The pride of Newport, Rhode Island, The Cowsills stormed the upper reaches of the U. S. pop charts in the late '60s with eight Hot 100 hits between 1967-69. Their pop sound and family group look became what inspired "The Partridge Family" TV series.

In fact, the folks behind the series originally wanted The Cowsills to be the subject of a TV series, but they didn't want "Mom" Cowsill since they had already signed an actress to play the series' mom, so The Cowsills decided not to do the series without her. This proved to be a major break for David Cassidy and the actors who became "The Partridge Family," needless to say.

I lived in Rhode Island from 1964-68. My father was stationed at Newport Naval Base during that time (the father of The Cowsills was also a Navy man). I went to school in Plymouth, Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island, during that time.

My mother, God bless her, started telling me after we had moved to Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1968, with The Cowsills on "Ed Sullivan," that the Cowsills kids had been among my school friends in Newport, but I truly don't remember that (during my dad's military service, I went to schools in Ohio, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, so I knew hundreds of kids along the way to adulthood).

That said, The Cowsills were one of my favorite singing groups in my pre-teen years. They were briefly in a sales league with The Monkees and Herman's Hermits among America's youth.

They were all just youngsters, themselves, but they did play their own instruments and do their own singing. They even wrote or cowrote some of their own tunes. These were very talented kids.

Beginning with guitarists Bill and Bob (who also played organ), bassist Barry and drummer John, the family band eventually included mom, Barbara, younger brother Paul and cute-as-a-button little sister Susan.

So clean was their image that they were spokespersons for the American Dairy Association. They also hosted a TV special of their own, while also appearing on shows such as "The Tonight Show (with Johnny Carson)," "American Bandstand," "The Dean Martin Show" (Susan solo, singing a duet with Dean of "Shine On, Harvest Moon"), "The Dick Cavett Show," "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Johnny Cash Show" and "The Jonathan Winters Show," among others. They even did "The Howard Stern Show" in 1990 (there goes that squeaky-clean image)!

Signed to MGM Records:

The Cowsills were signed to MGM Records and scored immediately with "The Rain, The Park And Other Things" in 1967. The single reached # 2 for two weeks, spending 16 weeks in the Billboard magazine Hot 100 Singles list. It's bright, uptempo pop, something of a cross between The Monkees and The Mamas & The Papas, but unique as a sound all their own.

"I saw her sitting in the rain / raindrops falling on her / she didn't seem to care / she sat there and smiled at me / then I knew / she could make me happy / flowers in her hair / flowers everywhere / I love the flower girl / oh I don't know just why / she simply caught my eye / I love the flower girl / she seemed so sweet and kind / she crept into my mind / I knew I had to say hello / she smiled up at me / she took my hand / and we walked through the park alone / and I knew / she had made me happy / flowers in her hair / flowers everywhere... / suddenly the sun broke through / I turned around, she was gone / all I had left was one little flower from her hair / but I knew, she had made me happy..."

Opening with the sound of the falling rain, followed by a cascading keyboard movement, the song builds layers of gorgeous harmonies in a surprisingly complex arrangement. It's all very sweet and relaxing to listen to, much like the sound The Carpenters would take as their own pop sound years later. It is also the stylistic model of David Cassidy's lead vocal on The Patridge Family's "I Think I Love You" from 1970.

The song dominated the airwaves for the final four months of 1967. Shortly after the new year began in 1968, their single "We Can Fly" climbed the charts to # 21, their second Top 40 hit.

In the spring, "In Need Of A Friend" went to # 54, but the summer of 1968 saw The Cowsills again in the Top Ten with "Indian Lake."

"Indian Lake" peaked at # 10, with a melody riding an Indian drum beat and more sweet as candy harmonies (and "war whoops") pushing the song to hit status:

"Indian Lake / is a scene you should make / with your little one / keep it in mind / if you're hoping to find / a place in the summer sun..."

The follow-up single, "Poor Baby," didn't do as well, but it did peak at # 44 in the fall of 1968.

