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Susan Cowsill made her initial mark on pop culture at the tender age of eight with The Cowsills, a ‘60s family pop group that not only scored Top Ten singles "The Rain the Park and Other Things", "Hair" and "We Can Fly"
but also served as the real-life inspiration for TV's fictional Partridge Family. She is presently on tour with The Susan Cowsill Band performing “Covered in Vinyl,” a concept show that covers entire albums by other artists, and does so with surprising authenticity. On her latest tour, the band is performing, along with their own original material, The Beatles “Revolver.”
Along with her uncanny knack for getting to the heart and soul of a song, Susan Cowsill has been praised for her throaty, seasoned voice. Since 2005 Susan and the band have performed such classic rock standards as Fleetwood Mac's Rumour (her version of “Silver Spring” is attached to this post); Simon & Garfunkel's Bookends, U2's Joshua Tree, Neil Young's Harvest; Wings Band on the Run; Joni Mitchell's Court & Spark; The Beatles Rubber Soul and Sgt. Peppers, and one Springsteen’s Born To Run. Asked whether there are any particular concerns with presenting other artists works in this style, Susan tells the L2P Network, “We don't worry about anything. We are not a tribute band, so this gives us the option to change arrangements around or change the groove, or just do it to the letter of the original. There have been no complaints so far (laugh).” Proving once again that audiences seek music that’s familiar, Susan said that most her bookings come from word of mouth—one venue owner telling another.
A typical evening opens with a set of mostly original material from Susan, including songs she wrote for her solo album Just Believe It, and originals from her stint with the Continental Drifters (many of which were co-written with sister-in-law Vicki Peterson of the Bangles. This summer's performance tour also includes songs from her yet-to-be-released album, Lighthouse.
Asked if she does the old Cowsill's tunes, Susan said that she still tours with her surviving brothers as the Cowsills, but this enterprise is totally separate from the Susan Cowsill Band, however “The Rain the Park and Other Things (The Flower Girl Song)” usually finds its way into sets by the Susan Cowsill Band as an audience sing along.
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