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The Cowsills
Album: "The Cowsills In Concert" (1969)
I'm serious here.
The Cowsills deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, alongside other family acts like Sly and the Family Stone, the Allman Brothers, the Staple Sisters, the Jackson 5 and others. They could be in the family band section, if there was one.
I have to admit I just recently bought this record for $2 at Birmingham's Seasick Records, one of several great pre-owned record dealers in the area. Nice prices and nice selection for folks like me trying to do a blog on this stuff. Although I have 678 of my own records to count down.
On a Cowsills fan website, there is a case made to put the "real Partridge Family" in the Hall of Fame. (They are already in the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame, for goodness sakes.)
Among the myriad reasons they should be in the Hall, the website post argues is they wrote and performed the theme song for the TV show "Love, American Style." I loved that song and watched that show every Friday night, as a youngster. It came on some time after "The Partridge Family," I believe?
This record was a nostalgia purchase. I couldn't resist buying it. Because it tweaked early rock 'n' roll memories.
I remember in fifth grade going over to a friend's house in Athens, Georgia, and my friend's brother was dancing on the coffee table with "Hair" going full blast. The song was also a No. 2 national hit for the Cowsills. Not surprising as they turned it into a silly but arresting pop single - which is the correct interpretation of such a goofy song - as opposed to the more serious take from the musical.
And, I'm not kidding you here: They could really sing and play, as this live album shows. They were the model for TV's popular Partridge Family, and musically, they would have blown most of the Partridges back to their high school drama classes. Some were amazed at the Cowsill's pulling off the Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" in concert - a difficult task as the Beach Boys themselves learned.
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