The Mamas, the Papas, and Me

Owen Elliot-Kugell's mother drove a dark-blue Cadillac with white leather seats and a personalized California license plate that read ISIS, a tribute to the Egyptian goddess of life and magic. And while navigating the streets of Los Angeles, she joined in full throttle with whatever song was playing on the radio.

Mothers warbling along to AM while behind the steering wheel—there are few more surefire ways to irritate the young'uns and send them diving for cover. But five-year-old Owen loved listening. Then again, her mom was Mama Cass Elliot, who'd been one-quarter of the mid-1960s folk-rock group the Mamas and the Papas. (Denny Doherty and husband-and-wife singer-songwriters John and Michelle Phillips were the other members.)