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CRANSTON. R.I. (WJAR)- Two legendary Rhode Island bands that started more than 50 years ago will getting together for one show Saturday night at The Park Theatre in Cranston.
Steve Smith & The Nakeds from Smithfield and The Cowsills of Newport.
When the band first got together in the early 1970s, they called themselves "The Naked Truth." It was a good time!
"Yeah, forget it! The drinking age was 18 back then, so, figure it out," said Smith at the Park Theatre's cafe on Friday.
But with their first recording contract, they realized there were more than 1,000. So "Steve Smith and The Nakeds," they became.
"We kept the Rhode Island thing going, but we went all over the world," he added.
In the early 1960s, every musical kid wanted to be The Beatles -- including the Cowsill family of Newport.
"We're all in the same boat with The Beatles. We're trying to figure it out," said Bob Cowsill, who met up with Smith at the cafe. "So we're slicing and dicing their records, trying to put it together."
The Cowsills working it, and so was Steve Smith.
"We're doing the same thing parallel, but we are definitely going through the same run," Cowsill added.
The Cowsills catapulted to the top of the pop charts in the late 60s, early 70s, with a number of hit records, including "The Rain, the Park, & Other Things."
Smith and his band featured Clarence Clemons of Springsteen's band for decades, and were memorialized in a "Family Guy" episode, performing the song, "I'm Huge & the Babes Go Wild."
"It's about being huge," said Smith, grinning, because he gets asked about the song's meaning . . . a lot. "Like, it's a huge day out there today."
Steve Smith and The Cowsills all had started their bands playing different parts of Rhode Island in the 1960s. And they never met, in person, until Friday at the cafe.
"We're the same age, but they got a little head start on me," said Smith.
"It's still a ride," smiled Cowsill. "Sounds like a good roller-coaster, right?"
The love of music and the Ocean State are the common denominators here. A show not to be missed, celebrating 50 years at the Park Theatre in Cranston on Saturday night.
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