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Note: This article has been posted before but this version included extra text the other version left out.
Many acts play the Hollywood Palace, the The Today Show? Such appearances are few and far between.
Rarer still are Today specials, and these are traditionally built around the likes of Beatrice Lillie, Noel Coward or Richard Rodgers. The big brass of show business.
But on Monday (7:00-9:00 AM), Today will pay an hour-long tribute to the newly-arrived Cowsills, a singing act which is, in a sense, A Today Show baby.
The Cowsills made their national television debut on Today in September, 1964, after a vacationing Today writer heard them sing in a hotel in their home town, Newport, Rhode Island.
Bud Cowsill, a 20-year Navy veteran, now retired, organized the group featuring his wife and five of their seven children.
Since their first Today stint, the Cowsills have sold a million records of their hit song, "The Rain, The Park and Other Things" sung on the Tonight Show, and played two of 10 contracted engagements this season on The Ed Sullivan Show.
The onstage Cowsill family consists of Susie, eight, her brothers, Bill, 20, Bob, 18, Barry, 13, Johnny, 11, and their mother, Barbara. Susie and Barbara are new recruits, having joined the act only a few months ago.
Two other Cowsill sons, Paul, 16, and Dick, who is Bob's twin, are the singers' stage and road managers.
The two older boys are college students and the younger kids attend a professional children's school in New York. The family tours mostly during summer vacations.
Bob, told briefly his version of how it all happened. "About 10 years ago, Bill started messing around with a guitar and then he taught me. We went along for four or five years. Then Barry, who is now our bass player, became our drummer."
He was 8 and began messing around with bongos, John was 6 then, so we didn't expect much from him. So for a while Bill, myself and Barry played dances and college stuff. Then John took up the drums and we didn't know what to do with Barry, but he went over to the bass. We had three records out as a quartet and then Susan came along."
"She just popped up," said Mom. "She wanted to be in the group and she danced with them. Then she came to me crying that the guys didn't want her. Why, I asked, 'Because Bill never hollers at me,' she cried.
"Mom wasn't really in the group either," said Bob. "But we bribed her with clothes and a washer and she joined us."
"Since my family becamous famous," Mom said, "I just added singing to washing, cooking, cleaning.
"You know, you wait and wait for something to happen and then it happens and nothing changes. The kids still go to school, the dog still needs his shots, and the apartment we live in is great, because the basement has 10 washing machines."
Said Bob, "Years ago, maybe six years ago the whole family sang for the first time for an assembly at St. Joseph's school in Ohio, where we all went.
"Our first professional appearance as perhaps 10 years ago when Bill, he's the other oldest one, and myself were on a television talent contest singing 'Your Cheatin' Heart.' We lost to a magician."
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