THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! The Cowsills, "She Said To Me"

This is a chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1).

An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!

THE COWSILLS: She Said To Me

Written by Bob Cowsill and Mary Jo Cowsill

Produced by Bob Cowsill

From the album Global, Robin Records, 1998

A family band. The ongoing reference to the Cowsills as the real-life inspiration for TV's fictional Partridge Family is tiresome but unavoidable. The true story is so much more than what was fabricated for prime time.

Because the Cowsills were a real band, initially a band of brothers who--like so many others in the '60s--wanted to be the Beatles. 

Of course, for all the groups who set out to be the Beatles, success in that particular goal would always be unattainable; there could only be one Beatles. But you know what? There could also only be one Cowsills. The Cowsills created a lot of fine music, well worthy of rediscovery and acclaim. They're still a fantastic live band, and they're still working on new music. I can't wait to hear it.

All phases of the Cowsills' long recording career have featured true gems. You know the Cowsills' hits: "The Rain, The Park & Other Things," "We Can Fly," "Indian Lake," and their monster take on the title tune from Hair. "Hair" is an especially great record, and their '60s-early '70s catalog is loaded with additional moments of sheer wonder, from the pre-fame 1965 single "All I Really Wanta Be Is Me" through "Love American Style," "Make The Music Flow," "On My Side," and more. You may have heard the behind-the-scenes tales of a controlling and unpleasant (and worse) father, all detailed in the heartbreaking 2011 documentary Family Band: The Cowsills Story. As you wipe the tears from your eyes, you may comfort yourself in the musical magic the Cowsills managed to make anyway.

As a band, the Cowsills were originally a trio, and then a quartet: guitarists Bill and Bob, and original drummer Barry, who switched to bass when youngest brother John joined and took his place at the drum kit. Brother Paul, sister Susan, and mother Barbara joined in 1967. Brother Richard was never a member of the band.

The group's story is filled with highs and lows, triumph and tragedy. Many recall the Cowsills fondly, while many others are too quick to dismiss them outright. Because of their perceived clean image? Because of The Partridge Family? Because the music wasn't sufficiently heavy? Lord, if you can't see past all of that and sense the innate talent in play, I can only implore you to just listen. Beyond the ungodly hoops their taskmaster father Bud forced them to navigate, beyond the dichotomy of milk-drinking photo shoots and the usual vices one would expect a young rock 'n' roll band to encounter--Bud kicked his own son Bill out of the band after discovering the latter enjoying a joint--and beyond any other nonsense, real or imagined, there remain these simple facts: the Cowsills could play, and the Cowsills could sing. Nothing could take that away from them, for as long as they drew breath.

You know some of the Cowsills' history. And I hope you know about the music the Cowsills recorded in the '90s. If you don't know about that stuff, man, I hope you remedy that situation soon.

Why? Because the Cowsills' Global may well be the best album of the '90s. And if it's not, I can't think of what else could be. Decades later, I continue to be annoyed that no major label would deign to release this wonderful record. 

The Cowsills by this point were Bob, John, Susan, and Paul, with Robby Scharf on bass. The story we've heard is that this veteran pop group recorded a new album and shopped it around to every record label under the sun. But the group didn't let the suits know who the band was, just submitted the tracks blind, hoping the music would sell itself without whatever positive or negative prejudice the group's familiar name would inspire. When Global finally did come out, it was self-released. That was after all those record label weasels heard the record, loved it, figured it was a sure-fire license to print money, and ultimately rejected it once they found out that it was by the Cowsills.

The unstated reason for such chowderheaded record company reticence? Short-sighted A & R guys didn't think they could market a group of former '60s hitmakers--especially a group with such a (perceived) squeaky-clean image--in the big 'n' bad '90s. 

Wimps. 

Oh, and when I say "wimps," I'm not referring to the Cowsills; the A & R swine were the wimps. The Cowsills friggin' rule, and anybody with a lick of pop grit and know-how could have sold the sound and the story. I love their classic stuff, especially "Hair" and "Love American Style," and many lesser-known tracks, but I'm not kidding when I proclaim Global as the best of the '90s. 

Jim Babjak of the Smithereens told me of his own frustration in trying to pitch Global to disinterested parties at Capitol Records. "I personally shopped the tapes of Global to Capitol Records, and they wouldn’t even listen to it." Babjak added, "I must also say that the people at Capitol Records told me if they were to change their name from the Cowsills to something else, they might consider listening to it. And this was at a time when [the Smithereens] were selling hundreds of thousands of records. I thought I had a little more clout."

"She Said To Me" is the pinnacle. Bob Cowsill once told me something to the effect that Susan sings the hell out of this one. He ain't wrong. Everything connects on this track, from John's propulsive drumming, Paul's keys, and Bob's guitar and bass (Scharf isn't on this one) through deputy Cowsill Bobby Gianetti's lead guitar and the magic, magic Cowsills harmonies. And Susan, singing the hell out of it, as she was ably capable of doing. A & R weasels? Screw 'em all, the lot of them. We know better.

There is a magic point in art, in creation, where our pain becomes redemption, our sorrow turns to strength, our devastating losses flow like a river into our determination to endure. The Cowsills family has had to withstand so much loss, including the deaths of brothers Bill, Barry, and Richard. And still their music sounds so uplifting, so...right. Voices join. Harmony heals. A family band. God bless this family and their band.

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My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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