Fourth Fan Club - Cowsill Connection
Volume 2 Issue 3&4 Winter 1991 / Spring 1992

Page 2

FROM THE PRESIDENT...
Here's the latest news, everyone! On April 7, 1992, THE COWSILLS gave a private showcase performance for an L.A. music industry crowd at the S.I.R. Studios in Santa Monica. CA. According to Bob Cowsill, the evening went very well, and although no record contract has been signed as we go to press, THE COWSILLS will be going into the studio in July to record all of their fantastic 90's material. Stay tuned to The Cowsill Connection for further developments!

We, the Cowsills Fan Club, would like to take this opportunity to congratulate THE COWSILLS upon their receipt of the Best Local Unsigned Band Award at the L. A. Music Awards on 2/19/92. Bob, Paul, John, and Susan, we are very proud of you and are extremely happy that L.A. has given you this much deserved recognition. Remember that we are behind you 100% and that the best is yet to be!

And, as always, many thanks, fellow fans, for your contributions to this issue.

Sincerely,
Marsha Jordan

THE DIRECT LINE

Here are THE COWSILLS' personal answers to your Direct Line questions:

All of the Cowsills,
Can you please tell me the significance behind the song, "Dover Mine," that Barry sang and wrote for the "On My Side"LP?
Also, are you still looking at weekend dates in the San Francisco Bay area?
Nanci Nagel,
So. San Francisco, CA




All of the Cowsills,
In the 12/88 "Entertainment Tonight" show, they played a piece from your 1968 TV special, "A Family Thing," where "The Doodlin' Song" was performed. Did you come up with that yourselves? How did that come about? I really like that number.
John Crecco
Newark, NJ

Nanci,
"Dover Mine" is a song about an impending death/suicide. Sounds kind of morbid, but everyone has thought about this subject one time or another — if not in a personal way, then generally speaking. Since we will be showcasing privately from this point forward, there are no planned San Francisco shows.
Bob


John,
"The Doodlin' Song" was brought in by the producers of the special (Greg Garrison Productions). The special was fun to do except for the dance number at the end when we had to wear orange and yellow clothes. Besides, none of us, except Barry, could dance and it looks it.
Bob

If your question wasn't answered this time, don't be dismayed. Just stay tuned for the next issue of The Cowsill Connection!
If you haven't sent us your Direct Line entry, you may use the enclosed card to do so!

THE COWSILLS are the co-hosts of an "all family edition" of VH-1's "My Generation" TV show that was aired on March 2, 1992. (This show was scheduled to first air on February 25, 1992, but was pre-empted with a Grammy special.) This segment was taped at the Beverly Center (a shopping mall) in Los Angeles on November 12, 1991. The casually clad group is quite entertaining in their own comedic ways, as they, along with series regular host, Peter Noone (of Herman's Hermits fame), chat and introduce videos by the family acts of The Beach Boys, The Everly Brothers, The Mamas and Papas, THE COWSILLS (black and white video of "The Rain, the Park and Other Things" from 1967), and The Bee Gees. The best part of the show, however, is the "live" performance by

THE COWSILLS in front of the Sam Goody record store as they spotlight an acoustic version of one of their brand new tunes entitled "You've Got No Time." Bob does a superb job on guitar and in singing the lead with Paul, John, and Susan providing perfect harmonies! An added treat is the four Cowsills singing "Hair" as the show comes to a close!

The "My Generation" shows are always aired more than once, so if you missed THE COWSILLS' segment the first time around, stay tuned to VH-1 for an encore presentation! Let's all write to Peter Noone at the following address and tell him how very much we enjoy seeing and hearing THE COWSILLS of 1992 on VH-1! Peter Noone
P. O. Box 661
Oceanside, CA 92049

COWSILLS
CLASSIFIEDS Wanted: More pen pals who are Cowsills fans. Write to:

John Crecco
178 Ellery Avenue
Newark, NJ 07106

Your Color COWSILLS Logo Slicker!! (If YOU don't already own one, this is in tHe same colors as the logo on the T-Shirt! See page 11.)

