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A talented tribe will open the 1970-71 Concert and Drama series in the Main Auditorium at 8 p.m. Thursday.
The Cowsills, a family enterprise from Santa Monica, Calif., include Bob 21, Paul 17, Barry 16, John 14, Susan 11, and parents Barbara and Bud.
The Cowsills progressed from obscurity in a rundown 22-room mansion in Newport, R.I. to frat gigs to the top with their million-seller, “The Rain, the Park, and Other Things.”
The Cowsills were pitted against the established image of what rock groups should be like as the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, but they came bouncing back with another hit, “We Can Fly” followed by “Hair” and others. To date the family has cut 6 LP records.
Bob the oldest in the group, has been quoted as saying that the family has no magic formula for success but they do, however, compose a lot of the material the group performs both in concert and on record.
“Usually a melody just hits you; then you have to sit around and wait for the other part to hit,” Bob said.
The family has racked up many humorous ancedotes playing around the country. Once a particular hotel management got nervous because all the kids with the exception of Bill, 16 at the time, were underage. So Bill remained downstairs, playing his drums alone on stage. The sound was “piped in” with the remainder of the Cowsills performing from a bathroom overhead.
They have appeared on programs such the NBC special – “The Wonderful World of Pizazz,” the Ed Sullivan Show, Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, the Kraft Music Hall, Dick Cavett and with Johnny Cash.
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