Free Republic

The myth that Cass Elliot died by choking on a ham sandwich in 1974 was invented by her manager in an attempt to protect her legacy, the singer’s daughter said. Owen Elliot-Kugell was 7 years old when Elliot passed away at 32 from a heart attack after 36 hours of performing and partying. The former The Mamas & the Papas vocalist had been developing her solo career in London, U.K,. and seemed to have a bright future ahead of her. “By the time she got back to her flat, it was evening the following day,” Elliot-Kugell told the BBC in...

Harry Nilsson was arguably the most interesting man in rock and roll, but he may have been a bit too interesting for his own good. As an artist, Nilsson was willfully elusive and peculiar, and the wild swath of his creative output may have kept his legacy too far on the down-low. It certainly kept him under the radar of the likes of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, who've yet to give Nilsson his props. Truth is Nilsson liked to work. So he became a chameleon who would change musical spots depending on the gig. He was an...