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Cowsills Family Band documentary

J

jimbo

I just saw Family Band: The Cowsills Story on Showtime. A bittersweet look at the family and their hard-ass father.

But the really nice surprise for me was the song "Some Good Years" that was played over the end credits. I just bought it from Amazon's MP3 store and love it. Amazon says it was recorded in 2007 but it has the great harmony that was a staple of the Cowsills hits from the 60s combined with a contemporary sound. It's a real gem of a song.
 
Very sad that the mother died in the '80s and one of the brothers was tragically killed in Hurricane Katrina. I didn't see the documentary, but I can see how the song "Some Good Years" would be a fitting ending.
 
Here's a question for everyone to answer:

True or false: ABC's 1970-74 sitcom The Partridge Family, about a singing group featuring a mother and her kids, was inspired by the Cowsills, a singing group featuring a mother and her kids.

Okay, that was just too easy!
 
EZway2go said:
Very sad that the mother died in the '80s and one of the brothers was tragically killed in Hurricane Katrina. I didn't see the documentary, but I can see how the song "Some Good Years" would be a fitting ending.
Click to expand...

Yes, Barbara died of lung cancer in 1985, Bud died of leukemia in 1992 and just after Barry's body was found, Bill passed away from numerous complications. :(
 
LARadioRewind said:
Here's a question for everyone to answer:

True or false: ABC's 1970-74 sitcom The Partridge Family, about a singing group featuring a mother and her kids, was inspired by the Cowsills, a singing group featuring a mother and her kids.

Okay, that was just too easy!
Click to expand...

Uhhhhhhh... True.
 
Mister rnigma mentioned the Cowsills comic book, which I never knew existed. The groan-inducing "humor" in that comic makes my own bad puns look brilliant by comparison! Dell put out 17 issues of a Monkees comic book, although issue #17 was a reprint of #1. Charlton put out 21 issues of a Partridge Family comic book. Are there other singing groups who became comic-book fodder?
 
Two things: When I first heard of The Cowsills for a long time I thought they were a country act [I saw them featured on an NBC special in 1968 hosted by, of all people, Buddy Ebsen], I didn't know until I heard "Hair" long after its initial release they were a rock act, and the reference to Barbara the mom dying of lung cancer made me wonder, was she a cigarette smoker?
 
Kurt Toy said:
Two things: When I first heard of The Cowsills for a long time I thought they were a country act [I saw them featured on an NBC special in 1968 hosted by, of all people, Buddy Ebsen], I didn't know until I heard "Hair" long after its initial release they were a rock act, and the reference to Barbara the mom dying of lung cancer made me wonder, was she a cigarette smoker?
Click to expand...

Yes! To the best of my knowledge, Barbara smoked like a fiend!
 
For many years, I didn't think anyone who could beat Joe Jackson of the Jackson family for being a biggest jerk of a musical family. He has obviously lived off the labor of his kids his whole life. But I do think that Bud Cowsill has to run a close second. It would be interesting to speculate what would have happened to this group if the father had not been such a dictator in regard to his family and not made so many lousy business decisions. I'd always wondered what happened to this group, and enjoyed most of their music. I guess the times did not help either. I enjoyed the show and felt so bad for many of the family members.
 
FRR said:
For many years, I didn't think anyone who could beat Joe Jackson of the Jackson family for being a biggest jerk of a musical family. He has obviously lived off the labor of his kids his whole life. But I do think that Bud Cowsill has to run a close second. It would be interesting to speculate what would have happened to this group if the father had not been such a dictator in regard to his family and not made so many lousy business decisions.
Click to expand...
The fate of both acts offer striking similarities for sure. But, as the Cowsills were drifting into relative obscurity, the Jacksons remained on the radar screen, both for their talented legacy and the troubled life of the star of the family, Michael. Jack Ass Joe Jackson's abusive grip on his children spoke volumes for the confused adulthood of the gloved one. Michael grew into adulthood suffering the emotional torment likely to haunt an abused child. Blame Michael's Dr for the malpractice alleged to have caused his death, but, if you ask me, Joe Jackson got away with murder.
 
Because of their wholesome family image and silly songs (that they didn't write) like "Indian Lake" and "Hair" the Cowsills were always lumped in with bubblegum bands. But they wrote and self-produced some fine Sunshine Pop albums like "We Can Fly" and "II X II". Glad they are finally getting some credit.
 
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