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Billy Cowsill, who cut a big swath across the western Canadian roots music scene for 25 years, died in Calgary on Saturday.
The singer had been in poor health for the past few years. A number of back operations and emphysema hindered his ability to sing since 2003.
Cowsill tasted fame after The Cowsills were signed to the MGM label in 1967. The act featured his mother Barbara and five siblings. The band hit the No. 2 spot on the Billboard charts with The Rain, the Park, and Other Things and repeated that chart performance with the theme from the musical Hair.
After The Cowsills called it quits in 1970, Billy Cowsill spent time in Austin and Los Angeles before heading to Canada in 1977. For a number of years Vancouver was his home base. He led the country-rock band Blue Northern, before forming Trainwreck with guitarist Lindsay Mitchell and bassist Elmar Spanier. A mesmerizing performer, Cowsill enlisted the talents of singer Jeffrey Hatcher and formed The Blue Shadows in 1992. That band went on to record two acclaimed albums for Sony, before Cowsill moved to Calgary, where he began fronting The Co-Dependents.
“Billy said that he gave lots of love when he was on stage and got lots back,” said longtime friend and associate Neil MacGonigill, who released the two live Co-Dependents albums.
“He had been through a lot, but went out on a high note. The latest Co-Dependents disc had been No. 1 for nine consecutive weeks in Calgary at Megatunes,” added MacGonigill.
Billy Cowsill was 58 years old and is also survived by two sons, Travis and Del.
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