All in the family

The inspiration for David Cassidy et al, The Cowsills are the pop family that stayed together: 57 years after their recorded debut, they are making some of the best music of their lives their first new album in 30 years, Rhythm Of The World, was released last month. Bill Kopp talks to Bob, Paul and Susan Cowsill about the rain, the park, the fun, the horror - including an abusive father - and other things.

- By Bill Kopp

The Cowsills’ time at the top of the pop world was dazzling and brief. The “family band” featuring siblings Bill, Bob, Barry, John, Paul and Susan plus “mini mom” Barbara scored four Top 40 singles in the US, including their million-selling debut, The Rain, The Park & Other Things. And their time in the spotlight made the group a prominent fixture of pop culture. They appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and countless other TV variety shows, toured the world and served as the real-life inspiration for The Partridge Family. But unlike that TV group, The Cowsills were a real band: they wrote songs, sang in glorious harmony, and played their own instruments both live onstage and in the studio. They even produced their own recording sessions.

It all seemed a recipe for long-term success. Yet the rot set in almost from the start. For better and (mostly) worse, The Cowsills’ career trajectory was tightly controlled by the patriarch of the family, William “Bud” Cowsill.

Bud and Barbara married young. A career US Navy man, Bud was away for long periods; seemingly, whenever he returned home for a brief break, Barbara got pregnant. Eldest son Bill Jr. was born in 1948; twins Bob and Richard followed in 1949. Paul was born in 1951. Barry was born in 1954, John in ’56, and Susan in 1959.

While the family was still living in Canton, Ohio, Bill and Bob taught themselves how to play guitar. They quickly discovered that their innate musical abilities included perfect vocal harmony. “From Mom, we got the ability, the DNA strands to sing a melody,” Bob says. “We’re sure of that. From Dad, we got… other things.”