Cass Elliot - Oh Babe, What Would You Say [1972]

[tuneaddicted]

Pure gold, what a unique WONDERFUL voice, she could sing anything and make it great!

[Kevin107ish]

With the lollipop, the video-maker seems to be trying to make out that Mama Cass was fat. HOW DARE YOU! She was big-boned, is all. You'll be dead a long time yourself one day, then you'll see how offensive your behavior has been. Amen.

[jeffboka]

Cass had such amazing voice. I like this as much as Hurricanes original version.

[w2npjvve]

It's such a shame we lost the lovely Cass Elliot so early in her career. I can only imagine the type of music she could have brought to us all. This song is just the tiniest tip of the iceberg representing the power and gift of Cass Elliot.

[at90percent]

I like how she put Hurricane Smith's grit in some of the lines of the song.

[ChristophePhilippe]

This is just plain wonderful.

[skipper8257]

Cass was a very special person and artist. I missed her so much when we lost her. She had so much more to give us. R.I.P. Mama Cass.

[curioushumangeorge]

Hurricane owns this song yes but this version is just as great.

[kodachromefilm]

She was gross.

[shelly10538]

I never knew she did this! I always loved the Hurricane Smith version, I guess she must have liked it too. Nice version too.

[curioushumangeorge]

@shelly10538 hurricane smith wrote this song for cass ----> cass recorded this song first but it was never released as a single. Then again there were faults with the mixing back then and it would not have sounded as good as it is here.

[kodachromefilm]

@curioushumangeorge I don't think that to be totally true.

[curioushumangeorge]

@kodachromefilm ok what's true then....?

[kodachromefilm]

@curioushumangeorge I can be wrong, and you may know more about this that I, and if so, please forgive me. What little I know I Googled, so if I am wrong, then I am wrong. I will continue a googled result in the next box.

[kodachromefilm]

@curioushumangeorge "Smith said about this song: "The melody was happy and simple. It was the producer in me that designed the lyric to recapture the era I grew up in. It's almost a true story of my life. I would go to a ballroom, but I was so shy I couldn't even ask someone to dance. I'd walk home imagining a romance when I'd never even reached first base. 'Oh, Babe' was about those fantasies."

[kodachromefilm]

@curioushumangeorge By the way, the quote is from songfacts com. My intellegence is quite artificail on this topic. So I can be wrong. If so, then "my bad".

[curioushumangeorge]

@kodachromefilm I looked at your source "songfacts". From the 1st paragraph, "This recording was a demo of a song that Smith had written for a different artist to record. When he played it for Mickie Most, the record producer was impressed enough to tell him to release it as it was." It is an often overlooked fact that Cass recorded it first but still, Hurricane Smith owns this song. Cheers and thanks for the civility...it is rather uncommon on yt.

[kodachromefilm]

@curioushumangeorge Thank you for greater understanding. I guess I am wrong.

[ffluffnstuff]

MELODIC---She is wonderful!!!!

[freemantom]

Playing it again - still loving it like mad. So sad Cass was taken too soon. :-)

[rickw1100]

Great job Cass!!!! As always!

[lurbinaq]

Lindo juego de imagenes para recordar a una gran cantante como lo fue la linda Mama Cass Elliot!!!

[philip0460]

Cass could sing the phone book and sound good. I like Hurricane Smith's version a whole lot, but this version is also wonderful!

[jeffboka]

@philip0460 Ditto!!!

[PolishRoots]

Just AWESOME...great sound and pictures!

TYFP

Gone too soon......

[eddie1967]

@PolishRoots

I agree...gone way too soon...after seeing her Biography on the Bio Channel, I found myself imagining the Cass Elliot of today...

[mikerandell44]

first time jve heard cass sing hurricane song love it but she would make any thing sound good

[sodimite]

Cass, who's better than you? I wish that you were still among the living; I wanna give you the biggest hug ever!Thank you (christopher60s) for all of your wonderful posts of her, it keeps me entertained for hours! Your posts belong in the Rock-N-Roll hall of fame exhibit of her and the Mamas&Papas, because people should know what a great treasure that she was and still is!

[hopefloats51]

I love Cass & I love this tune too. And I love her version of it, even though it is different from Hurricane Smith's, which is the only other version I've ever heard. She had the most fantastic, effortless voice!

[qantace]

I very attached to this song since I 8 yrs and still

am.

[filthybaggage]

@qantace

[stapelgek100]

This is good medicine.

