The Cowsills

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The Cowsills were a singing group from Newport, Rhode Island specializing in what would later be defined as bubblegum pop. The band was formed in the spring of 1965 by four brothers — Barry, Bill, Bob, and John Cowsill. After their initial success, the brothers were later joined by their siblings, Susan and Paul and their mother, Barbara. Rounding out the group was remaining brother Richard, who did not sing with the group, but was assigned as road manager and advisor.

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[edit] Origins and early successes

Originally inspired by the Everly Brothers and later the Beatles,[citation needed] The Cowsills' musical interest started while (their father) Bud Cowsill was stationed in Canton, Ohio in the late 1950s as a Navy recruiter. Bud and Barb encouraged Billy and Bob to take guitar lessons. The boys developed their musical talent and harmonized vocals and they gave performances at school church dances in Stark County, Ohio. The boys' first television appearance was on the "Gene Carroll Show" on WEWS in Cleveland.

Bud retired from a long career in the US Navy and managed his children's career, along with his wife.

The band drew increasing attention through the 1960s.

In late 1965, the initial four members were hired as a regular act on Bannisters Wharf in Newport, where they would sing Beatles songs hour after hour. They also produced their first recordings, and released them on Mercury Records. Despite their appeal, the company passed on a record contract for reasons never specified.

In 1966, the band was signed by MGM records, and Barbara — who would become known to their fans affectionately as "Mini-Mom," due to her diminutive stature — joined the group to record "The Rain, The Park and Other Things." Shortly thereafter the band was expanded yet again, to include siblings Susan and Paul.

With the success of "The Rain...," the band quickly became a popular act in the U.S., and achieved significant airplay in England and other parts of Europe. "The Rain..." wound up reaching #2 on the Billboard charts, selling some three million copies in its first release.

Bob Cowsill is quoted as follows on the band's early days:

"Although Bill and I performed at a very young age, and Bill, myself, Barry and John did a lot of frat parties at Brown University and clubs in Newport ... the most memorable performance of what I would view as the precursor of what The Cowsills would be was at Kings Park in Newport (right at the foot of Halidon Hall) at some carnival. The family angle just evolved ... first Bill and me, then Bill me and Barry, then Bill, me, Barry and John, then Bill, me, Barry, John and Mom, then Bill, me, Barry, John, Mom and Paul, then later, me, Paul, John, Barry, Mom and Susan, then back to Bill, me, Barry and John (very briefly in the end) and then to me, Paul, John and Susan. Our first real break came when we were playing the MK Hotel in Newport (in the basement there) and a guy from the "Today Show" saw us and asked if we wanted to be on the "Today" show. We weren't famous or anything but we were young and we were related and we were quite good. So we went on "The Today show" (I doubt a tape exists of that but if it did it would be priceless to see) and someone from Mercury Records saw us, which ultimately led to our signing with that label and putting out "Most Of All" (a great "school's out" song that should have been our first hit in my opinion), which led to Artie Kornfeld and Steve Duboff. Mercury dropped us, but Artie and Steve had written "The Rain, The Park and Other Things" and we went in and recorded that song at A&R studios in New York and took the whole package to MGM, who decided wouldn't it just be terrific if their mother performed with them and, voila, the rest, as they say, is history."

[1]

In 1968, the band scored another million selling hit with the song Indian Lake which reached #10 on the charts and in 1969, the band had another number two hit and another million seller with their version of the title song from the musical Hair.

From 1968 through 1973, the band played an average of 200 performance dates per year, and were among the most popular acts on the American concert circuit. They were particularly noted for their ability to achieve 4- and 5-part harmonies with remarkable accuracy and relative pitch; a phenomenon common among sibling singing groups (i.e.: the Mills Brothers, the Jacksons, the Osmonds, the Andrews Sisters, etc.).