Bill .......... January 9

John ........ March 2

Susan ....... May 20

COWSILLS QUICKIES Susan Cowsill and Vicki Peterson sang background vocals for The Steve Wynn Quintet at the 6th Annual Ringling Sisters Benefit in LA. on 12/20/91... In the 12/21/91 issue of Billboard Magazine, reporter Deborah Russell ranked THE COWSILLS' demo tape as #3 on the list of her top ten favorites of 1991 ... Billboard Magazine gave favorable mentions to THE COWSILLS' 12/17/91 opening for The Smithereens at the Roxy in its 1/11/92 issue... And in its 1/18/92 issue. Billboard publicized THE COWSILLS' taping of a VH-1 "My Generation" segment at Sam Goody at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles . .. THE COWSILLS' special appearance at the 2/19/92 LA. Music Awards was announced in the 2/17/92 - 3/1/92 issue of Music Connection, and the official program for the 1992 LA. Music Awards referred to THE COWSILLS as "sounding every bit as fresh and original as ever"... The 2/21/92 L.A. Daily News and the 2/21/92 Los Angeles Times cited THE COWSILLS as the winners of the Best Local Unsigned Band Award in their re views of the firstannualL.A. Music Awards presentation ... Music Connection congratulated the "commercially viable as ever" Cowsills in its 3/2/92 - 3/15/92 issue and added that "somebody really oughta sign this band now." ... Did you know that Artie Kornfeld and Steve Duboff (who wrote "We Can Fly" along with Bill and Bob Cowsill) also wrote a song called "How Is The Air Up There" that was included on the Bangles'1982 EP? .. .Appearing in BAM's 3/6/92 issue is John Cowsill's memorable quip from the first annual L.A. Music Awards: "I'd like to thank all the record companies that didn't sign us this year, so that we could win this award"... Susan Cowsill can be heard singing backing vocals on "Tuesday" on the current Steve Wynn release from RNA Records entitled "Dazzling Display."

WE HEAR FROM YOU
All letters and articles used in The Cowsill Connection are subject to editing and /or condensation.

What were you doing on December 12th? I should have been Christmas shopping, but instead I was standing in the China Club in Hollywood waiting to see THE COWSILLS. I almost missed this show due to the holiday rush, but am I glad that I decided to put off the holiday madness one more day. Just when you think that you know what's going to happen, THE COWSILLS do something different. . . "we'll always keep you guessing" as Bob said during the show.

As the stage was being readied for THE COWSILLS, guitars we didn't recognize were set out and an additional keyboard was set up. As they took the stage, two additional musicians had joined them: Vicki Peterson (on guitar) and Gary Griffin (on keyboards). I always loved the arrangements and the sound at shows, but I was amazed at the difference Vicki and Gary made ... the sound was just so much fuller and richer. Simply put ... it was GREAT! Everything sounded new again!

Speaking of new, there were definitely some "new" items in the show (in addition to Vicki and Gary):

A new tune ("My First Dream") was introduced... Bob sings lead on this one and. as always, does an amazing job.

The song. "She Wants Everything." was a little different... originally, John did this one and then Bob started singing it . . . well, at the China Club, Bob sang lead, but John sang the bridge... I really liked this: it's fun when the lead gets passed around during a single song.

One of the biggest "surprises" of the evening was introduced this way — Paul: "We" re gonna do a song now" ... Susan: "some of you know, some of you thought you knew, some of you don't know" ... Bob: "but, we'll always keep you guessing" ... Susan: "it's new." So what was the new song ... it was "Is It Any Wonder." I know you're thinking, "but that's not new." Not a new song, but

definitely a different approach. Susan sang lead! This takes on a whole different tone with a woman singing lead: it was very interesting. By the way, Susan did a great job, but it was strange to hear anyone but Bob do this... though we do know that John did it once in Wisconsin (way back when)!

One of the most fun aspects of the evening happened during the encore. Since we were in the "Christmas season." a holiday tune was performed. It was introduced this way by John: "... we'd like to do one of our favorite Christmas songs from the sixties." Then, the music started and Paul began "Little Saint Nick." This was great fun... this is the perfect song for Paul, and he did a great job with it. The rest of THE COWSILLS provided the harmonies complete with bass line provided by Bob. What a super way to end a terrific show!

by Vicky Mulvaney
Santa Ana, CA

And the Grammy goes to... THE COWSILLS! It wasn't the Grammys, but THE COWSILLS were the recipients of one of the first L.A. Music Awards. The Best Local Unsigned Band Award was presented to Bob, Paul, John, and Susan Cowsill at a ceremony held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. February 19, 1992. and was taped for televised broadcast in international markets.

All four Cowsills went on stage to receive their award which was presented to them by Barbara Eden (yes. of "I Dream of Jeannie" fame!). Six other local bands were also nominated in the same category. There are literally thousands of unsigned bands in the L.A. area, so this nomination

alone is proof of THE COWSILLS' talent and the fact that there are many local critics who have lent support over the past 18 months. Bob thanked those who have helped to re-establish their credibility. Susan mentioned Mom. Barbara who undoubtedly would have been very proud. Paul quipped. "I'm not going to give up my day job!" And John thanked all those record companies who didn't sign THE COWSILLS so that they were able to receive this award! The guys also thanked their wives, who were in the audience.

After the ceremony (which ran late, of course, and during which we had to endure an overabundance of rap

music!), THE COWSILLS went backstage to greet the press. Bob and John talked to several radio stations, and I will forward to Marsha and The Cowsill Connection any future articles from local papers.

