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The Cowsills?
I never heard of them until just a few weeks ago when MGM's Sol Handwerger started bombarding me with a postcard a day - one each day for Mr. and Mrs. Bud Cowsill and the seven little Cowsills (8 to 19). And then, the singing Cowsills began to be heard via their now-a-hit (MGM single) play for "The Rain, the Park and Other Things."
Last week, the Cowsills' sound became stronger in a note from Bernie Ilson that Ed Sullivan had signed the singing-instrumental family group to a two-year television contract for 10 performances on his CBS show: found this season and the first next Sunday night when the kids and Mom will do their fast-rising-on-the-charts play for "The Rain, the Park and Other Things."
"We consider the Cowsills one of the most promising groups to come along in some time," says Bob Precht, Sullivan's long-time producer and the man who first put the Beatles on TV (and Ed's son-in-law). "They have an exciting contemporary sound as well as family appeal."
The family? The Cowsills consist of Barbara and Bud Cowsill - he's a retired U.S. Navy petty officer - and the seven youngsters. Mom, Bill, 19, Bob, 18, Barry, 11, John, 10, and (sometimes) Susan, 8, are the performers; Dad, Dick, 18 (Bob's twin), and Paul, 16, work behind the scenes: transportation, contracts, equipment.
The family lives in a 22-room house in Newport, R.I., which, until their somewhat recent success, they couldn't afford to furnish properly. As a matter of fact, their Sullivan contract provides they be paid not only in cash but also in appliances - a washing machine, a dryer, a dishwasher and two four-slice toasters.
Last week, the Cowsills also had a new (MGM) LP on the racks, titled (what else?) "The Cowsills." Just what sort of payoff they've worked for the album, I'm not sure (it may even be a paint job for the house, if the album cover is an indicator) but from here it looks good for this not-too-shaggy-looking group.
The album spins their big hit, plus a collection of Cowsill co-operatively written tunes like "Pennies," "Thinkin' About the Other Side," "Dreams of Linda," "River Blue," "Is Anyone There?" and "How Can I Make You See?"
Their sound is quite contemporary; they rock and they roll in a modified sort of way. One can hear, even understand, the lyrics - which is something of a new twist for youngsters.
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