Noted disc jockey Mick Wagner had this to say regarding the band's performance quality:

"I first saw the Cowsills in concert in the late summer of 1969. I was amazed at the quality of the harmonies they were capable of! The band performed a number of Beach Boys' covers, and I remember being struck by how tight the band remained, both vocally and musically; especially since I had seen the Beach Boys only a couple of months prior, and had been dismayed at their inability to reproduce their own records. Even with a half-dozen sidemen handling the difficult instrumentals, the Brothers Wilson et al had not been able to stay on pitch. By contrast, the Cowsills, who used no additional musicians in concert, absolutely burned up the Beach Boys' songs, to the extent that, had Brian Wilson actually heard them, he'd probably have been even more depressed than the worst reports out of Laguna!"

[edit] Television and The Cowsills

The Cowsills also made many television appearances throughout the late 1960s and into the early 1970s. Their appearances included, but were not limited to:

The Ed Sullivan Show (twice)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (twice)
American Bandstand
The Mike Douglas Show
The Barbara McNair Show
Playboy After Dark
Kraft Music Hall
Music Scene

They starred in their own (unfortunately low-budget) television special, called A Family Thing, in November of 1968 on NBC, which guest starred Buddy Ebsen. By 1969 Screen Gems approached the family to portray themselves in their own TV sitcom, but when they were told that their mother was to be replaced by actress Shirley Jones the deal fell through. Screen Gems later hired David Cassidy to join the cast and the show went on to be called The Partridge Family, and went on to a four year run on ABC Television.

The Cowsills were also known as spokespeople for the American Dairy Association, appearing in advertisements promoting milk. They performed the theme for the David Niven film The Impossible Years, and also sang the theme for Love American Style during the first season.[citation needed]

[edit] Breakups and reunions

In 1971 Bill was fired from the group by his father after he was caught smoking marijuana. By 1972, Barbara, Paul and Susan had all left the group and Bill returned, reforming the original quartet. They released one more single, Covered Wagon, which failed to chart. Shortly afterward, the Cowsills stopped playing together as a band amid a series of internal personal squabbles. The individual members went on to various career attempts in and out of the music industry, and some produced albums and performed from time to time, albeit not as the Cowsills during the remainder of the '70s and up through the majority of the following decade. One project in particular was a band called Bridey Murphy, which was formed in the mid-'70s and featured Paul, Bill, Barry, and Waddy Wachtel, and performed to varying degrees of success.

One notable project during this period occurred in 1978, when several of the Cowsills — Paul, John, Barry, Bob and Susan — recorded an album entitled "Cocaine Drain."[1] The album was produced by Chuck Plotkin. However, due to difficulties between some of the family members over the final version of the album, it was shelved and has never been released. To this day, the surviving members of the band prefer not to talk about a release date for the album. It would be difficult to do do, as the master tapes for "Cocaine" were stolen, and all that remains is a scratchy acetate. Upon completion of this album, the group did some reunion shows in 1979-1980, but returned to their separate careers after that.

Of the separate members, the one with the most notable degree of success has been Susan, who gained a significant degree of critical success as a member of The Continental Drifters, along with her second husband, Russ Broussard. Previously, she was married to Peter Holsapple with whom she has a daughter. She was also part of Dwight Twilley's band in the mid-1980s, and currently has a solo career as the leader of her own band, the Susan Cowsill Band.[citation needed] Her album, Just Believe it, was released in late 2005 by Blue Corn Music.

Billy Cowsill, who had moved to Canada in the 1970s, also did well in that country as a solo artist and as a member of Vancouver, British Columbia's Blue Northern, before forming the nationally acclaimed Blue Shadows and recording two albums for Sony Canada.

In 1990, Bob, Paul, John, and Susan again regrouped as The Cowsills. The original plan was to simply hit the "oldies circuit," but after some deliberation, they decided to incorporate and showcase new material written by Bob and his wife, Mary Jo, into the act. This incarnation of the band started playing small clubs and showcases in the Los Angeles area and eventually spread out to similar venues across the country and into Canada. Their performances generated positive reviews from critics and fans alike, including a very well-received performance on The Joan Rivers Show, where Susan voiced her frustration as to never being able to figure out which of the two girls on The Partridge Family was supposed to represent her.

The success of this reunion led the Cowsills back into the recording studio, which resulted in the album, Global. This has also led to several reunions over the years in various forms, ranging from a few concerts to special feature performances at major events. Most notable of these events were "A Taste of Rhode Island in 2000," which featured all seven surviving Cowsills, and "A Family Thing 2", which was a benefit concert in 2004 for Bill's medical and financial difficulties at the time. This concert took place at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, and included an appearance by Shirley Jones, who introduced the band. It actually was the first time they had ever met. As mother on the TV show inspired by the Cowsills, Shirley made a point of calling them "the real thing". Though she did not sing with them that night, immediately after her announcement, the Cowsills played "I Really Want To Know You", which is the one song that had been recorded by both The Cowsills and The Partridge Family. During this period, Barry also released a solo CD, As Is.

Also in 2004, the Cowsills were asked to sing the National Anthem at Fenway Park and Susan's first solo release, "Just Believe It," was released in 2004 in Europe and 2005 in the U.S.

John expanded his interests to include acting. During the 1980s, he performed with Jan and Dean and was also part of the Dwight Twilley Band along with Susan for a time.[citation needed] He has appeared on the ABC sitcom Full House and the long-running soap opera, "General Hospital." Since December 2000 John has been a regular member of The Beach Boys, playing drums and keyboards and singing lead on some of their tunes.

After working as a sound engineer for Helen Reddy, Paul left the music industry for a career in the construction industry. While he still performs with The Cowsills, his primary occupation is that of a farmer in Oregon.

Of the Cowsills, Bob has had his best success outside of music. He currently works in the medical industry, helping to train hospital emergency departments to use a software package called EDITS (Emergency Department Information Tracking System) that manages data capture and billing issues associated with emergency room accountancy. In addition to providing training, Bob was part of the actual development and coding team for the software package.

As of 2007, the surviving members of the Cowsills are touring as part of "The Original Idols Live!" show, which is hosted by Barry Williams, who had played Greg Brady on "The Brady Bunch. The show includes the Bay City Rollers featuring Ian Mitchell, Leif Garrett and Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods. Additional artists Merrill Osmond, Tony DeFranco, Rex Smith, and Danny Bonaduce join the show on selected dates only.

[edit] Deaths

The following members of the Cowsills are deceased:

[edit] Barbara

In January, 1985, Barbara Cowsill died of emphysema while living in Arizona. The funeral was the first real reunion of all the family members since the band's breakup. She had been a heavy smoker since age 15.

[edit] Bud

Bud, the father of the Cowsill children, died of leukemia in September, 1992, while living in Mexico. He was estranged from some of his children at the time.

[edit] Barry

Both Barry Cowsill and his sister Susan were living in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29, 2005. According to cowsill.com, Susan and her husband left New Orleans and were accounted for. However, most of her belongings at her New Orleans home were destroyed. It was reported that Barry was spotted at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on August 29, but was not heard from after leaving phone messages for his sister on September 1. He was believed to have been spotted in some tape footage taken by a TV news crew on or about September 5, although the person seen living on the street in the footage is not clearly resolved. A badly decomposed body recovered from the Chartres Street Wharf in New Orleans on December 28 was identified on January 4, 2006 as Barry. He had a piece of paper with his name and phone number in his pants pocket. [2] The official cause of death is believed to be drowning; the New Orleans coroner found no signs of foul play.

Barry is survived by his two daughters, one son and two grandsons, as well as a stepdaughter and two step-granddaughters.

Two memorial services were held for Barry. One was held on February 18, 2006 in his native Newport, Rhode Island at the Hotel Viking. The second was held on February 26, 2006 in New Orleans.

[edit] Bill

Bill Cowsill died on 17 February 2006 in Calgary, Alberta on the eve of brother Barry's Newport memorial service. Although the cause of death was not confirmed at the time of the announcement, it has since been officially listed as due to complications from a variety of ailments that Bill had suffered from for years, including emphysema, osteoporosis and Cushing syndrome. In addition, according to Paul Cowsill, Bill's health had been further damaged from the effects stemming from a history of problems with drug and alcohol abuse.[citation needed] Bill had spent the last 35 years in Western Canada, residing in Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary. Bill is survived by two sons. Bill's good friend and former roommate, young Dylan Sadlier- Brown, son to Mark Sadlier-Brown of Calgary's Highwater Jug Band, was Bill Cowsill's unofficial musical prodigy.