It was an exciting moment to be a Cowsills fan and only an indication of great things to come. Next year... who knows . . . Best Band ... a Grammy ... an American Music Award!!!

by Sue Otto
Beverly Hills. CA

(Editor's Note: Nominees were chosen by music industry insiders while winners were judged by the industry and fans.)

When I originally heard that The Smithereens were headlining at the Pediatric Aids Benefit to be held at the Roxy in Hollywood on December 16, I wondered if THE COWSILLS would be added to the show. But, I didn't buy a ticket, and then when I was told that they had indeed been added, the show was sold out (it turns out that it sold out in a matter of minutes). I didn't worry too much since I knew that we were seeing THE COWSILLS on December 12 (and how much can change in four days?). But then "a little bird told us" that they were probably going to perform the song, "Christmas Time," and I did not want to miss that. For those of you who have not heard this song, it was written by Bob and Mary Jo and is destined to become a classic Christmas tune some day!

Well, in Los Angeles, a show is rarely totally sold out... you just need to know where to find tickets and luckily we did. The show was terrific (though shorter than I would have liked), and once again included Vicki Peterson (on guitar) and Gary Griffin (on keyboards) in addition to Robby Scharf (on bass) and THE COWSILLS. The highlight of the set came with the last song ... Bob put down his guitar and moved to a third keyboard in front of himself; Mary Jo (Bob's wife) and Michael Steele (formerly with The Bangles) got up on stage; and Vicki Peterson joined Susan at her mike. It was absolutely terrific with three keyboards, four female voices, and three male voices ... I loved it! Hopefully, this was only the first of what will become an annual performance of "Christmas Time." It really

set the mood for my holiday season and made me miss winter (but only for Christmas ... I can do without it any other time of the year!).

After THE COWSILLS' set, we hung around since we had been told that they were going to join The Smithereens on stage for a performance of "Now and Then" (since they had done the backing vocals for this on the current release). This was fun to watch as all four Cowsills shared a mike and provided the harmonies that they're known for!

by Vicky Mulvaney,
Santa Ana. CA

Thanks for writing . . .
These are only a few of the GREAT letters we've received. We wish that we could print them all in their entirety. (Letters were edited for publication.)

Thank you very much for sending me info on the Cowsills Fan Club ... I belonged to their official fan club in the 60's. I wrote to Barry once a week back then. He gave me a "hello" in the club and my heart melted . . . I always wondered what they were all up to ... I am still a big fan and am turning on some friends to them ... I think they were way ahead of their time.
Gail Plaskiewicz, Torrington, CT

The Cowsills shined through on the 2/3/91 KROQ show (a friend taped it for me) with their talent, kindness, and best of all, humor. They are a great bunch of people, and they're really special to me ... The songs were fantastic! The ultimate in grooviness! I LOVE "She Said to Me" (it rocks!), and the acoustic version of "Cross That Line" they sang for Vicki (Peterson) was beautiful. (Bob and his wife wrote it. right? What talent!) Those harmonies just get to me. "Never Never Boys" sounded great despite the tape problems at the radio station . . . That's so great that The Cowsills won for best unsigned band at the L. A. Music Awards! They deserve it. I'm so excited about hearing the new stuff.
Kathy Krochko, Bridgeport, CT

When I was but a child... back in the 60's, there was only ONE group that mattered. That was, of course, The Cowsills. Now I'm an old man of 30, a radio disc jockey here in New York, and I still jumped for joy the other day when I discovered "The Best of The Cowsills" out on compact disc. It sounds wonderful! ... Some other thoughts on The Cowsills: "The Cowsills in Concert" album is STILL one of the best "live" albums ever made; I had a crush on Susan when I was little; and The Cowsills were one of the first bands I ever saw in concert (Atlantic City - 1971)... I recently saw The Cowsills on VH-1's '"My Generation." They looked and sounded great, and I hope to see and hear more of them in the near future. I'm very excited about the re-emergence of The Cowsills.
Lee Richey, Gloversville, NY

What's the matter with the record companies in L. A. anyway? What's taking them so long to sign The Cowsills on? Don't they recognize talent? It's obvious — they received this award, so what are they waiting for? What more proof do they need?

The Cowsills have proven themselves many times over.
Deanna Carr, Frazee, MN

I'm sitting here this Monday evening (3/23/92) watching "Evening Shade" with Burt Reynolds. At the beginning of the episode, he's eating breakfast at a cafe. He had been to a Nirvana concert the night before, and he's complaining about the music. A friend of his says to him. "Well. it's not The Cowsills." I was blown away! Good to see 'em get recognition on T. V. like that.
Paul Dooley,
Middletown, CT