Billy Cowsill
| Billy Cowsill | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | William Joseph Cowsill, Jr. |
| Born |
January 9, 1948 Middletown, Rhode Island, United States |
| Died | February 18, 2006 (aged 58) Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Genres | Pop, alt-country |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1965-2005 |
| Labels | MGM, Polydor, Sony, Indelible |
| Associated acts | |
William "Bill" Joseph Cowsill, Jr., most commonly known professionally as Billy Cowsill, (January 9, 1948 – February 18, 2006) was an American singer, musician, songwriter and producer. He is particularly notable as the lead singer and guitarist of The Cowsills, who had three top 10 singles in the late 1960s. From the mid-1970s until his death, he developed a career in Canada as an alt-country artist, as well as being the producer of a diverse number of Canadian artists.
William Cowsill was born in Middletown, Rhode Island, on January 9, 1948. He was the eldest child of the seven Cowsill children, six boys and one girl, and was named after his father, William "Bud" Joseph Cowsill, Sr. (1925-1992). At a young age, Bill began singing with his younger brother, Bob (born August 26, 1949), playing guitars provided for them by their father, Bud, then serving in the U.S. Navy. The brothers had originally wanted to form a rock band. At their father's insistence, Bill and Bob Cowsill formed The Cowsills in 1965 with their brothers Barry on bass and John on drums. Their father became their full-time manager, following his retirement from the Navy. He was physically and emotionally abusive towards his family, in both his spousal and parental roles. Such abuse continued during his role as the group's manager.
The group started playing around Newport before they recorded their first single "All I Really Wanna Be is Me" in 1967 on the independent label, Joda. While the first single failed to chart, an appearance on the NBC Today Show to promote it led to Mercury Records offering them a contract. However, three singles on that label failed to spark interest, and they were dropped. Artie Kornfeld, their producer at that time, remained convinced of the band's potential and persuaded Barbara to contribute to backing vocals behind Bill's lead on "The Rain, The Park & Other Things", a song co-written by Kornfeld. It was their first single released on MGM Records, and was also included in their first eponymously titled MGM album. After the success of that single, their younger sister Susan and brother Paul joined the band. This was followed by Bill's attempt to get remaining brother Richard (who had been the group's road manager) in the group. Bill had been impressed by Richard's drumming and set him up for an audition with father Bud, but after listening for about 30 seconds Bud flatly rejected Richard from joining the group.
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