The Cowsills: Their Whole, Wonderful Family Story
Mrs. Cowsill tells you things you didn't know before!
April 1968
Teen Life Magazine
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Meeting the Cowsill family - all nine of them - is one of the nicest things that could possibly happen to anyone. They're charming, delightful, full of fun and obviously very much in love with life—and each other. They're always smiling and their smiles radiate a warmth which any visitor to their home feels the moment they walk through the door.
And, let's face it, the Cowsills have a lot to smile about. In a matter of a few short months they have become one of the hottest properties in the pop music world, and their records sell quicker than Pepsi on a desert island.
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Some people have called the talented family from Newport, R.I., an "overnight sensation." But nothing could be further from the truth. The Cowsills have been waiting a long, long time to be discovered. And the story of how they struggled and almost starved to get the recognition they deserved is so unbelievable, that one imagines that some seedy press agent must have dreamed it up. Only, in the case of the Cowsills, the "unbelievable" story is true!
It all started back in July, 1946, when a beautiful, 17-year-old girl called Barbara Russell married a very handsome sailor named Bud Cowsill. They had but two dreams:
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to live a long and happy married life, and to raise a large family.
The first baby Cowsill arrived in January, 1948, and they named him Bill. Then, to cut a long story short, came Bob and Dick (twins), Paul, Barry, John and Susan. But we're jumping ahead . . .
Bud, who traveled around the world many times with the Navy, always brought souvenirs home from the countries he visited, and these usually took the shape of musical instruments. He also brought home a lot of the sort of songs Navy men usually know, and was delighted,
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one day, to hear Bill sing right along with him. At that time Bill was eight, and the song in question was 'Has Anybody Seen My Gal.' "Bill had a really beautiful voice," says Barbara, "and sang soprano with the church choir."
On Bud's next trip home he bought a small guitar, and within a couple of days Bill had almost mastered it. But brothers will be brothers and Bob decided that he wanted one too! "I remember Bud telling me to go into town and buy Bob a very inexpensive guitar. I bought one for $20.00 and Bud hit the ceiling. You see at that time Bud was only earning about $100.00 a month and every penny we had went on food and clothes for the children."
With lessons from his older brother, Bob learned to play his guitar and in no time at all they were playing and singing in harmony together. Bud was both surprised and delighted at the talent of his two young sons and entered them in a television talent show. They came second, but as
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Barry Cowsill, left above, makes like a milk fiend!!
Bill is oldest, so he tunes in the TV (above, right).
Below, a typical Cowsill rehearsal - in the living room!
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a result of their appearance they were invited to appear at charity concerts and church functions . . .
Years passed and the family moved from Ohio to Middletown, R.I. Bob and Bill had switched to electric guitars, and Barry had decided that he wanted to be in the group, and had become something of an expert playing bongo drums with kitchen knives as drumsticks! Bud, recognizing Barry's talent, bought him a small set of second-hand drums and from then on bedlam reigned in the Cowsill home. "The noise nearly drove me mad," says Barbara. "Luckily we had very tolerant neighbors, but the boys eventually had to make less noise when a lady two blocks away complained that the music kept her baby awake!"
Bill, Bob and Barry practiced during every spare moment they had, and became a big attraction at local functions. By this time John was beginning to feel a little left out of things, and begged his brothers to let him join the group. So John was given a toy organ to pound away on. "He was full of bounce and rhythm and people who saw him on stage couldn't believe that such a young boy could play the organ so brilliantly. I just hadn't the heart to tell them that the organ wasn't plugged in!"
John, however, was not happy playing the silent organ and wanted to play the drums instead. The fact that Barry was the group's drummer didn't deter him either! "I learned later that John used to practice playing, sneaking down to the drums in the dark after we'd all gone to bed!" Barbara laughs. But John's grim determination paid off. He got to be the drummer and Barry was switched to a bass guitar which he learned to play in three days.
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Dick is Bob's Twin and road manager. Here, left, he's bedmaker! Below at the Cowsills' means a homey kitchen gathering.
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This brings us up to about five years ago when Bud was discharged from the Navy. He realized that he had an unusually gifted family and was determined that they were going to get to the top. "I thought he was crazy— in fact I thought they were all crazy. But when Bud makes up his mind about something nothing will change his mind," Barbara told me. "He was so convinced that the boys could make it that he went to see anyone in the area who had money to try and get them to invest in the group. He made tapes of the boys and took them around, and hauled people along to see the boys perform. The only trouble was that there was no money coming in to the home. Bud wasn't working full-time and I really didn't know where the next penny was coming from. In the end I went to work as a waitress in Newport. Actually I quite enjoyed it. I did all the washing, ironing and cleaning during the (continued below)
Barry's watching TV in deep concentration above, while Sue explores around the house, and Paul - well someone has to wash dishes!
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day,"they went to work from 5 p.m. till one in the morning. Meantime Bud continued to work full time on the group."
The four Cowsills played their first big date at Brown University in R.I., and from then on college dates began to pour in. They usually worked on Friday and Saturday nights and on Sunday the "babies," Barry and John, went to bed early and Bill and Bob sang folk music at a club in Newport.
"Then just over three years ago the four of them were booked to appear for a week at a big hotel in Newport," Barbara recalls. "But when I went down to see them, there was only Bill on stage playing his guitar and tapping a drum at the same time! Then Bob, who was in tears, told me that someone had told the management that they were breaking the child labor laws and only Bill had been allowed to play. It was a Friday night so there was nothing we could do about it 'till Monday, but Bob came up with an idea that partly solved the problem. He booked a room in the hotel on the fourth floor, then got a microphone with a very long lead on it and swung it down to the stage. He then harmonized along with Bill and nobody could work out where the other voice was coming from!" Luckily, the problem was solved on the Monday and the group was allowed to play—on stage!
That problem dealt with, there were more to come, a lot more, as you'll see in next month's TEEN LIFE when we continue the Cowsill's exciting, heartwarming story.
This is a favorite room with all the Cowsills.
They're very proud of their lovable old home.
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Cowsills capture live tree! Barry thumps on the ol' bass while the rest of the family kids around. Housepainting is a gret time for horseplay!
Bud and Barbara Cowsill went through very difficult times to make their dream come true.
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