the show's producer. Other scheduled performers include Zelda Koznofski, Alotta Boutte, Paige Turner, Julien Guss, and Vixen's partner Leigh Crow, who, in addition for being known as Elvis Herselvis and performing as Capt. Kirk in the "Star Trek" parodies, actually played Mama Cass twice in the original rock musical "Club Inferno."
Vixen and Crow also frequently perform in the Country band Velvetta. For the Cass show, Ben Prince will perform on the piano, backed up by a live band.
Also performing in the show is rising star singer/songwriter Carly Ozard.
"Cass was just a girl who wanted to be in musical theater," Ozard said in an interview. "Her first job was in 'The Music Man' on tour, using her birth name Naomi Cohen. She was just a girl who wanted to sing. Everything else regarding her weight and the direction of her career was because of other people. If she had been allowed to be her, she might still be alive today."
Ozard will perform "California Earthquake," one of Cass' lesser-known songs.
"What I love is its intensity," said Ozard. "It's a metaphor for some big huge thing that's gonna happen. It might cause destruction, but here it comes."
Vixen said that she loves working at Oasis.
"Oasis is certainly home to the best drag in the Bay," she said. "As a live singing entertainer, it's extra special. The sound there is always so good. I always feel like what I do is taken seriously and the venue supports its performers in putting on their very best shows. Not to mention the audiences at Oasis are always ready to party and have a great time. I'm just so excited for this show and honored to play hostess and get to spend a night performing with and for our friends."
Mama Cass Tribute Cabaret, $28-$39, July 29, 7pm, Oasis, 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com
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