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Happy memories are what Barbara Cowsill has of her former life as a Navy wife.
This mother of seven is a prime force behind the highly successful Cowsills, young America’s favorite family singing group.
Mrs. Cowsill, a dynamic New Englander, sings with her offspring on stage, and is excited about performing for the military community in Europe on their current tour.
“It’s great talking to the wives . . . We have so much in common . . . having lived the Navy life we did,” she said.
Barbara and Bud Cowsill were married 25 years ago, when she was 17 and he was a sailor of 20. They now make their home in Santa Monice, Calif., and own property in their native Rhode Island.
He is retired from the Navy, but she said the family still uses its medical benefits, adding, “I also go to the commissary at Long Beach once a week.”
All the Cowsill children were born I Navy hospitals, she recalled with a smile: “It only cost us $1.75 a day. People say that’s why I had so many.”
Their six sons are Bill, 23, twins Bob and Dick, 21, Paul, 19, Barry, 16, and John, 15. Susan, 11, is the only girl and Mrs. Cowsill said her brothrs treat her “as one of the guys.”
Born in Franston (ed note: probably Cranston), R.I. Mrs. Cowsill also was part of a large family – nine brothers and sisters.
“They talk about woman’s liberation,” she said, her blue eyes twinkling. “Well, I was liberated 25 year ago, when I got married.”
Before her husband’s retirement, four of their sons banded together and played most of the service clubs around Newport, R.I., where their father was stationed.
Although the teen-agers made several records none clicked. Finally, Mrs. Cowsill joined them in 1967, and an MGM representative signed them to record on that label.
Shortly afterward, the Cowsills had their first hit single, “The Rain, The Park, and Other Things,” and the rest is musical history.
Mrs. Cowsill has a sweet, pleasant voice, heard to advantage as lead singer on their hit “The Bridge.” She never sang professionally before joining the group.
“But I did the other shot,” she chuckled, “the dishes, the cooking and all the diapers. Twenty years I did that, and suddenly they make a singer out of me.”
She paused, then reflected, “Well, I used to sing at the sink while I did the dishes, or to my babies.”
Barbara Cowsill admits that she sometimes misses the service. “My husband does, too,” she said. “It’s a good life.”
During their service time, Cowsill seldom had to move his family. His duty stations were Newport, Norfolk and Canton, Ohio.
“Everyone wants to know, ‘What’s a sailor doing in Canton,’” she said, “but he was there on recruiting duty.”
Mrs. Cowsill persists in talking about her former life: “There were the separations, but when he came home from a cruise it was as though we were just beginning again.
“I think it keeps husbands and wives together, more so than seeing each other every day. It was a way of life we got used to.”
This vivacious woman now delights in her role as grandmother of 3-month-old Travis, Bill’s son, her only grandchild. “It’s a ball, I tell you. I can hold him and love him, but when he starts to cry I can just hand him back to Mother.”
Mrs. Cowsill regards her present career as “a fun thing.”
“Oh I don’t go for diamonds, minks and all that stuff, she said, “The beauty of this business is we travel all across the United States and constantly run into old shipmates.”
Has success presented any problems in the rearing of her children?
“Actually, under the circumstances, I think they’ve reacted very well,” she said. “We tried to direct them by giving them all the basics while they were young.
“It could really blow their minds if they would let it, but they know what’s real and what isn’t.”
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