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In 1965, a psychedelic/bubblegum pop group called The Cowsills was created in their garage and began performing Beatles covers at Bannisters Wharf in Newport. The group consisted of five siblings aged six to midteens, and while filling regular gigs, they also managed to release a handful of original singles via JODA and Philips Records. By 1967, The Cowsills would be signed to MGM Records, with their mother Barbara joining the act. The band enjoyed a couple of hit singles: "The Rain, the Park & Other Things," which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Indian Lake" peaking at number 10 the following year. Despite the requisite drama with both label and manager, the group still managed to play roughly 200 gigs a year from 1968 to 1972.
It was at the outset of the band's salad days that their story caught the eye of Canadian screenwriter Bernard Slade. Slade sought to feature The Cowsills in a weekly sitcom, but after teaming up with TV producer Bob Claver, the idea was quickly abandoned. Both men realized The Cowsills had become too old for the roles as written in Slade's spec script, so the idea was modified to tell the tale of a wholly fictional family band, with musical film veteran Shirley Jones (Oklahoma! (1955), Carousel (1956), The Music Man (1962)) signed on to play the widowed matriarch.
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