Mama’s Big Ones is the third solo album

Solo album

A solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...

 released by Cass Elliot

Cass Elliot

Cass Elliot , born Ellen Naomi Cohen and also known as Mama Cass, was an American singer and member of The Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, she released five solo albums. Elliot was found dead in her room in London, England, from an apparent heart attack after two weeks of sold-out...

. It was also the last studio album she released for Dunhill

Dunhill

Dunhill may refer to:* Alfred Dunhill, a luxury goods company owned by Richemont* Dunhill * Dunhill , a brand of cigarettes made by British American Tobacco* Dunhill Records, a record label* ABC Dunhill Records, a record label...

 in order to fulfill her three album deal.

Conception

Elliot’s frustration with trying to prove herself as her own artist and tackle the material she wanted had proved an impossibility with Dunhill. The power struggle began with her attempts to drop the "Mama" moniker and use the name Cass Elliot. This had been met with opposition by the studio heads at Dunhill. They felt that using the name “Mama Cass” and producing music similar to what she had done with The Mamas & the Papas

The Mamas & the Papas

The Mamas & the Papas were a Canadian/American vocal group of the 1960s . The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...

 was what would sell with audiences.

Five of the songs had just been released on her first two solo albums. The other songs consisted of four singles she released and recorded in the studio with producer Steve Barri

Steve Barri

Steve Barri is an American songwriter and record producer.Early in his career Barri was a staff writer with Dunhill Records. He frequently collaborated with P.F. Sloan, and the partners were responsible for the success of The Grass Roots and contributed largely to the band's first album...

 in 1970 and one hit she had with The Mamas & the Papas. The singles "One Way Ticket" and "Ain’t Nobody Else Like You" were the only new songs introduced by the album.

Track listing

1. "It's Getting Better
   It's Getting Better (Cass Elliot song)
   It's Getting Better is a song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil that was a sunshine pop hit single in 1969 for Cass Elliot.The song describes the singer's satisfaction with a love relationship that is down-to-earth rather than extravagantly romantic, a subgenre of love song exemplified by the...
   
   " - US #30 Pop/#13 AC, UK #8 (5/1969)
2. "Dream a Little Dream of Me" - US #12 Pop/#2 AC, UK #11 (6/1968)
3. "Make Your Own Kind of Music" - US #36 Pop/#6 (10/1969)
4. "Words of Love" (with The Mamas & The Papas) - US #5, UK #12 (11/1966)
5. "New World Coming" - US #42 Pop/#4 AC (1/1970)
6. "Move In a Little Closer, Baby" - US #58 Pop/#32 AC (2/1969)
7. "One Way Ticket"
8. "The Good Times Are Coming" - US #104 Pop/#19 AC (11/1970)
9. "Easy Come, Easy Go"
10. "Don't Let the Good Life Pass You By" - US #110 Pop/#34 AC (11/1970)
11. "Ain’t Nobody Else Like You"
12. "A Song That Never Comes" - US #99 Pop/#25 AC (7/1970)

Reception

The album was released in March 1971 and landed at the 194th spot on the Billboard Chart.

Today

The album was reissued again by MCA in 1980 and again by MCA, on CD, in 1987.

The album can be seen hanging on the wall of the character Leah in the 1996 British film Beautiful Thing

Beautiful Thing

Originally Beautiful Thing is a play written by Jonathan Harvey and first performed in 1993. A screen adaptation of the play was released in 1996 by Channel 4 Films, with a revised screenplay also by Harvey. Initially, the film was only intended for television broadcast but it was so well-received...

while she is listening to "One Way Ticket". "It’s Getting Better", "Make Your Own Kind of Music", "Dream a Little Dream of Me", and "Move in a Little Closer, Baby" are also featured in the film.

Songs from the album (namely "It’s Getting Better", "Make Your Own Kind of Music", and "New World Coming") were used on the American television series Lost

Lost (TV series)

Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...

.