Template:Multiple issuesThe Cowsills is an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island. They specialized in harmonies and the ability to sing and play music at an early age. The band was formed in the spring of 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and Barry; they shortly thereafter added John. Originally Bill and Bob played guitar and Barry was on drums. When John learned how to play drums and joined the band, Barry went to bass. After their initial success, the brothers were joined by their siblings Susan and Paul and their mother Barbara. Bob's twin brother Richard was the road manager. 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 (née Russell), the Cowsills were the inspiration for the 1970 launch of the television show The Partridge Family.
Bill Cowsill died February 17, 2006, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He suffered multiple major medical problems such as emphysema, osteoporosis, Cushing's syndrome and other ailments and was coping with the sequelae of an eight-hour back surgery in which one lung had to be collapsed.
2
The group formed in 1965 and was billed as "America's First Family of Music". The siblings turned down the opportunity to appear as themselves on The Partridge Family (1970) series when producers nixed the idea of having mother Barbara Cowsill play the TV mom in favor of Shirley Jones. Barbara Cowsill died in 1985 of cancer at age 56.
3
Barry Cowsill, who released a solo album "As Is" in 1998 and battled long-standing substance abuse problems, was last heard leaving a message on sister Susan Cowsill's answering machine after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005, saying, "I don't know how to get out of town except wait for a bus . . . I've been so . . . lonely . . . I hope I get in touch with you". His body wasn't discovered until four months later.
4
Barry Cowsill's body was found by police at the Charles Street Wharf in New Orleans on December 27, 2005. He was 51. He was reported missing around the time that Hurricane Katrina hit.
TV Special performer: "We Can Fly", "Consider Yourself", "A Doodlin' Song", "Indian Lake", "What the World Needs Now Is Love", "The Rain, The Park, and Other Things"
$1.6 Million