[qantace]

It relaxed my mind when I hear this AWESOME

timeless 1972 smash hit.

[vpandrade]

ha big cass what avoice. I miss yu

[Kaaawa2000]

I don't think it's in the right key for her. They should have left it in C like the original, it sounds funny in Eb. I've heard chicks do it in C and it's fine.

That, to me is what's wrong with this version. It doesn't sit right to me and I love Cass and I love this tune.

[filthybaggage]

@Kaaawa2000 Interesting comment. I'm hoping to get this song into a show soon. C seems to be too high a key for those female chorus singers who will have to deliver it in unison. Eb would have been my alternative. Tell me what you suggest - always welcome helpful comments

[filthybaggage]

@Kaaawa2000

[RosanneB]

Not a typical Cass Elliot song but a cute change of pace for her. She is still the best female singer in the world as far as Im concerned.

[GladysCassKarenAnnie]

The arrangement is not poor, and I don't think it's missing her 'trademark sincerity', taddyd. You write your comment as if you generally like Cass but disprove of this one song, but you've written criticisms on a number of her works that have been posted on YouTube.

This recording is a whole lot better than Hurricane Smith's and should be considered a mainstay of the Cass Elliot repertoire.

[fearlissimo]

@GladysCassKarenAnnie - I'm not clear who you're talking to, me or taddyd. IMO the arrangement is poor. Do you want a detailed critique? In the end it's all a matter of opinion. I like Cass's work, especially with the M&Ps, and don't recall posting anything critical (or indeed anything at all) about her on YT in the past.

Also IMO, the Hurricane Smith original of this song is unbeatable and has a creaky charm which this doesn't manage, but there you go. Perhaps the album version was better.

[fearlissimo]

A poor arrangement and an uncharacteristically weak vocal of this lovely song. Not Cass as we want to remember her.

[TheRunner75]

@fearlissimo I agree with you about Cass Elliot and her hideous singing. She's trying to sing with a husky voice but she can't sing the blues. I prefer the Cass of the Mamas & Papas or when she sings "Dream a Little Dream of Me".

I have always hated this song whatever its version. It sounds terribly dated and odd.

[fearlissimo]

@TheRunner75 - I'm sorry but I don't think we are in agreement. In general I liked Cass's singing, particularly with the M&Ps, but as I posted some time ago this arrangement and performance just don't cut it. And I love the song - in the original Hurricane Smith version, which has enormous charm even though he barely qualified as a singer. (He was actually a studio guy - he engineered the early Beatles albums and produced Pink Floyd)

[almadora]

wow, i saw a shot at the very beginning of this clip of her cooking with peter ustinov. what's that from? does anyone have it to post?? i'd LOVE to see that!!

[RosanneB]

It looks like its the Mike Douglas show. It was an daily afternoon variety show.

[taddyd1]

In addition to Cass's majestic volcanic voice that she usually controlled perfectly, she was nothing if not the most sincere of singers. She conveys complete sincerety even on the Dunhill bubblegum junk. On this performance (ok-. it is is fun & technically flawless), I don't hear one ounce of Cass's Hallmark Sincerety- zip.

That's a big minus!

[taddyd1]

She could have nailed this song MUCH better. This sounds like a comedy sketch for the Tony Orlando or Carol Burnett show.

The whole album is big mess that needed a real producer like LAdler to reign in the AWFUL songwriting & corny arrangements.

There's flashes of brilliance in her singing in pieces of a few songs, but over all, it sounds like the "Strudio was a Place for Far Too Many Drugs". I notice NONE of the "Road is No Place" songs were being used in her Mr Kelly's set on the last lp.

[Ribzypunk]

that's what I was thinking...Tony Orlando or the Carol Burnett show. I love Cass, but this is super corny

[edudela1]

Mama Cass una de las mejores cantantes sino la mejor de los 70 aqui en una muy buena version comparable totalmente con la indiscutida ( para algunos ) del gran Norman Hurricane Smith

[blondieheart]

soooooooooooooooo great!

[imposy2]

I don't really like Cass that much ! This is amazing, i some how just love it. 5 Stars man, it's so touching.

[mauvetys]

Thanks again for all these beautiful songs and vids of Mama Cass! I used to prefer Michele but i'm going to change my mind! Mama Cass had a special great talent! wow!

[xChairx]

Brilliant song! Yet again, Christopher, you've made my evening.

Thank you,

Reuben