The Cowsills In Magazines

DB'S TOP "NEW GROUP OF '68" AWARD
FINAL RESULTS - THE FAVE NEW GROUP OF 1968!
Datebook presents its plaque to the most popular grup of the year among teens.

At last — here they are — the fabulous results of DB's first annual poll for the FAVE NEW GROUP OF THE YEAR!

1. THE COWSILLS ......................... 46%
2. THE STRAWBERRYALARM CLOCK ..................................... 10%
3. THE BEE GEES ......................... 9%
4. THE DOORS ............................ 8%
5. THE BOX TOPS ........................ 7%
6. SPANKY AND OUR GANG ............ 3%
7. THE CANDYMEN ...................... 2 1/2%
8. THE NEW YORKERS .................. 2%
9. THE GRASS ROOTS ................... 1 1/2%
10. LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION .............................. 1 %

Wow! We had just barely recovered from the mountains of mail for our TOPS IN TV Awards when we were swamped with mail from teens supporting every group ever heard of. We received votes from as far away as Japan!

We could tell right from the beginning that the Cowsills were doing well, but when all the thousands of votes were tallied, we discovered that the Cowsills were loved by no fewer than 12,000 voters! The Strawberry Alarm Clock were second with roughly 2,700 votes. We were also delighted to see one of our fave new groups from England, the beautiful Bee Gees, placed third. The Monkees received almost as many votes as the Cowsills, but these votes don't count, since this was a contest for NEW groups.

The remaining 10% of the vote was divided among hundreds of groups, but faves who stood out were The Fifth Dimension, The Cream, Soul Survivors, and The Stone Poneys.

We can't think of any group that deserves our plaque more than the Cowsills, and we hope that it signals just the beginning of the success that we think will be theirs in coming years. CONGRATULATIONS, COWSILLS!

Datebook congratulates the 30 lucky readers who win autographed pictures of their favorite groups PLUS that group's latest LP. They'll hear from us shortly. SEE NEXT TWO PAGES FOR PIX OF TOP THREE GROUPS.