Their story began when the two oldest Cowsill brothers, Bill and Bob were given guitars by their father, William "Bud" Cowsill. By the time the early 1960s rolled around, they had recruited younger brothers Barry and John to play bass and drums, respectively, and as Beatlemania dawned, the four began performing live at school dances and church socials throughout their native Newport, RI. Soon the Cowsills landed a regular weekend gig at a local club called Bannisters Wharf, and in 1965, recorded the single "All I Really Wanta Be Is Me" for the Joda label. The record generated little response however and after an appearance on NBC's The Today Show, the group signed with Mercury Records and turned out three more singles. "Most of All", "Party Girl" and "A Most Peculiar Man". All of them flopped.
Their producer at Mercury, Artie Kornfeld remained confident of the Cowsills' commercial appeal and independent of the label, set up yet another recording date. This time however, he convinced their mother Barbara to contribute vocals to the session, and had the group record a song that he co-wrote called "The Rain, the Park and Other Things." Kornfeld took the tapes to MGM, which issued the song as a single in the fall of 1967. The song took the U.S.A. by storm and eventually rose to number two nationally, selling over a million copies.
In early 1968, sister Susan and brother Paul were added to the line-up and an entire album was quickly put together. Two more singles were issued, "We Can Fly" and "In Need of a Friend", but neither could match their earlier success. By the late fall of that year, it seemed like the Cowsills were destined to be a "one hit wonder", but a bouncy bubble-gum type song called "Indian Lake" saved them from that fate when it reached the U.S. Top Ten. Another dry spell set in for the group, as songs like "Poor Baby", "Path of Love" and "The Candy Kid" went virtually ignored.
It was during 1969 that the rock musical "Hair" became a major hit and the Cowsills had the good fortune of releasing a clean, crisp, commercial version of the title song. Despite going up against the heaviest rock bands of the day, the Cowsills scored another number two hit in the U.S.A.
It was around that same time that Columbia Pictures' television division sent a group of screenwriters to observe the Cowsills' daily lives for a possible series based on their story. Although the Cowsills may have been briefly considered to play themselves, the producers decided to fictionalize the band as "The Partridge Family."
By the time The Partridge Family hit the airwaves in 1970, the Cowsills' career was on the decline and in the wake of the 1971 LP "On My Side", the group disbanded. Later that year, Bill Cowsill (who was briefly considered to replace Brian Wilson in the Beach Boys' touring line-up) issued a solo LP, "Nervous Breakthrough", which met with little success. In the late 1970s, Bob, John, Susan and Paul recorded some new, original material with producer Chuck Plotkin, but due to lack of financing, the sessions went unreleased. The rest of the siblings were musically inactive.
On January 31st, 1985, the Cowsills mother, Barbara, died of emphysema at the age of 56, in Tempe, Arizona.
As the 1990s dawned, Barry mounted a solo career, Bill founded a country group called the Blue Shadows, and Susan joined the Continental Drifters, an all-star New Orleans-via-Los Angeles combo also featuring her husband along with onetime Bangle, Vicki Peterson.
In 1994, the "core four" - Bob, John, Susan and Paul, contributed a newly-recorded Cowsills track, "Is It Any Wonder," to the "Yellow Pills - Volume One" pop compilation and a new studio album, "Global", followed in 1998. They later hit the oldies circuit and started playing small clubs and showcases in the Los Angeles area and across the country.
The Rain The Park and Other Things
Cowsills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Raindrops falling on her
She didn't seem to care
She sat there and smiled at me
Then I knew
She could make me happy
Flowers in her hair
I love the flower girl
Oh, I don't know just why, she simply caught my eye
I love the flower girl
She seemed so sweet and kind, she crept into my mind
To my mind
I knew I had to say hello
She smiled up at me
And she took my hand
And we walked through the park alone
And I knew
She had made me happy
Flowers in her hair
Flowers everywhere
I love the flower girl
Oh, I don't know just why, she simply caught my eye
I love the flower girl
She seemed so sweet and kind, she crept into my mind
To my mind
Suddenly, the sun broke through
I turned around, she was gone
All I had left
Was one little flower in my hand
But I knew
She had made me happy
Flowers in her hair
Flowers everywhere
I love the flower girl
Was she reality or just a dream to me?
