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The first time the Cowsills did a Christmas-themed show, it was 1967 and they were singing carols on "The Ed Sullivan Show." For a group of young Beatles fans, that was quite the experience.
"We're standing there on live television, and all I could do is stare up at the balcony and think, 'Wow, so this is what John Lennon saw when he sang here'," Bob Cowsill recalls. "We lived in New York at the time, the show was Sunday night and the spike on Monday was unbelievable - People were stopping us on the street and saying 'Saw you on Sullivan.' That was the top of the mountain at the time, and of course we were a family band with our Mom in the group, so Ed loved us."
That was then, this is now, and the Cowsills will again be singing Christmas songs at the TCAN Center in Natick Saturday night. Some things haven't changed, like the late-'60s hits they still perform (their biggest were "Hair," "Indian Lake" and "The Rain, The Park & Other Things") and the overall sense of harmony and good vibes. But they've also released their first all-new album in 20 years, "Rhythm of the World," with a sparkly modern sound. The Cowsills today include three of the original siblings (Bob, Paul and Susan), two next-generation members (Paul's son Brendon on guitar and Bob's son Ryan on keys), Susan's husband Russ Broussard on drums and New Orleans friend Mary Lassiegne on bass. The '60s fans are still aboard, but lately the Cowsills are also cult heroes to lovers of alternative pop.
"I guess the terms have changed, so we're not an oldies band - We're a legacy act," Bob says. "What's been great since the album is that there's a subset of people coming aboard who are new to us. They hear something good and they go back and research it. The songs and the harmonies are getting attention, and in some ways harmonies are like a new thing these days, since pop is all about single artists."
Ironically, their regular summers in the nostalgic Happy Together tour led to their having enough time together to write the new album. Onstage they work in the new songs, some solo material (Susan's got long-running popularity in her adopted home of New Orleans) and harmony-friendly songs by favorite artists like Elton John and Paul Simon. "We've always been something of a cover band. And really, who's got the tougher concert - the Cowsills with four hits, or McCartney who runs out of time to do them all?"
If they get their way, you'll be hearing a lot of Cowsills in the next couple years: There's plans for an acapella disc, a Christmas record, reissues of rare albums, maybe even a movie biography (they've already done a Showtime documentary, which revealed their often tough childhood).
"It's the pursuit, as we call it," Bob said. "Our goal is to become the Tony Bennett of our generation, to achieve that second career. I always say that we're so old we're new again. We've got a whole two-year play - You're gonna see television, you're gonna see more music. We're going to keep at this, because it's so cool. People have told us we're oversaturating and we say, 'What are you talking about?'
"We're here to re-establish ourselves as a viable force even today, so everyone in the music business can get over it," Bob said. "We're still younger than all of you, and we're ready to come in and have a good time. If you can keep up with us, great. And if not, don't worry and we'll lead the way."
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