William “Bill” Joseph Cowsill, Jr., also known as Billy, (January 9, 1948 – February 18, 2006) was an American singer best known as lead singer and guitarist of The Cowsills who had three top 10 singles in the late 1960s.
Bill Cowsill was born in Middletown, Rhode Island. At a young age Bill began singing with his brother, Bob, and they formed The Cowsills in 1965 with their brothers: Barry on bass; Bob on guitar and organ; and John on drums. They 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 and Other Things”, their first single released on MGM Records, which was also included in their first eponymously titled MGM album.
This single sold over a million copies in late 1967 and reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their second MGM album, We Can Fly spawned a second Top 40 hit with the title track. In 1968, “Indian Lake” (from their third MGM album Captain Sad and his Ship of Fools) became another top 10 hit, while in 1969 their version of the title track from Hair also peaked at #2. After they had signed with MGM their younger sister Susan, and later another brother, Paul, had also joined the band.
The Cowsills made regular television appearances, which led to Columbia Pictures considering a sitcom based on their story and starring most of the members of the band; the deal was abandoned when the producers of the show wanted to replace Barbara in the cast. The show would later become The Partridge Family, with David Cassidy playing the lead singer and Shirley Jones as the mother.
Bill’s involvement with The Cowsills came to an abrupt end in 1969 when his father, Bud, caught Bill smoking marijuana. According to his brother Bob, Bill was immediately kicked out of the band. His dismissal was the beginning of the end of the Cowsills as a group.
Bill was briefly considered as a replacement for Brian Wilson in The Beach Boys’ live performances, and in 1971 he released a solo album, Nervous Breakthrough, on MGM, which failed to chart.
By 1972, after Susan, Paul and Barbara opted out, Bill briefly rejoined Bob, Barry and John, reforming the original Cowsills’ lineup, and released one single, “Covered Wagon,” which also failed to chart (possibly owing to, among other things, the fact that the song was hard rock, a significant departure from their previous bubblegum sound). Shortly afterward, The Cowsills disbanded completely in a storm of bitter acrimony that left some members estranged from each other for several years.
Blue Northern 1977-1982
Bill arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia from the USA and became a fan of the local band “Blue Northern”. He began sitting in with the band on a regular basis, and not long after became a member. Billy Cowsill, from The Cowsill family band in the late 1960s (“Hair”, “Indian Lake” “The Rain, The Park, & Other Things” and all that, proto Partridge Family). The group recorded a few tracks at Don Tarris’ Buttertree Studio, in Richmond, and released 4 songs on a 12″ blue vinyl EP in 1980, complete with a blue-tinted cover. Two of the songs were by Ray O’Toole, and two were by Billy Cowsill. The radio picked Ray’s “Can’t Make No Sense” as the one to play, and the group had a national hit on its hands. Polydor Records scooped up the band, and sent them back into the studio while a second single was released. It was Ray’s “Too Late To Turn Back”, a song he had done when he was a member of Shakedown a couple of years or so earlier. It too was a hit. The group toured, and played concerts in halls like the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver and other similar halls across Canada. The group did some TV show (this was before MTV) Polydor released the self-titled album in early 1981, and a couple of more singles followed. Both were O’Toole’s songs, and both were hits.
Blue Northern Band Members:
Billy Cowsill ~ Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Ray O’Toole ~ Lead Guitar, Vocals
Brady Gustafson ~ Drums
Larry McGillivray ~ Drums, Vocals
Lee Roy Stephens ~ Bass, Vocals
Garry Comeau ~ Fiddle, Vocals
Jimmy Wilson ~ Pedal Steel, Guitar, Synthesizer, Accordion, Dobro
Full Name: William Cowsill Jr
Description: Vocalist , Guitarist, Composer, USA
Known For: The Cowsills
Instruments: Voice, Guitar
Music Styles: Rock
Location: United States of America
Date Born: 9th January 1948
Location Born: Newport, United States of America
Date Died: 17th February 2006
Location Died: Calgary, Canada
Cause Of Death: Emphysema, Cushing
CONTACT DETAILS
Web Site:
YOUTUBE VIDEO
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Bill Cowsill
An American singer best known as lead singer and guitarist of The Cowsills who had three top 10 singles in the late 1960s.
The lead singer for ‘The Cowsills’.
Disbanded in 1971.
The Cowsills were a sixties family group formed in 1965.
The group made TV appearances and were considered for a TV series
that would be about the musical family.
This would later become ‘The Partridge Family’.
Bill was also to take the place of Brian Wlison in ‘The Beachboys’ which did not eventuate.
The Cowsills were mainly known for their hit songs ‘INDIAN LAKE’ and ‘THE RAIN, THE PARK AND OTHER THINGS’.
Bill would later front ‘The Blue Shadows’ in Canada. and also ‘The Dependents’.
Bill died at his home in Calgary, Alberta. Aged 58.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia