About The Cowsills
The Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island, six siblings noted for performing professionally and singing harmonies at an early age, later with their mother.
The band was formed in early 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and Barry Cowsill; their brother John joined shortly thereafter. Originally Bill and Bob played guitar and Barry played the drums. When John learned to play drums and joined the band, Barry began playing bass. After their initial success, the brothers were joined by their siblings Susan and Paul along with their mother, Barbara. A seventh sibling, Bob's fraternal twin brother Richard, was never part of the band during its heyday, although he occasionally appeared with them in later years.
The band's road manager for most of their career was Richard "Biggie" Korn. When the group expanded to its full family membership by 1967, the six siblings ranged in age from 8 to 19. Joined by their mother, Barbara Cowsill , the group inspired the 1970s television show The Partridge Family.
The Cowsills' musical interest started while their father, William "Bud" Cowsill, was stationed in Canton, Ohio, in the late 1950s, as a US Navy recruiter. Bill and Bob taught themselves how to play the guitar. As the boys' musical and vocal abilities developed they began performing at church school dances in Stark County, Ohio. These, and other performances, led to the boys' first television appearance on the Gene Carroll Show on WEWS in Cleveland.
After Bud retired from the Navy, he and his wife managed their children's career until 1967.
In late 1965, the Cowsills were hired as a regular act on Bannisters Wharf in Newport. The group performed many of the popular songs of the day including the music of the Beatles. A handful of singles were released on JODA Records, a label owned by Danny Sims and Johnny Nash , and Philips Records in 1965 and 1966, to only modest success. After Leonard Stogel took over management of the band, they were signed to MGM Records in 1967. Barbara, who would become known to their fans affectionately as "Mini-Mom" due to her diminutive stature, joined the group just in time to record the band's first album, including the hit single "The Rain, The Park & Other Things" with Bill on lead vocals. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold record. With the success of "The Rain ...", the band quickly became a popular act in the U.S., and achieved significant airplay in Britain and other parts of Europe. "The Rain, The Park and Other Things" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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