[edit] Recognition efforts

Recently some long-time Cowsill fans have formed the Committee for the Nomination of The Cowsills for Induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which as the name implies is a lobbying effort to have the band inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The original plan was to have the induction occur in 2005 — the 40th anniversary of the first recorded release by The Cowsills — but these efforts were unsuccessful. The Committee, however, is still pressing forward with their efforts, and fans wishing to assist can do so by signing an on-line petition they have set up for this purpose.

During their research, the Committee compiled the following facts about The Cowsills and their careers:

  • The Cowsills hold more gold records than 115 of the 147 current Hall of Fame members inducted as performers.
  • Billy played guitar on the song “Right On” recorded by Ike Turner.
  • Susan is the youngest rock performer to have a Top Ten hit.
  • John was part of the first American rock group to play in the Republic of China.
  • The Cowsills had the first live album to feature a studio track when In Concert featured “Hair”.
  • Hall of Famer Bob Marley used to cover Cowsill songs.
  • The Guestbooks on robinrecords.com and cowsill.com have posts from all 50 states, 19 foreign countries, and six of the seven continents.
  • The Cowsills were the first of only five album covers done for rock bands by famous cartoonist Jack Davis.
  • Billy once recorded with a guitar borrowed from John Lennon.
  • The band’s true worth is illustrated by the fact that they were initially "discovered" by Johnny Nash’s all black R&B label, JODA Records, and they were asked to headline with future Hall of Famers Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and The Beach Boys before they had their first hit record at Soundblast ’66 in Yankee Stadium.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles

  1. "Most Of All"/"Siamese Cat" (Phillips, 1966) US #118
  2. "The Rain, The Park, and Other Things"/"River Blue" (MGM, 1967) US #2
  3. "We Can Fly"/"A Time for Remembrance" (MGM, 1968) US #21
  4. "In Need of a Friend"/"Mister Flynn" (MGM, 1968) US #54
  5. "Indian Lake"/"Newspaper Blanket" (MGM, 1968) US #10
  6. "Poor Baby"/"Meet Me at the Wishing Well" (MGM, 1968) US #44
  7. "Path of Love"/"Captain Sad and his Ship of Fools" (MGM, 1968) US #132
  8. "The Impossible Years"/"The Candy Kid" (MGM, 1969) US #118
  9. "Hair"/"What is Happy?" (MGM, 1969) US #2
  10. "The Prophecy of Daniel and John the Divine"/"Gotta Get Away from It All" (MGM, 1970) US #75
  11. "Silver Threads and Golden Needles"/"Love American Style" (MGM, 1970) US #74
  12. "On My Side"/"There is a Child" (London, 1971) US #108
  13. "Christmastime" (Song for Marissa)"/"Some Good Years" (Rockville, 1993) - 1990s incarnation

[edit] Albums

  1. "The Cowsills" (MGM, 1967) US #31 (released on CD in 1994 with two bonus tracks: "The Impossible Years" and "Love American Style")
  2. "The Cowsills plus The Lincoln Park Zoo" (Wing/Mercury, 1968)
  3. "We Can Fly" (MGM, 1968) US #89
  4. "Captain Sad and His Ship of Fools" (MGM, 1968) US #105
  5. "The Best of The Cowsills" (MGM, 1969) US #127
  6. "The Cowsills in Concert" (MGM, 1969) US #16
  7. "IIxII" (MGM, 1970)
  8. "The Cowsills Greatest Hits" (MGM, 1970)
  9. "On My Side" (London, 1970) US #200
  10. "The Best of the Cowsills" (Polydor, 1988 - re-released on Rebound in 1994 with a new cover)
  11. "Global" (Robin, 1998 — first all-new album since 1970)
  12. "The Best of the Cowsills: The Millennium Collection" (Universal/Polydor, 2001)
  13. "Painting the Day: The Angelic Psychedelia of the Cowsills" (EI, 2006)

[edit] References

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008)
  1. ^ The Cowsills Web Page: Cowsill History

[edit] External links