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Bud Cowsill, husband and father of the nationally-famous music group bearing his name, is so seldom seen with his brood that his wife is continually asked if she is divorced or widowed.
She is neither. Bud Cowsill simply doesn't care for the business of performing.
Behind Scenes
He keeps busy behind the scenes as the family business manager and guiding spirit. The Cowsills appear daily at the big San Antonio Light International Auto show.
He is a soft-spoken man, a native of Connecticut who enlisted in the Navy in 1942 when he was 16. He retired late in 1962 as a chief warrant officer.
It's a hectic life at times, he admitted. Fans for the most part are fun. "When you put yourself in the public eye," he said, "you have to accept a certain amount of adulation. If it ever stops, then is the time to sit and do some worrying."
Unlike many groups, the Cowsills don't travel a great deal. Their appearance at the auto show is the second time they've been away from their new home in Santa Monica, Calif, since last September.
Cowsill said the road to the top of the pop music heap was "fun." He added. "If it had been really rough, we wouldn't have gone on. It wouldn't have been right."
"I don't believe there is a generation gap," he said flatly. "It is more of a breakdown in communications. We do everything together, and this work is a sort of group therapy. I think maybe the kids who cause trouble just don't have enough to do."
Is In Vietnam
One of the Cowsill sons is in Vietnam, and is the only one not with the family group, or in contact.
Bud Cowsill says he believes in handling the business, "and not letting the business handle us." He added, "If we wanted to be totally controlled, I suppose we could have a television program of our own, but we wouldn't care for that."
It would appear the Cowsills don't need it. They've sold more than five million records, and have a new album in the mill, titled "II X II."
Bud Cowsill concluded, "I liked the Navy better, but I'm equal to this. A long time ago, I told the kids, 'I can't leave you a gold mine, but I can show you where to dig.' "
"Even if this isn't the right place, we've had a helluva time."
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