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Once upon a time there lived a somewhat poverty-stricken family consisting of many children, a mommy and a daddy, in a dilapidated old mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. Daddy had been in the Navy for many years and had just retired. He was looking for something to do. Mommy was just trying to keep the house up. To keep their morale high, the kiddies many years ago started singing and playing the guitar. After years of playing at this, their talent ripened to acceptability and Daddy figured out what to do with all his spare time. "Let's try to really make it in show business," said Daddy to Family. Gleeful noises were heard from all and Daddy started plotting. He would be the mastermind and Mommy would provide the discipline (an
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occasional rap across the mouth to a disobedient child).
Step two was selling the little family to somebody or something somewhere. It finally worked with a record company. The record company decided they would just use the four boys and build them as a cute-sie pie act. They gave them songs to sing like "I Love My Siamese Cat Because She's Not Very Fat" or "Don't Put Your Feet in the Lemonade Because We're Running Out of Water." When the company presented them with that famous song, "Wash Off Your Car With Some Ginger Ale Though It May Get Sticky, Sorta," the family realized that they were getting nowhere fast. The house in Rhode Island was practically in danger of being condemned; things just weren't happening.
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"The Rain, The Park and Other Things" was a hit (it had to be after that exposure) and Ed Sullivan signed them for a record 11 appearances. (It is also interesting to note that rumor has it that Sullivan also has them signed for a television situation comedy series of which he would be owner and producer.)
"We Can Fly," the next record, was a hit, but then something happened. The next two releases were only mild successes and people began to worry. It was time to try harder again, and the result was "Indian Lake," which could be bigger than all of them. Success was theirs now. But what could be done to make it bigger? Read the next episode entitled "Eddie and The Golden Trick Bag."
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Getting ready for a big performance.
Eddie and the
Golden Trick Bag
Sitting high atop a lofty perch in New York is Ed Justin, vice-president and merchandising director of ILAMI, the merchandising wing of Screen Gems-Columbia. Merchandising is the name given to the act of promotion and selling gimmicks like Monkee T-shirts or Beatle wigs. By using this method, everybody makes money — the artist for the use of his name, the manufacturer of the items and the merchandiser himself for creating the campaign.
When Eddie met Daddy and Mommy, it was as if the marriage were made in heaven. The following items are a result of the agreement and range in price from $1 to $50 (for a Cowsill guitar): Cowsill comic books, Cowsill paperback books, Cowsill posters, Cowsill sweatshirts, Cowsill dolls featuring a Susie doll named after Susie Cowsill, Cowsill toys, including puzzles and a plastic model of their house in Rhode Island complete with plastic people to put in every room, Cowsill bubble gum, Cowsill makeup that Mommy and Daddy use.
In Europe they will merchandise the same items, plus Cowsill animated movies in England and Italy with the actual Cowsill family doing the voice tracks.
A song by the Trevi Fountain in Rome
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Summer Capers
It's summer and time to think of swimming and sunning and funning. But for the Cowsills summer represents a time when kids are out of school and people are on vacation and they need to be entertained. The State Fairs throughout the United States are notorious for paying fantastic amounts of money each year for entertainers. Andy Williams plays them each year. Lawrence Welk literally cleans up. Even Nancy Sinatra, who never makes singing appearances, is going on the Fair circuit this summer. Needless to say, the Cowsills may be in your own city this summer headlining the Fair. They definitely will be in Dallas and Atlantic City, with more dates to come.
Mother Cowsill and two of the boys are all dressed up for a night on the town.
Time For Games
Being on the road can be a super-drag if you don't think of funny things to do. Here are a few excerpts from the Cowsills' private file: Paul Cowsill jokingly broke the ribs of an MGM vice-president during a playful wrestling match one night. John and Bill, rooming together in Barbados, started a tarantula joke, the upshot of which saw Bill placing a black sock under John's pillow and then screaming "Tarantula!!" Poor John is still recovering. As if all this weren't enough, the MGM veep found company with the Cowsills' personal publicist, Janice Murray. They broke her finger.
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The group explores the Roman Coliseum.
The entire family poses for a picture.
Cowsills Dig Milk Over Grass
The Cowsills have been described as an "apple pie group." They are an apple pie group, but 'TEEN's answer is — so what? It's a pleasure to run into a group who is not afraid not to wear their hair long and say they like milk and don't dig drugs. "We dig milk over grass. It's as simple as that. We mind being called an apple pie group but it's a minor problem. We feel we are more real than the hippies. As a matter of fact, we dig them (hippies) so much we hate to see them be 'hippiecrits.' We're just concerned about them," said Bill Cowsill.
The Cowsills feel that they know what's happening and they are doing their own thing. They also feel that hippies should be allowed to do their own thing too
They do fly high on the record charts.
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