10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single
This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1342
VICKI PETERSON AND JOHN COWSILL: Sound On Sound
I wrote this as part of the playlist commentary for our June 7th show:
"December of this year will mark the 50th anniversary of my first live rock 'n' roll show. I've seen a bunch of other shows since then, and I hope to see many more. On Thursday night [June 4th], Dana and I had the wonderful experience of witnessing Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill in concert at a local high school. It was, in fact, a high school production, with opening mini-sets by two teen bands and one faculty band, preceded by a solo set by the lead singer of one of the teen bands.
"Sound dire? No. It was amazing. Joyous. Life-affirming. Young bands the Killer Pancakes and Clockwork (and Clockwork singer Isabella Destito) displayed talent, poise, and accomplishment, rippin' through an assortment of covers and--wait for it!--ORIGINALS that delighted the enthusiastic crowd. Faculty band After School Special likewise delivered, and John Cowsill hisself joined them onstage for a cover of Tommy Tutone's '867-5309/Jenny,' recreating his own backing vocals from the original hit record. At the very end of the show, the kids joined Vicki and John for irresistible renditions of the Bangles' 'Manic Monday' and 'Walk Like An Egyptian.' Gooseflesh.
"In between all of that, Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill mesmerized the crowd with a sublime performance. The bulk of their set was drawn from their wonderful 2025 album Long After The Fire, which presented the duo's renditions of songs written by John's late brothers Bill Cowsill and Barry Cowsill; the material was just as riveting in live performance as it is on record. The pair dipped twice into the familiar catalogues of their respective rockin' pop alma maters--the Bangles' 'In A Different Light' and the Cowsills' 'Hair'--and the cumulative effect was just...just beyond. Transcendent. I can't convey in words how happy I was to be there...."
In the immediate aftermath of the live show, it felt imperative for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio to program a spotlight on Vicki and John as Featured Performers. Hey! We should do that THIS week!
And we did, filling half of this week's playlist with tracks that include Vicki and/or John, together or separately, operating within a variety of rockin' pop dbas. And we kicked things off with my favorite track from Long After The Fire, a Barry Cowsill composition called "Sound On Sound." Sound on sound? A worthy goal, and a promise kept. We'll hear "Sound On Sound" again on our next show.
THE BEACH BOYS: Beaches In Mind
John Cowsill was a touring member of the Beach Boys from 2000 to 2023. When original Beach Boys Brian Wilson and Al Jardine briefly rejoined that other guy for the 50th anniversary reunion album That's Why God Made The Radio in 2012, John played drums on two tracks, "The Private Life Of Bill And Sue" and "Beaches In Mind," and we included the latter in this week's tribute show.
CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS: The Rain Song
Over the course of several records and varying line-ups, Continental Drifters established themselves as indie favorites in the 1990s and early '00s, and the 2024 compilation White Noise & Lightning: The Best Of Continental Drifters is as essential as essential can be. Which is pretty essential. Vicki Peterson and her eventual sister-in-law Susan Cowsill were among this distinguished legion of Drifters, and the group's 1998 album Vermillion included this lovely, wistful gem called "The Rain Song." Written by Susan and Vicki, "The Rain Song" was subsequently redone by Vicki for the Bangles' 2003 album Doll Revolution, and the Bangles' version was my introduction to the song. Both versions are superb.
VICKI AND DEBBIE PETERSON: I Wanna Be With You
From our friend Ken Sharp's fabulous 2025 compilation Play On: A Raspberries Tribute, we have Vicki joining forces with her sister (and fellow Bangle) Debbie Peterson to cover the 1972 hit record that hooked me on the power pop sound of the Raspberries. Vicki and Debbie Peterson covering Raspberries? I wanna be with that.
TOMMY TUTONE: 867-5309/Jenny
From a previous 10 Songs:
"A little Byrdsy, a little Stonesy, a little Tommy Tutonesy. See, this is why Hallmark refuses to hire me. Bastards.
"But I digress: great song, then and now. And it came up during a recent vacation, when I discovered that my hotel's WiFi password was 8675309. Jenny could not be reached for comment. But I bet she woulda been pissed."
At some point, I probably/possibly/maybe? knew that John Cowsill sang backing vocals on Tommy Tutone's original hit recording of this song, but I had completely forgotten that fact prior to After School Special sayin' so on stage during their set opening for Vicki and John on June 4th. And I certainly shouldn't have been surprised when John bounced on stage to join After School Special in their rendition of sumpin' a little Byrdsy, a little Stonesy, a little Tommy Tutonesy.
But I was surprised. And thrilled! They got my number, all right. They didn't know me, but it made me so happy.
SUSAN COWSILL: River Of Love
My God. This is heartbreaking...but magnificent.
"River Of Love" was written and first recorded by Barry Cowsill, who lost his life in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The sadness attached to this real-life context makes the song's tale of goodbye even more devastating. In the version recorded by Susan Cowsill (for her 2010 album Lighthouse), the effect is no less haunting, yet somehow its own sense of loss and sorrow finds comfort in beauty, love, and determination.
It also secures strength in family. All of the other surviving members of the Cowsills--John, Bob, and Paul, plus Vicki Peterson Cowsill--sing behind Susan's lead vocal, and Susan plays her late brother Barry's guitar on the track, as well.
A family band. Family will endure. We'll meet again on the other side.
"River Of Love" written by Barry Cowsill, Bug Music BMI
THE BANGLES: Live
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
THE BANGS: Getting Out Of Hand
The Bangles' Ground Zero. In 1981, the group was still called the Bangs when they released their first single, "Getting Out Of Hand"/"Call On Me." The A-side was written by Vicki Peterson, with lead vocal by fellow Bang/Bangle Susanna Hoffs. Following a name change, things would start getting out of hand in due time. The Bangles' legend starts here.
THE SMITHEREENS: Now And Then
The Cowsills sang back-up on "Now And Then," a track by Carteret, New Jersey's phenomenal pop combo the Smithereens. "Now And Then" appeared on 1991's Blow Up, the Smithereens' fourth album, the first album following their commercial breakthrough with the 1989 album 11 ("Smithereens 11" coined as a play on the title of the Rat Pack film Ocean's Eleven).
At this point, the Smithereens were running up respectable numbers at retail, and the Cowsills had recently regrouped with an intention to record new material. The 'Reens were fans, and believed they could help the Cowsills score a record deal.
It was not to be. Smithereens guitarist Jim Babjak told me of his frustration with this situation ("...This was at a time when we were selling hundreds of thousands of records. I thought I had a little more clout."). Unable to sign with a label, the Cowsills wound up self-releasing their album Global in 1998.
Global is my favorite album of the 1990s. Major labels are swine.
THE COWSILLS: She Said To Me
ALSO The Greatest Record Ever Made!
*BONUS TRACK!*
VICKI PETERSON WITH JOHN COWSILL AND JONNY POLONSKY: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
On this show, we play the Ramones just about every week. The American Beatles! The greatest American rock 'n' roll band of all time! Alas, this week's wham-packed playlist did not allow time for even the concise brilliance of da brudders--the Ramones-Paley Brothers collaboration covering the Ritchie Valens classic "Come On Let's Go" was The Last Track Out--but we did carve out a slot for our Featured Performers Vicki and John (with Jonny Polonsky) covering the Ramones. And not covering just any Ramones song; the Ramones' "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" is the literal record that changed my life, and I do not get to my own history as writer or DJ without the specific impact that 1977 45 rpm single had on seventeen-year-old me. It is such an absolute kick to close our celebration of the magic of Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill with this particular blast of pure Carbona-fueled pop. Vicki and John really have it all. Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh YEAH!
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I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here
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