The musical "Hair" was all the rage, and controversial as well, in 1969. The Cowsills would score their biggest hit with the title tune that year, selling over a million copies to earn a Gold Record Award.

"Hair" has some of the craziest lyrics ever recorded. It's a great performance with wonderful harmonies singing about the need for long hair on young guys in the late '60s, the backup vocals being "answered" by the lead vocal, an unusual effect:

"Give me a head with hair / long, beautiful hair / shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen / Give me down to there hair / shoulder length or longer / Here baby, there mama / Everywhere daddy daddy / hair... / grow it, show it, long as I can grow it / my hair / I can let it fly in the breeze / then get caught in the trees / Give a home for the fleas in my hair / a hive for the buzzing bees / a nest for birds / There ain't no words / For the beauty, the splendor, the wonder / of my hair..."

Kind of Alice Cooper meets The Turtles in sound, with psychedelic guitar sounds, the tune went to # 2 for two weeks of a 15-week chart run. It was a monster hit. It was also their final trip into the Top 40.

The following two singles of 1969, "The Prophecy Of Daniel and John The Devine (Six-Six-Six)" and "Silver Threads And Golden Needles" peaked at # 75 and # 74 respectively, their final Hot 100 hits. Neither tune appears on this collection.

Hit albums:

The Cowsills placed six albums in the Billboard Top 200: "The Cowsills" (which peaked at # 31 in 1967), "We Can Fly" (# 89 in 1968), "Captain Sad And His Ship Of Fools" (# 105 in 1968), "The Best Of The Cowsills" (# 127 in 1969), "The Cowsills In Concert" (# 16 in 1969) and "On My Side" (# 200 in 1971).

The Cowsills today:

The Cowsills still perform and record (their 1998 album, "Global," made most critics' Top 10 lists, featuring a great power pop tune, "Is It Any Wonder?", which had previously appeared in 1993 on the various artists' CD "Yellow Pills Volume One").

John Cowsill has made guest appearances on TV in recent years, as well, including three appearances as a member of John Stamos' band on "Full House" and two appearances as a "band member" on "General Hospital."

John has also performed with Dwight Twilley, Jan & Dean and Tommy Tutone (singing backup on their hit "867-5309"). Susan sang backup vocals on two Dwight Twilley albums in the early '80s, "Scuba Diver" and "Jungle."

Bob, Paul, John and Susan sang backup on Harry Chapin's "Living Room Suite" album in 1978. Bob appeared on Phil Seymour's self-titled debut in 1982 (which included Seymour's performance of a tune written by Bob and Paul, "Dance A Dream"). Bill also appeared on Colin James' self-titled 1988 album.

On the web:

For massive info on the band, visit their official website at http://cowsill.com/cowsills/index.html .

The CD:

A very weak, 4-page CD booklet with one photo and only the titles of the songs as information.

However, the album features 14 songs, including all the Top 40 hits, with a total running time of 41:47 minutes, which more than makes this a good value.

The tunes: "The Rain, The Park And Other Things," "The Path Of Love," "Meet Me At The Wishing Well," "In Need Of A Friend," "Mister Flynn," "Captain Sad And His Ship Of Fools," "We Can Fly," "Indian Lake," "Gray, Sunny Day," "A Time For Remembrance," "Gotta Get Away From It All," "Newspaper Blanket," "Poor Baby" and "Hair."

You might also enjoy:

Capitol/EMI's 20-track 24-bit digitally remastered CD "Greatest" by Raspberries (the original lineup --- Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson, Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti --- who sang the million-seller "Go All The Way" reunited in 2004-2005) was released in May of 2005 in the U. S. and Europe. It features all 7 of Raspberries Hot 100 singles, has 20 tracks and runs 78:53 minutes: http://www.epinions.com/content_186044681860

My review of David Cassidy & The Partridge Family's album, "The Definitive Collection": http://www.epinions.com/content_91262652036

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving