Two Singular Voices Turn A Television Duet Into Pure Magic
Today’s Way Back When transports us to 1972, when Julie Andrews and Cass Elliot joined their unmistakable voices for a television performance of “Make Your Own Kind of Music.” One voice arrived with pristine theatrical command. The other carried warmth, grit and a lived-in soulfulness that could make a lyric feel like personal advice. Together, they were thee unexpected duet we never knew we needed.
The performance comes from the second episode of The Julie Andrews Hour, which aired on ABC on September 20, 1972. Elliot and comedy legend Carl Reiner appeared as guests during an hour of music, character work and gloriously old-school variety-show spectacle.
WAY BACK WHEN
Keep The Cass Elliot Spirit Spinning
Revisit Cass Elliot’s singular solo years, Julie Andrews’ timeless recordings and the music that made this 1972 television pairing unforgettable.
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Written by the legendary songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, “Make Your Own Kind of Music” became one of Elliot’s defining solo recordings after its release in 1969. Its message was simple but enduring: sing your own song, even when nobody else seems ready to join in.
That message feels especially perfect in the hands of these two women. Andrews had already become a global star through Broadway, Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, while Elliot had fought her way beyond the limitations placed on her by the music industry and the public gaze. Neither performer sounded—or moved through the culture—quite like anybody else.
The episode also placed Elliot and Reiner inside the wonderfully absurd musical spoof “All About Wheels,” but it is this duet that keeps floating back across the decades. There is no oversinging, no desperate attempt to outshine one another and no modern production trickery. Just two giant personalities listening, blending and letting the song do what it does best.
Watch Julie Andrews And Cass Elliot Sing “Make Your Own Kind Of Music”
The archival performance captures Andrews and Elliot trading lines, harmonizing and turning Cass’s signature anthem into a warm, one-of-a-kind television moment.
See More From Their 1972 Julie Andrews Hour Appearance
Julie Andrews, Cass Elliot and Carl Reiner keep the vintage variety-show energy moving in more footage from the September 20, 1972 broadcast.
Source: The Julie Andrews Hour episode archive, the official Cass Elliot estate site and the embedded archival videos.
