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Probably the “hippest” mother in the world is Barbara Cowsill, mini-mom of six robust sons and one daughter who, together, make up one of the hottest groups to invade disc-land in quite a while. The Cowsills consist of Bill (oldest and lead singer), Bob (organist), Barry (guitar), and John (drummer) plus Paul (road manager) and Dick, Bob’s twin, (sound equipment and lighting expert).
Susan Cowsill, 8 1/2 , joins her mom, singing and playing tambourine. The mastermind behind the group is none other than Papa Cowsill, who has long been tuned in to today’s sounds although he is not a musician. He calls himself “the producer and the reproducer.”
The Cowsills’ newest release, “We Can Fly” was premiered on the Christmas Eve Ed Sullivan Show. It reminds me of the hit side of the Fifth Dimension, “Up, Up and Away.” Their first hit single, “The Rain, The Park, and Other Things” is one of the tracks on their album, titled simply enough, “The Cowsills.” If you don’t already have it, give a listen to it, for the tracks of “Pennies,” “Troubled Roses,” and “That’s My Time of Day” are grrrrr-eat!
The Cowsills don’t dwell on drugs and dropping out. Their style is “Soc-Rock” (soc is a California teen-age term for people who are socially acceptable). And their tunes reflect their life, centered around their 23 room house in Rhode Island where they co-exist with each other and their ghost, good ole’ Captain McCormick, who lived and died in the house and in a spirit of ghostly fun bands on the pipes all night! They travel on a king-size bus and study under mom’s watchful eye, when they’re not rehearsing and practicing.
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