Paul says you have to learn to cope as Bob and Susan listen
Bob, Susan, Paul, Barry and John discuss their lives
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ONE MINUTE, you are on top; the next, you many be completely forgotten in the music industry. That's the challenge the Cowsills are constantly facing as one of the nation's top rock music recording groups. Success seems never to be complete for them.
The seven member family is in town for the first annual Caller-Times International Auto Show at Memorial Coliseum. Barbara (Mom), Susan, John, Paul, Barry and Bob Cowsill perform the music and Bud (Dad) manages the business and technical equipment.
Though they never said it of themselves, Barbara said people are correct when describing the Cowsills as pioneers in their field. There were no popular family groups in the rock music field before they recorded a top-selling record, "The Rain, The Park and Other Things," in 1966. Since that time, the Partridge Family, Jackson Five and, just recently, the Osmond Brothers have won great national popularity.
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"If you're ready for ten years of sweat, then you're ready to enter the pop-music field," Paul advised persons interested in aspiring to the same fame the Cowsills have gained.
"You never know when the next hit record is going to come around. When it does, you try to sap as much from its success as you can. This means working six days a week and taking advantage of every opportunity to be in the public spotlight. When it's no longer popular, you start working on another record."
BOB SAID the process is like falling into a trap. A group automatically expects the next song to be better than the last. "However, we've had three flops since we recorded "Hair" in 1969. We were on top, then fell to the bottom of popularity charts. Cutting a top-selling record is a short-lived period of ecstasy."
He mentioned the group is on its way back to the top since it signed with London Recording Company in England. The Cowsills are the first American group to sign with the British company.
"It's a weird, irrational, sometimes depressing, illogical business," John said. "I would never tell anybody to get into the business unless they realized the amount of work cut out for them. However, the rewards are very nice."
As for rewards, John wasn't talking about the money alone but education gains as well.
Barbara said her children have matured a great deal and have learned more after meeting so many different kinds of people and visiting new places.
'YOU SOON learn to identify all kinds of personalities before you even talk to the people," Paul said. "You learn to cope with any situation that might come up. For instance, when we had to perform in Minnesota recently, a snowstorm hampered travel and delayed our schedule. We didn't get excited and realized that we would have to take our time in getting through the snow."
Barry said he learned that he cannot live without music, Barbara, tolerance, and Susan, 11-years-old, how to read a map legend. "From so much traveling, she knows how to tell where we've been and where we are going down to the exact mile," Barbara said.
In reference to the Partridge Family, Bob explained it would be "silly" to deny that the television family had not assumed the Cowsill style, "It's amazing how much they look like us four years ago."
The Cowsills were approached to do a television series before the Partridge Family series began. Barbara said working under a television contract would be too confining.
"We like to move around, travel very much. When a group agrees to do a television show, the contractor owns it lock, stock and barrel. We would have lost much of our freedom to do what we want."
THREE OF the Cowsills are attending school at a professional peoples' institution in Southern California. Susan, Barry and John have each made the school's honor roll. Paul, who was graduated recently said each student is responsible for getting his school assignments.
"The self discipline is strong at the school. When we don't do our work, we only have ourselves to blame. I roomed with Barry, but if he ever failed to do his work, it was his problem. This made us more responsible for getting the job done."
Change is essential if a group is going to be successful in the pop music field. The Cowsills agreed that had not Andy Williams changed with the times, his television show would be off the air again. (It was canceled the first time several years ago. Now, it successfully completed two years since taking on a "Laugh-In" format.) They also mentioned the Osmond Brothers' recent million-record seller, "One Bad Apple."
"They creeped along for years not getting anywhere. Then, they let their hair grow, put on mod clothes and copied the Jackson Five's style. It's a shame they had to copy someone else, but it's finally put them in the national spotlight."
Bob added that people once could listen to such singers as Frank Sinatra and Perry Como and feel sure they would always be popular. But, today, the rock music groups do not have that kind of stability. Musical groups, like the Association, come to a quick peak, drop off after a few yeas, and are never heard from again.
He said today's recording artists are younger than ever before. As a result, they are susceptible to many changes in what they want to do with their lives. Many drop out of rock groups as fast as they join them.
"Being a recording star is no bed of roses and you soon learn the future is never certain. It changes you; you don't change it."
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