|
Billy Cowsill, lead singer with the 1960s family group, The Cowsills and one of the most respected roots-rockers in Canada, died February 17 in Calgary, AB. He was 58, writes Roddy Campbell.
The Cowsills inspired the popular TV show The Partridge Family and had radio hits such as Hair, Indian Lake and The Rain, the Park and Other Things. They had their own NBC television special, appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and were regulars on Las Vegas stages before breaking up in the early '70s. The group included parents Bud and Barbara.
William Joseph Cowsill Jr. was born January 9, 1948 in Newport R.I. He moved to Canada 35 years ago where he formed Blue Northern and later the Blue Shadows with Jeffrey Hatcher, formerly of The Big Beat.
For all of his obvious musical talents, Billy Cowsill had a long and storied history of drug and alcohol abuse. As he explained to the Calgary Sun in 2002 when asked about the breakup of the Blue Shadows: "Three vegetarians and a junkie - what are the changes?" In the aftermath of the disintegration of the Shadows, Cowsill's self-destructive habits reached an all-time low. Living on the streets of Vancouver, Neil MacGonigill came to his rescue. Jann Arden's former manager brought Cowsill back to Calgary, nursed him back to health and began rebuilding his career. With McGonigill's encouragement, Cowsill formed the Co-Dependents with the likes of Steve Pineo, Tim Leacock and Ross Watson. They released two wonderful live records on MacGonigill's label Indelible Records. Simultaneously, Cowsill also began working on degrees in both psychology and music education at the University of Calgary. He died of complications from emphysema, osteoporosis and Cushing syndrome and is survived by two sons, Travis and Del.
|