I love the flower girl
Her love showed me the way to find a sunny day
Sunny day
I love the flower girl
Was she reality or just a dream to me?
I love the flower girl
The lyrics to The Cowsills's song "The Rain The Park and Other Things" tell the story of the singer's chance encounter with a girl on a rainy day. As he sees her sitting in the rain, he notes that she doesn't seem to care about the raindrops falling on her, and that she smiles at him when he approaches her. From this moment on, he is enamoured by her, as he notices the flowers in her hair and how they seem to be everywhere around them. He describes his feelings towards her as being happy, and the flowers become a sort of symbol for this emotion, as they are present throughout their time together. They walk through the park together, but as suddenly as the sun breaks through the clouds, she disappears, leaving only a flower in his hand. The song ends with the singer reflecting on his encounter with her and wondering if she was a reality or just a dream to him.
The lyrics of this song seem to suggest a sense of optimistic and hopeful romanticism that was common in the 1960s. The association of flowers with happiness, love and freedom was prevalent in this era, and the depiction of the girl as a symbol of a sunny day is reflective of the sense of freedom, possibility and liberation that was associated with the cultural movements of the time. Musically, the song has a cheery, catchy and upbeat melody that complements the optimistic tone of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw her sitting in the rain
The singer observed a girl who was sitting in the rain
Raindrops falling on her
The girl was getting wet by the raindrops falling on her
She didn't seem to care
The girl didn't mind the rain falling on her
She sat there and smiled at me
The girl smiled at the artist who was observing her
Then I knew
The artist realized something important after observing the girl
She could make me happy
The girl had the ability to make the singer happy
Flowers in her hair
The girl had flowers in her hair
Flowers everywhere
There were flowers everywhere around the artist and the girl
I love the flower girl
The artist loves the girl who had flowers in her hair
Oh, I don't know just why, she simply caught my eye
The artist doesn't know why he was attracted to the girl but he noticed her
She seemed so sweet and kind, she crept into my mind
The girl's sweet and kind nature made the singer always think of her
To my mind
The girl was always in the artist's thoughts
I knew I had to say hello
The singer felt the urge to greet the girl
She smiled up at me
The girl smiled at the singer when he greeted her
And she took my hand
The girl held the singer's hand
And we walked through the park alone
The artist and the girl took a walk together in the park
Suddenly, the sun broke through
The sun appeared from behind the clouds
I turned around, she was gone
When the singer looked around, the girl was nowhere to be seen
All I had left
The only thing remaining with the singer
Was one little flower in my hand
The artist found a flower in his hand that the girl had given him
Was she reality or just a dream to me?
The artist wasn't sure if the girl was real or just a figment of his imagination
Her love showed me the way to find a sunny day
The love the girl showed the artist made him feel happy and hopeful for a brighter future
Sunny day
A day filled with sunshine, happiness and positivity
I love the flower girl
The artist repeats his affection for the girl who had flowers in her hair
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Shoeless Joe
The talent of this group was undeniably off the charts I would've liked to see how far they could've gone if not for their sadistic psycho father...
Carol Beville
Beautiful song. Beautiful harmonies! They were so talented!! 🥰🥰🥰
supmyd00d
One of the quintessential sunshine pop songs of the era. An absolute classic!
Big JiLm
Go look up them doing "Hair!"
Candace Crocker
This group was one of the best in harmony and live performances. Mom had a lovely voice and the youngest boy John really showed his chops on that drum kit!
Emerald Wood Archives
5 year old Susan Cowsill playing off-beats on tambourine is still better than most musicians these days. Love the whole band. Poor mom didn't even want to be there.
Multi's Place
She was actually 8 and a half.
R A Mercado Gee
But bless her heart. Her voice was so beautiful ❤️
MusicandDancing4Ever
This is one of the best feel good songs ever. You can’t help but smile when you hear this song. The 60s truly was the best era of music.
willminkorea2010
The novelty that they were a real family obscured the fact that they were a talented band with some very good songs.