Каусилс: Американдық әулеттік музыка тобының тарихы

American vocal group

The Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island, six siblings noted for performing professionally and singing harmonies at an early age, later with their mother. The band was formed in early 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and Barry Cowsill; their brother John joined shortly thereafter. Originally Bill and Bob played guitar and Barry played the drums. When John learned to play drums and joined the band, Barry began playing bass. After their initial success, the brothers were joined by their siblings Susan and Paul along with their mother, Barbara. A seventh sibling, Bob's fraternal twin brother Richard, was never part of the band during its heyday, although he occasionally appeared with them in later years. The band's road manager for most of their career was Richard "Biggie" Korn. When the group expanded to its full family membership by 1967, the six siblings ranged in age from 8 to 19. Joined by their mother, Barbara Cowsill (née Russell), the group inspired the 1970s television show The Partridge Family.

According to the documentary, Family Band: The Cowsills Story, Bill was fired by his father during the group's tenure at the Flamingo Las Vegas in February 1970 after they had an argument over Bill's association with Waddy Wachtel (whom Bud did not approve of) which ended with a physical confrontation, with Bud being arrested for assault. With Bob now bearing the responsibility for leading them, the Cowsills continued on as a group and released the album II x II that same month, which still featured Bill since he'd still been present for much of its recording. But after it failed to produce a hit, the group was dropped by MGM. On My Side, their next release (and their first without Bill), was released on London Records in February 1971 but also struggled with sales. By 1972, Barbara, Paul and Susan had left the group and Bill returned, reforming the original quartet; they released one more single (on London), "Covered Wagon", which failed to chart, and a lucrative deal for some casino appearances was abruptly canceled after the group refused to perform their hits. Shortly afterward, The Cowsills stopped playing together as a band amid a series of interpersonal squabbles. The individual members went on to various career attempts in and out of the music industry, but they did appear at Madison Jr. High School in Tampa, Florida as "The Cowsills" for one performance during the mid 1970s. Some produced albums and performed from time to time, albeit not as The Cowsills, during the remainder of the 1970s. One project in particular was a band called Bridey Murphy, which was formed in the mid '70s and featured Paul, Bill, Barry, and Waddy Wachtel, and performed to varying degrees of success. In 1978 several of the Cowsills—including Paul, John, Barry, Bob and Susan—recorded an album called Cocaine Drain with producer Chuck Plotkin. In March 2008 a version of the album was finally released, remastered from an acetate under Bob Cowsill's direction. Several other previously unreleased tracks were included on the 2008 release. The central four members of the group created the power pop tune "Is It Any Wonder?" in 1993, which was released in the critically praised multi artist collection Yellow Pills, Vol. 1: The Best of American Pop. In the years following the group's split, Susan continued her musical career as a member of The Continental Drifters, along with both her first husband Peter Holsapple and her second husband, Russ Broussard. She was a member of Dwight Twilley's band in the mid 1980s, and currently leads her own band, the Susan Cowsill Band. Her first solo album, Just Believe it, was released in late 2005 by Blue Corn Music. In 2011 she was featured in an episode of the HBO series, Tremé. John Cowsill has also continued his performing career. From December 2000 until 2023, John was a regular member of The Beach Boys’ touring band, playing keyboards (until 2007) and drums (after 2007). He also contributed to the harmony stack, as well as occasionally singing lead on songs like “Wild Honey” and "Help Me, Rhonda". John was also part of the backing band for The Beach Boys’ 50th Anniversary Reunion tour during 2012 and performed on the reunion album recorded in 2011 and 2012. In earlier years, he performed with artists such as Jan & Dean and Dwight Twilley. Bill Cowsill moved to Canada in the 1970s and did well in that country as a solo artist, and as a member of Vancouver, British Columbia's Blue Northern, before forming The Blue Shadows, who recorded two albums for Sony Canada. After working as a sound engineer for Helen Reddy, Paul Cowsill left music for a career in the construction industry. He worked as a landscaper on several movies and television shows including the Twilight series and Grimm. In October 1989 Bob, Paul, John and Susan again regrouped as The Cowsills playing club dates in Los Angeles and appeared in concert for the syndicated radio show, "The Lost 45s with Barry Scott" on July 1, 1990. The original plan was to simply hit the "oldies circuit", but after some deliberation, they decided to showcase new material written by Bob and his wife, Mary Jo. This incarnation of the band started playing small clubs and showcases in the Los Angeles area and eventually spread out to similar venues across the country and into Canada. Their performances generated positive reviews from critics and fans alike, including a very well received performance on The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. The success of this reunion led The Cowsills back into the recording studio, which resulted in the album Global in 1998. This has also led to several reunions over the years in various forms, ranging from a few concerts to special feature performances at major events. Most notable of these events were "A Taste of Rhode Island in 2000", which featured all seven surviving Cowsills, and "A Family Thing 2", which was a benefit concert in 2004 for Bill's medical and financial difficulties at the time. This concert took place at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles and included an appearance by Shirley Jones, who introduced the band. It was the first time they had ever met. As the mother on the TV show inspired by the Cowsills, Shirley made a point of calling them "the real thing". Though she did not sing with them that night, immediately after her announcement the Cowsills played "I Really Want to Know You"; it is the one song recorded by both The Cowsills and The Partridge Family. During this period, Barry also released a solo CD, As Is. In October 2004 Bob, Paul, Barry, Susan and Richard reunited to sing the national anthem at Fenway Park before Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. This performance and rehearsals for it can be seen in the 2011 documentary, Family Band: The Cowsills Story. Susan's first solo release, Just Believe It, was released in 2004 in Europe and 2005 in the United States. Susan Cowsill continues to play live in New Orleans with her husband Russ Broussard and their band, playing "Covered In Vinyl" performances that have featured classic rock albums played live in their entirety. Some of these performances have been recorded at New Orleans venues like Carrollton Station and Chickie Wah Wah. Susan Cowsill's second solo album, "Lighthouse" was released in 2010 with support from the New Orleans musicians' organization Threadheads. It is a concept album in which she reflects on her losses, mainly through Hurricane Katrina and the deaths of brothers Barry and Bill. The album features harmonies from her surviving brothers (Bob, Paul and John) as well as appearances by Jackson Browne and Vicki Peterson, and was released May 18, 2010. The Cowsills were inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame on Sunday April 28, 2013. The Cowsills released Rhythm of the World, their first studio album of new material since 1998, on September 30, 2022. As of 2024, the group consisting of Bob, Paul and Susan, and occasionally John, still perform and since 2015 have appeared on the annual "Happy Together" package tour with the Turtles and several other sixties era bands.