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ALBANY - For 14 years, the Happy Together tour has brought people together to reminisce on the good ol' days when life was easy and music was played at high school sock hops. Baby boomers, born before the 1960 grew up listening to songs that became Top 40 Billboard hits. Songs, like the title of this concert tour and "Sugar Sugar," remain hip and loved to this day by boomers and younger generations who have discovered the songs on the radio, though pop culture or their parents.
Since 1989 the musical preferences centered around 90's pop icons N*SYNC, Backstreet Boys, Brittney Spears and 98 Degrees. At the time, these teen idols became sensations and I grew to love them.
At the Palace Theatre, The Cowsills, The Classics IV, The Vogues, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, Little Anthony, and The Turtles with Ron Dante, front man of The Archies, all performed. Each were acts which my parents grew up listening to.
The voices during the Tuesday, Aug. 1 show were still at their prime as if one heard them 50 years ago on an album for the first time. Their stage presence and musical command was impressive, admirable, and entertaining.
The songs played during the show remain relevant now. "Tears On My Pillow" from Little Anthony was covered by Sha-Na-Na and heard in the film "Grease", "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies was used as the theme song for the TV show Cake Boss, and "The Rain, The Park, & Other Things" of The Cowsills was included in the "Dumb and Dumber" movie soundtrack.
Life often imitates art, not only out of flattery, but also in the form of music. Musicians sometimes cover songs that turn into the pinnacle hit of their career. For example, Linda Rondstadt covered Little Anthony's "Hurt So Bad" and the Atlanta Rhythm Section did a rendition of the Classics IV "Spooky" and are remembered for the covers more than the originals.
Having heard these acts perform live for the first time, it was difficult for me to pinpoint the top moments of the tour. Maybe it was watching 83-year-old Little Anthony sing and dance to “"himmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop", hearing "The Vogues sing the gorgeous "You Are My Special Angel" in perfect harmony, or dancing to "Sugar Sugar" with my mom who grew up reading "The Archies" comics and watched the TV show.
Perhaps it was hearing my Mom's response to certain songs that made her get emotional, feel goosebumps, and dance made the overall experience priceless.
Connecting With Paul Cowsill
A week prior to the Happy Together Tour, I had a phone conversation with Paul Cowsill, the lead singer of The Cowsills Band. Paul, his brother Bill, and sister Susan, were one of six acts to perform and were the opening act of the tour.
The Cowsills Band, who were the inspiration for the Partridge Family TV show, came out with top hits as "The Rain, The Park And Other Things", "We Can Fly", "Indian Lake", "Love American Style", and "Hair".
Paul reflected upon his return visit to Albany and the experience he had on the Palace Theatre stage in an email on Thursday, Aug. 3.
"What a night we had at the Palace Theatre. We sang our hits and the audience seem(ed) to love hearing the songs from their past. It was great getting back to Albany, where we hadn't been back to since the 90s," he wrote.
According to Paul, who has participated for the past nine tours, said very artist on the tour loved going out on the tour.
"The tour is crazy good. Our demographic, our audiences never had MTV and they never had VH1..They went to concerts and they're still going to concerts, so as long as they're going, we're going and we're really in together." Cowsill said.
Paul added that he, along with his siblings Bill and Susan are touring more than they did when they were children, booking 61 shows total for 2023. The band will continue to do one-night shows for the Happy Together Tour through Sept. 1 and will extend into next year.
Paul said that the fans' response to the older acts coming to town has been incredible.
"These people are excited that we're coming to their town and they get there and everybody's doing a great job." he said. "And so the people feel like they're back in their teens."
Even millennials, Gen-Z, and Gen Alpha (the younger generation) fans who grew up listening to the oldies alongside their parents are also attending the Happy Together Tour.
"We are getting a lot of younger people at these shows and we always go, oh, were you wrangled into coming? And the kids go, no, I was raised on this music." Cowsill said. "So all of us as parents, we're continuing to play The Beatles ... having those kids get exposed to the music that we grew up with and they love it. They just love it."
Paul, Bob, and Susan Cowsill continue to reach out to their audience through music tours, shows with their family band, as well as their podcast. "People are hip to everything," Paul Cowsill said.
In fact, the Cowsills podcast has 107 shows that feature a famous musician from the classic rock world to relive their heydays and released their new album, Rhythm of The World, last year and the vinyl album edition was released this year on Record Store Day.
Once the band finishes the Happy Together tour during the first week of September, the three Cowsills will continue touring, but adding more family members. The three are planning to take part in the Flower Power Cruise in March 2024 to celebrate the music of the 1960's and a 1970's. They are also in the studio recording new music.
Paul Cowsill encourages fans and individuals who have not seen the Happy Together Tour or the bands themselves to attend the show while it's happening.
"People are just loving this show and they're telling everybody who hasn't gone to the show to go to the show." Paul said. "You better see it before you're dead, because this is the show to see. They (the promoters) keep booking it so we'll see how long she goes."
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