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Leah Kunkel

Leah Kunkel
Kunkel performing in 1980
Background information
Birth nameLeah R. Cohen
Born(1948-06-15)June 15, 1948
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedNovember 26, 2024(2024-11-26) (aged 76) Heart Cancer
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active1968–2024
Formerly ofCoyote Sisters
Websitecoyotesisters.com

Leah Kunkel (née Cohen; June 15, 1948 – November 26, 2024) was an American singer and attorney.

Music career

Leah Cohen was born on June 15, 1948. She was the younger sister of Cass Elliot, best known as a member of the folk rock vocal group the Mamas & the Papas.[1]

After being signed to Dunhill Records, Kunkel recorded her first record, Billy, under the name Cotton Candy.[1] She performed with a few bands and continued growing as a singer and songwriter. In 1972, she sang the counter-melody for "From Silver Lake" on Jackson Browne's eponymous debut album.[1][2] Following additional session work with Stephen Bishop, Carly Simon, and Arlo Guthrie in the early 1970s, Kunkel appeared on James Taylor's 1977 album JT. That same year, she appeared on Art Garfunkel's album Watermark. Garfunkel relied on her vocal harmonies for his subsequent albums Fate for Breakfast (1979), Scissors Cut (1981), and Lefty (1988), and he became something of a mentor to her, helping to get her a recording contract with Columbia Records in 1979.[1]

In 1979, Kunkel released her first album for Columbia Records, which featured several of her own compositions.[1][3] The self-titled album produced one single, "Step Right Up". The following year, she released her second solo album for Columbia, I Run With Trouble.

In 1980, Kunkel teamed up with Marty Gwinn to form the Coyote Sisters.[4] In 1984, they released their first album, The Coyote Sisters, on Lorimar Records. A follow-up album, Women and Other Visions, was released in 2001. The Coyote Sisters continued to perform[4] with Kunkel, who also continued to appear as a solo performer.[5]

Kunkel attended Smith College, graduating in 1988, and Western New England School of Law. She was in private practice for over 25 years. Licensed in Massachusetts, she concentrated her practice in entertainment law[6] but worked in adolescent law, and served as an adjunct professor at Western New England School of Law. She also worked with the ACLU.[7]

Personal life and death

In 1968, she married American drummer and music producer Russ Kunkel.[1] Following her sister Cass's death in 1974, Kunkel was given custody of Cass's daughter, Owen. She and Russ Kunkel also raised their son Nathaniel,[8] who later became an Emmy Award-winning sound engineer. Leah and Russ Kunkel divorced in the 1980s.

Kunkel died on November 26, 2024, at the age of 76, of heart cancer.[9]

Discography

Solo albums

  • Leah Kunkel (1979) Columbia Records
  • I Run With Trouble (1980) Columbia Records

With the Coyote Sisters

  • The Coyote Sisters by the Coyote Sisters (1984)
  • Women And Other Visions by the Coyote Sisters (2001)

Vocal appearances

Kunkel appeared as a guest vocalist on the following albums:

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Leah Kunkel". AllMusic. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  2. ^ Bego, Mark. Jackson Browne: His Life and Music. p. 57.
  3. ^ "1979 Leah Kunkel". Sessiondays.com. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "About Us". Coyotesisters.com. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  5. ^ "Save the date western MA! @MatthewSzlMusic @ParlorRoomMusic Fri Apr 15th 8 pm!". X.com. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  6. ^ "Leah Kunkel − a Northampton, Massachusetts (MA) Criminal Law Firm". Lawyers.findlaw.com. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  7. ^ "List of ACLU Cooperating Attorneys for 2010" (PDF). Aclum.org. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  8. ^ Weller, Sheila (2008). Girls Like Us. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 471. ISBN 978-0-7434-9147-1.
  9. ^ Brodsky, Greg (November 26, 2024). "Singer Leah Kunkel Dies: Singer and Sister of Mama Cass". Best Classic Bands.
Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leah_Kunkel