One of the most iconic sounds of the late 1960’s came from The Cowsills, the family pop-rock band that continues to perform to this very day. First formed in 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and Barry Cowsill, the group grew when siblings John, Susan, and Paul Cowsill joined in. The mother of the family, Barbara Cowsill, completed the group, while Bob’s fraternal twin brother Richard would join the group later on.
The initial band found success with their song “The Rain, The Park & Other Things,” which climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the band would etch their names in the history book with their cover of the title track to ‘Hair,’ the stage production that captured the spirit of the Flower Generation. The Cowsills’ “Hair” also reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, but its inclusion in pop culture since committed The Cowsills to history. The band continued to perform and earn fans (The Ramones, Melissa Etheridge, and The Smithereens are Cowsills fanatics) in the following decades, and in 2022, the band released its first album in 30 years.
Take a look at the group in this gallery.
(Susan Cowsill, left, and Paul Cowsill of The Cowsills perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 2022)
